Deploying K3s with Ansible: A Complete Tutorial
A step-by-step guide to building an Ansible role that deploys K3s clusters — with WireGuard encryption, embedded etcd, automated firewall …
Principal Architect // M&A // Infrastructure
Zachary Fouts
I get put on the hard deals. Acquisitions, divestitures, and the messy technical reality in between.
2
Articles Published
8
Open Source Projects
20+
Years Building Things
// Disciplines
What I Work On
M&A Technology
Acquisitions and divestitures — I navigate the technical complexity so the business can move with confidence. Due diligence, integration, separation — whatever the deal needs.
Due Diligence
Finding what's really under the hood
Risk Assessment
Surfacing the things that will cost you later
Integration & Separation
Merging systems or cleanly pulling them apart
Dependency Mapping
Knowing what connects to what before you touch anything
Infrastructure & Operations
Building systems that stay up, scale when needed, and don't require heroics to maintain. Reliability isn't a feature—it's the baseline.
Cloud Architecture
Scalable, cost-effective infrastructure
Security Engineering
Defense in depth, not security theater
Operational Efficiency
Eliminating toil, automating the boring stuff
Observability
Knowing what's happening before users tell you
// Latest
Recent Writing
Reverse Engineering the Carbide Create .c2d File Format
A deep dive into how Carbide Create stores your CNC projects — it's not what you'd expect.
// Field Notes
Lessons from the Trenches
Acquisition Readiness
Companies that invest in documentation, clean architecture, and proper licensing navigate acquisitions faster and protect more value. The work you do before anyone's buying pays off when they are.
Integration Pitfalls
Undisclosed technical debt, API incompatibilities, and knowledge trapped in people's heads — not documentation — are what actually derail integrations. The technology is rarely the hardest part.
Divestiture Reality
Separating shared infrastructure is harder than merging it. Entangled data, shared services, and split-brain identity systems make clean cuts nearly impossible — but a methodical, low-risk approach gets you there.
// Signal
Let's Connect
A corner of the internet for hard-won lessons, side projects, reverse engineering adventures, and whatever else I happen to be curious about.