2. Joyent: Before node.js
• Founded in 2004 as a platform to host web applications, Joyent
quickly grew to the broader scope of next-generation computing:
elastic, multi-tenant, and service-oriented
• Joyent’s belief: novel computing demands novel abstractions!
• At the core was OS-based virtualization: Joyent was an early
production user of FreeBSD jails — and then OpenSolaris zones
• In 2009, Joyent went up-stack with server-side JavaScript and
Smart Platform, a Perl + SpiderMonkey frankenstein platform
3. node.js
• In November 2009, a nearly-broke Ryan Dahl begged JSConf EU
to give him a speaking slot — and node.js was born:
4. Joyent and node.js: The beginning
• node.js complemented our stack and vision: pure asynchrony +
Unix abstractions + JavaScript on a fast, modern VM (V8)
• While several companies offered Ryan employment after his
JSConf EU talk, only Joyent offered him the prospects of working
on node.js full-time — and entirely in the open
• Ryan started at Joyent in early 2010; in November 2010, Joyent
formally became the steward of node.js
5. Joyent and node.js: Into production
• Among the earliest production users of node.js (0.2 FTW!), our
emphasis has always been on real, deployed systems:
• In situ production instrumentation via DTrace support
• Postmortem debuggability via MDB support
• We developed modules that we ourselves use and deploy, e.g.:
• Bunyan: logging framework for node.js (+ DTrace support!)
• Restify: framework for pure HTTP-based services
• vasync: framework for asynchrony (+ debugging support!)
6. Joyent and node.js: A new foundation
• We have been users of node.js first and foremost; node.js is at
the core of our own production (open source!) microservice-based
distributed systems: SmartDataCenter and Manta
• Our use case is but one among many; to assure broader
stewardship, we assembled a node.js Advisory Board in 2014
• It became clear that node.js was best served by a neutral
foundation; in early 2015, we transitioned node.js to the (new)
Node.js Foundation
7. Joyent and node.js: The present
• node.js is in our bloodstream — but containers are our marrow
• We have always believed that node.js and containers are a
natural fit for one another!
• Containers were popularized in 2015 with the rise of Docker, a
system for container image management and deployment
• In 2015, we announced Triton, our SmartDataCenter-based
system for deploying Docker containers directly on the metal
• With Triton, one manages only containers; there are no VMs!
8. Joyent and node.js: Towards the future!
• We will remain involved with Node.js Foundation, and continue to
support the community
• e.g. our Node.js Innovator Program gives up to $25K Triton
hosting credits + custom onboarding and training, viz. BitHound
• We are very actively involved in the Cloud Native Computing
Foundation and will continue to serve as an advocate and a
representative for node.js in the industry!
• We believe that Triton remains the best place to run node.js —
and we look forward to many more years with node.js!