IT lessons from Facebook's user name launch

Facebook has detailed some of the backend moves as it prepared to roll out usernames to 200 million users.

The blog post is the latest in Facebook's effort to allow us peak behind the scenes a bit. Facebook allowed its 200 million users to pick names while keeping the site running.

Some of the lessons are obvious, but often ignored.

Among the lessons:

• Give the project firepower. Facebook's infrastructure was expanded to allow users to pick names and block other ones. Facebook dedicated one terabyte of in-memory cache just for the user name launch.
• Cut the perks. To devote processing power to the user name launch, Facebook was prepared to nuke bells and whistles and the user name registration page was stripped down.
• Create contingency plans. Facebook said it had an escalation plan and a nuclear option to cut off features in case the site slowed to a crawl. Little things like chat bars, new item notifications and other fees all consume resources. Facebook was prepared to shut off features to give itself more power.
• Timing is everything. Facebook launched its user name switchover at midnight eastern time on a Friday. Behind the scenes Facebook conducted a dark launch of functionality.