Risk Management & Rollback Strategies
Comprehensive risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and rollback procedures for CDE migrations. Plan for every scenario from vendor discontinuation to migration failures.
CDE Risk Assessment Matrix
Identify, assess, and prioritize risks before implementation
Technical Risks
- HIGH Control plane single point of failure
- HIGH Network latency affecting developer experience
- MED Storage performance degradation
- MED IDE plugin compatibility issues
- LOW Template drift across environments
Organizational Risks
- HIGH Developer resistance to workflow change
- HIGH Insufficient platform engineering resources
- MED Knowledge concentration in few individuals
- MED Lack of executive sponsorship
- LOW Shadow IT local development
Vendor Risks
- HIGH Vendor acquisition or product discontinuation
- MED Significant pricing changes
- MED Feature deprecation without alternatives
- MED Support quality degradation
- LOW API breaking changes
Risk Scoring Framework
| Risk Factor | Probability (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Score | Mitigation Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control plane outage | 3 | 5 | 15 | Critical - Immediate |
| Developer productivity loss | 4 | 4 | 16 | Critical - Immediate |
| Vendor discontinuation | 2 | 5 | 10 | High - Plan within 30 days |
| Cost overrun | 3 | 3 | 9 | High - Plan within 30 days |
| Security breach | 2 | 5 | 10 | High - Plan within 30 days |
Migration Failure Scenarios & Mitigation
Prepare for common migration failures with proven mitigation strategies
Scenario: Control Plane Becomes Unresponsive During Peak Hours
Impact
- All developers unable to access workspaces
- Active work sessions terminated
- Potential data loss in unsaved work
Mitigation
- Deploy HA control plane (3+ replicas)
- Enable workspace persistence during outages
- Configure auto-save intervals (every 30s)
Rollback Trigger
- Outage > 4 hours in production
- 3+ incidents in 7 days
- Developer productivity < 50%
Scenario: Network Latency Makes Development Unusable
Impact
- Keystroke delays >200ms
- IDE features timeout or fail
- Developer frustration and workarounds
Mitigation
- Deploy in multiple regions
- Use WireGuard/Tailscale for optimization
- Enable local file sync with Mutagen
Rollback Trigger
- P95 latency > 150ms sustained
- Developer survey score < 3/5
- Local development requests > 20%
Scenario: Vendor Announces Product Discontinuation
Impact
- 12-18 month migration timeline
- Template/automation rewrite required
- Training and process changes
Mitigation
- Use Terraform for infrastructure portability
- DevContainers for portable configs
- Maintain alternative vendor relationship
Rollback Trigger
- Sunset notice with < 18 months
- Acquisition by competitor
- Key feature removal announcement
Rollback Procedures
Step-by-step procedures for different rollback scenarios
Rollback Decision Timeline
Immediate Response
Investigate issue, engage platform team, communicate status to affected developers
Escalation
Engage vendor support (if applicable), prepare partial rollback, enable local development fallback
Partial Rollback Decision
Enable hybrid mode - critical teams return to local, non-critical stay on CDE
Full Rollback
Execute full rollback procedure, transition all developers to local development
Full Rollback Procedure
Export All Workspace Data
# Export all user workspace files
for workspace in $(coder workspaces list --all -o json | jq -r '.[].name'); do
coder ssh $workspace "tar -czf /tmp/workspace-backup.tar.gz ~/projects"
coder scp $workspace:/tmp/workspace-backup.tar.gz ./backups/$workspace.tar.gz
done
# Export configuration and templates
coder templates export --all -o ./backups/templates/
kubectl get configmap -n coder -o yaml > ./backups/k8s-configs.yamlNotify All Stakeholders
# Send notification via Slack/Teams/Email
Subject: [ACTION REQUIRED] CDE Rollback in Progress
Dear Developers,
Due to [REASON], we are initiating a rollback to local development.
Timeline:
- [TIME]: Begin workspace data export
- [TIME+2h]: Disable new workspace creation
- [TIME+4h]: All workspaces terminated
- [TIME+6h]: Local dev environment required
Action Required:
1. Save all current work immediately
2. Pull local copies of your repositories
3. Set up local development environment per: [WIKI_LINK]
Support: #platform-engineering or page Platform On-CallRestore Local Development
# Re-enable local development permissions
# (Adjust based on your security controls)
# Restore local admin rights (Windows)
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "DOMAIN\Developers"
# Re-enable Docker Desktop
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Containers -Online
# Distribute local development scripts
git clone https://github.com/company/local-dev-setup
cd local-dev-setup && ./setup.shPost-Rollback Verification
# Verify developer environment status
# Send survey to all affected developers
curl -X POST "https://forms.company.com/api/submit" \
-d "survey_id=rollback-verification" \
-d "questions=local_env_working,data_restored,blockers"
# Schedule retrospective
# Document lessons learned
# Update risk assessment based on actual experienceVendor Exit Strategy
Ensure portability and reduce lock-in from day one
Portability Checklist
-
Use Terraform for all infrastructure
Avoid vendor-proprietary template formats
-
DevContainer specification for configs
Works across VS Code, Codespaces, Gitpod, Coder
-
Standard container images
No vendor-specific base images or extensions
-
Document all vendor-specific features used
Maintain migration notes for each feature
-
Regular data export testing
Quarterly validation of export/restore procedures
-
Maintain alternative vendor evaluation
Annual review of market alternatives
Migration Paths
Coder to Gitpod
Terraform templates need rewrite to .gitpod.yml, but DevContainers work as-is
Moderate EffortAny CDE to GitHub Codespaces
DevContainers fully compatible, but requires GitHub Enterprise
Low EffortCDE to Local Development
DevContainers run locally, security controls may need adjustment
High EffortSelf-Hosted to Managed
Offload operations but may lose some customization
Moderate EffortContinue Your Planning
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