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Netflix to release source code for its army of diagnostic monkeys

Netflix to release source code for its army of diagnostic monkeys

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Wired reports that Netflix is poised to release the source code for its suite of cloud monkeys, programs that keep its systems running smoothly, over the next few months.

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Wired reports that Netflix is poised to release the source code for its suite of cloud monkeys, programs that keep its systems running smoothly, over the next few months. The streaming media company detailed its "simian army" last year, which began with Chaos Monkey — a tool that randomly disables live servers to test if the system can withstand common types of failure. Netflix then added a number of other monkeys, like Latency Monkey, Conformity Monkey, Doctor Monkey, and Janitor Monkey, that run other diagnostics and simulations on Netflix's service. Adrian Cockroft, director of cloud architecture at Netflix, tells Wired that "we will be doing bits and pieces of it throughout the summer and into the fall."

Netflix has steadily moved its business into the cloud since 2007, adopting Amazon Web Services in 2008, and is now moving more towards open source solutions. Netflix declared its interest in open source back in 2010, and this latest move is intended to pique the interest of the open source community. Cockroft says that releasing the monkeys to the public is a good recruiting tool, and that "people have to know that you're doing interesting stuff."