Context: Last week I showed you how to build a production Kubernetes cluster—3 control planes, 4 worker nodes, HA PostgreSQL, pod anti-affinity, chaos testing. That guide took 2 days and taught you how infrastructure actually works. This week: the same application running on docker-compose in 5 minutes. Here’s when you
What You’ll Learn: How to build a real Kubernetes cluster that can run production workloads, not just hello-world demos. Prerequisites: You’ll need 7-8 machines (VMs or physical servers). This guide assumes you can provision these yourself—whether that’s creating VMs in Proxmox/ESXi, spinning up cloud instances, or using physical hardware. See
You know the story from Atomic Habits. A pottery teacher splits the class into two groups (well Atomic Habits uses photography, but the orginal story is about pottery). The “quantity” group gets graded on weight, make 50 pounds of pots, get an A. The “quality” group gets graded on perfection,
It is oddly satisfying reaching this point of the year. I could set my clock by what reveals itself—not just Christmas and New Year’s, but something else entirely. For years, I did the standard ritual: reflect on what happened, plan what’s next, strategize how to steer it. Classic year-end leadership
I published my first HPF newsletter recently and while it should have been the second, I wanted to share it immediately while the insights were fresh. So welcome to my second “First Edition” of HPF. This newsletter wasn’t planned. It started because I needed a place for posts that got
This month, I was qualifying my accounts for next year and hit the same wall every sales professional knows: “high, medium, low potential” tells you nothing about what to actually DO. So I created something different. Something that works in team meetings AND boardroom presentations. Something that’s already changing how
I’m Scott Hugh, and this is where I write about the intersection of business, technology, and practical problem-solving.
HPF (Hocus Pocus Focus) Newsletter – My regular deep-dives shared on LinkedIn, exploring cloud-native infrastructure, Kubernetes, enterprise Linux, and open-source technologies. From architecture decisions to hands-on implementations, I focus on what actually works in production environments rather than vendor marketing.
Solutions Architecture & Technical Insights – Thoughts on enterprise infrastructure, hybrid cloud strategy, partner enablement, and technical approaches that deliver real customer value. I write about Linux systems, container orchestration, distributed teams, and the intersection of technical depth and business outcomes.
Frameworks & Practical Tools – Decision frameworks, technical approaches, and lessons learned from 30 years in technology – from building systems as a teenager to architecting solutions for global enterprises. Engineering mindset: build it, test it, see what works, iterate.
A Bit About Me
I’m a solutions architect and technical consultant with 30 years in technology – starting from building systems and databases as a teenager – with 25+ years designing, deploying, and managing enterprise infrastructure.
My approach: Build it, test it, see what works, iterate. I believe in open-source technologies, distributed team collaboration, and technical depth over buzzword bingo. Currently exploring new opportunities where I can combine technical expertise with partner enablement and customer success.
I’ve built Kubernetes clusters, migrated hundreds of customers across infrastructure platforms, presented to C-level executives, and trained partner technical teams. I code, I architect, I solve problems – and I share what I learn here.
This blog is where I work through ideas in detail. For shorter updates and discussions, find me on LinkedIn. I also document technical projects and infrastructure builds on YouTube (The Weekend SaaS Builder).
Thanks for visiting. Let’s figure out what actually works.
"It's amazing how people think 4 YEARS is a long time to succeed in a business but think it's alright to stay broke at a job for 40 YEARS."
Art Jonak