The LDS Test Bed
The LDS Test Bed is a permanent working environment where we run real experiments on energy, security and AI tooling. It exists for one reason: so that the advice we give clients is informed by what we have actually seen happen on a real system under real load.
Why it exists
Most consultancies build a deck and ship it. We started LDS because that is the part of consulting we trust the least. The Test Bed is the antidote. Before we recommend a tool, a topology, or a way of working, we want to have used it ourselves long enough to have run into the boring problems that only show up in week three.
What we run on it
- Energy. Solar generation, on-site storage, demand response and the boring operational decisions that move the energy bill more than the technology choices ever do.
- Security. Real workloads behind a zero trust segmentation model. Identity and network controls. Cyber Essentials Plus, audited annually.
- AI in software delivery. AI coding agents and modern toolchains used as part of our own delivery, not as a slide topic.
- Observability. The data that tells us whether anything we are doing is working.
What we publish from it
Where we learn something useful, we write it up. The pieces on 733 kWh from two solar panels and the 800W illusion are both Test Bed pieces. So is the Cyber Essentials Plus writeup.
What it is not
It is not a product. We do not sell access to it, and we do not host clients on it. It is a tool we use to keep our advice honest.
How it relates to client work
When we work with a client we are looking for two things: where the textbook answer matches what we have lived with on the Test Bed, and where it does not. The second list is the more useful one.