From FTP to Kamal - 20 Years of Deploying Rails

Explore the evolution of Rails deployment methods in this 26-minute conference talk that chronicles two decades of technological progress from basic FTP uploads to modern containerized solutions. Journey through the historical landscape of Rails deployment, starting with the early days of FTP and CGI, progressing through the revolutionary impact of Capistrano, Passenger, and Heroku, and culminating with contemporary Docker and Kamal implementations. Discover the tools, workarounds, and hard-learned lessons that defined each era of Rails operations, including nostalgic references to Mongrel, FastCGI, and the transformative moment of executing your first 'git push heroku' command. Gain insights into the community-driven innovations that shaped Rails deployment practices and understand how past experiences inform future development strategies. Learn about the projects and technologies that paved the way for today's deployment solutions while celebrating the remarkable progress achieved in Rails operations over the past twenty years. Whether you're a newcomer to Rails deployment or a veteran who remembers the script/server days, this retrospective offers valuable perspective on the technological journey that brought us to current deployment practices.