E1 · C&Thoth · Aug 2020 – Feb 2023
Dedicated engineer for a 3,500-server global game
Keeping a client's service running, with large-scale Azure operations and technical advice
3,500 Servers650 DBs
- Azure
- Large-scale operations
- Client-facing
In one line
Dedicated engineer for a global MMORPG with 3,500 servers and 650 databases, covering Azure operations and technical advice.
Background
The client ran MIR4 Global, a worldwide MMORPG (massively multiplayer online game).
The scale was 3,500 servers and 650 databases. Any outage meant lost revenue and unhappy players around the world.
An MSP (Managed Service Provider) runs cloud infrastructure on behalf of its clients. I was the engineer dedicated to this client.
What I did
- Lead technical contact: I explained Azure architecture options, their tradeoffs, and security status directly to client stakeholders.
- High-availability advice: We designed a high-availability setup on Azure Dedicated Host (one physical server reserved for a single customer). The key is placing dedicated hosts across separate fault zones, so one failed physical server does not stop the whole service.
- Incident response: I led root-cause analysis and recovery during outages.
- Security audit support: I handled the client’s regular cloud security audits (CSPM, cloud configuration checks).
- Cost analysis: I analyzed monthly usage and billing data to find savings (FinOps).
What I learned
I learned to turn client requests and operational issues into infrastructure work. I also learned that “the service does not stop” has to be the standard behind every decision.