Defining MekOps: Why I'm Bringing Cloud-Native to Bare Metal

If you ask a Cloud Engineer to deploy a container, they type kubectl apply and go grab a coffee. The scheduler finds a node, the runtime pulls the image, and the networking stack routes the traffic. It's like magic.

If you ask an Embedded Engineer to update a device, they grab a USB cable, a JTAG debugger. Modern connected devices bring the FOTA (Firmware Over-The-Air updates) to the table, but nevetheless, you need whole firmware package to update and if you don't have space for fancy A/B deployment, then pray the firmware flash doesn't brick the unit.

These two worlds have existed in parallel universes from the start. The Cloud got Microservices and orchestration. The Edge got stuck with monolithic firmware and risky flashing.

I am building MekOps to fix this.

What is MekOps?

MekOps stands for Microservices, Embedded, Kernels and Operations.

It is an engineering philosophy that rejects the idea that "embedded" means "primitive". It applies the rigor and scalability of cloud architecture to the constraints of bare metal.

1. Microservices

We are moving logic out of the firmware and into portable, sandboxed units. By using WebAssembly on the edge, we can treat a 50KB sensor driver exactly like a Docker container. It can be deployed, restarted, and updated without touching the underlying kernel.

2. Embedded

We respect the silicon. Abstractions are expensive. While we want cloud-like workflows, we cannot afford the overhead of Linux or Python on a microcontroller. We build on Rust, C, and efficient binary protocols like MQTT to keep our footprint tiny.

3. Kernels

The OS is not a black box; it is a component we must tune. Whether it is porting Apache NuttX to a new LoRa pager or writing a custom HAL, understanding the Kernel is the only way to guarantee real-time performance.

4. Operations

Kubernetes is defacto standard for orchestrating the workloads in the world of Cloud. We can extend it and make it compatible with the world of Embedded.

The Ecosystem

This blog documents my journey in building a vertically integrated stack that proves this philosophy is possible.

What's Next?

I will be publishing deep dives into the architecture of these tools, rants about current IoT security standards, and tutorials on how to build your own "MekOps" platform.

The soldering iron meets the scheduler. Welcome to the machine.