Technology on The Real Ramblings

Code Repositories and Yak Shaving Part Two

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 22:00:00 +1200

In Part One of this series, I discussed what a monorepo is, defined contextual repos, and covered a review of a couple articles which attempted to illustrate the benefits of a monorepo. In this part, I’m going to go a bit deeper into some of the assertions I made, and some claims often made “in defense of” monorepos.

Code Repositories and Yak Shaving

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 22:00:00 +1200

There is a wave of argument growing among how to organize software repositories ; the god-repo (commonly known as a monorepo) and focused repositories. By and large there is no one best way. Rather it is a question of which yaks you want to shave. This is a meager attempt to explore them without a general recommendation.

Hooray For Statically Typed Client Libraries

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 12:00:00 +1200

If you’re a programmer you’ve likely heard or read someone expound the benefits and advantages of typed code. Things like compile-time validation that you are passing an integer rather than a string, or avoiding variable type overloading, speed, and many more. However, sometimes this can lead to better code in programs other than the one you’re writing in a statically typed language.

Some Basic Async Coding Rules

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 17:00:00 +1200

Everything doesn’t have to be asynchronous and sometimes making something asynchronous leads to problems. The following rules and guidelines should help you minimize those problems and make proper use of asynchronous calling.

RCP: Sentinel Improvements

Thu, 22 Oct 2015 16:30:00 +1200

While Salvatore and I have discussed some significant changes to various aspects of Sentinel, enough to likely warrant a Sentinel version change, I wanted to capture some of the more incremental proposals we talked about during this year’s #redislondon dev day.

Redis Change Proposal: Configuration Improvements

Thu, 22 Oct 2015 14:30:00 +1200

Redis already has one of the most extensive set of configuration options available to any data store. But we can do better. I proposed these changes at the Redis Developer Day 2015 in London this week but this is the greater detail version.

Recovering A Sentinel Configuration

Sat, 23 May 2015 11:00:00 +1200

Sentinel configuration and configuration management systems don’t play well together, and neither do package management systems and the config file. As a result it is possible to have your sentinel configuration file wiped clean under a running sentinel. Here are some ways you might be able to recover your running configuration.

Sentinel Tool: Eventilator

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 16:00:00 +1200

A little-known ability of Redis’ Sentinel mode is event based “script” execution. When so configured, Redis can call an external executable file on certain events, passing the event information on to the command. This is useful for monitoring as well as reconfiguration events. Eventilator is a small utility I’ve written to make this process easier.

Sentinel Tool: Pod Connector

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 19:00:00 +1200

Sometimes you need or want to connect to a Sentinel managed Redis master but would rather not manually pull the connection information from the config or API, then run redis-cli with the current information. Now you can do it easily.

A Primer on Codis

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 08:00:00 +1200

In the first of this mini-series on Clustering Redis I mentioned Codis as one of the projects doing this for you. In this installment I’m going into more detail on Codis. The authors of the project have made some interesting choices, and these choices make Codis different with different requirements and implications than some of the others.

A Primer on Clusterizing Redis

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:00:00 +1200

Yesterday Salvatore released the long-awaited native Redis Cluster solution as part of Redis 3.0. It takes one specific approach to building a cluster that has operational implications - clients need to know which Redis master node to talk to. The server will redirect, and can be asked directly, when the client submits a command and the client will then need to ensure it connects to the appropriate master. Essentially it is like client-side hashing where the server tells you the results.

The Wheel is Turning

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 19:00:00 +1200

Like most industries computer programming has cycles. One of these cycles is how we write or compile programs. We fundamentally have two methods: static vs. dynamic. Neither is perfect. Because each has benefits and drawbacks the wheel is slowly turning between which is perceived as “better” or is more common. There are changes afoot right now which to me signal the wheel is turning away from the current preference and moving toward static.

More Thoughts on Redis Performance

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +1200

In the previous installment I discussed topics and approaches to preventing your Redis instance from becoming slow.

Now it is time to go into ways of measuring it.

Book Review: Applied Redis Design Patterns

Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:00:00 +1200

Right from the beginning I’ll tell you I received an electronic copy of the book in order to do the review. Rest assured the only consideration that buys is me doing the review. I am not affiliated with this book in any way and receive no additional consideration relating to it.

Redis Configuration Synchronizing

Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:00:00 +1200

Running a Master/Slave replication with Redis is common, but has a few things you might not think of from a configuration management standpoint. One of these is synchronization of live configuration changes from master to slave. This article addresses the gap and how to close it.

Thoughts on Redis Performance

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:00:00 +1200

As I am afforded the privilege of speaking with many people and companies using Redis in a variety of use cases from simple caching to multi-terabyte sized setups the one topic I am asked to address more than any other is performance. Redis is different in how you approach performance. In many, if not most, database servers you try to improve performance. With Redis the goal is to not slow it down. This is a very different approach and requires a different mindset to take advantage of it.

Better Websites Through Deconstruction

Sat, 30 Nov 2013 12:12:00 +1200

Look around the web for how to make your website better and you will find no end of articles, many contradictory. Look more specifically to Wordpress and things don’t change much. What does change is the strategies - mostly around caching and getting around terrible plug-ins and themes which seem to avoid performance mindful markup layout like a plague to be fled from in terror.

What you don’t see is a challenge to the fundamental way WP, and to a similar extent most publishing platforms, handles the basic web page. But what if we threw away the modern web page concept? Are there benefits to be had? Is there a way of making web pages which conserves bandwidth, CPU cycles, DB queries, and latency? I think so. And the answer may be a bit surprising.

Is Innovation in 'Cloud' Stagnating?

Sun, 08 Sep 2013 21:05:00 +1200

For a while now the buzz is about being cloud. Whether it is apps in the cloud, services in the cloud, or being a cloud provider you can’t seem to escape this buzzword lately. But given the recent releases and direction the “major players” are talking about, I have to wonder if we are entering a stagnation period. Or perhaps, to borrow a phrase from economics, perhaps stagflation.

Redis Zen

Wed, 29 May 2013 10:00:00 +1200

Working with Redis can be done with the usual mindset, but approaching it from a different mindset can reap significant rewards.

Wordpress Responsiveness, Part 3

Mon, 27 May 2013 10:00:00 +1200

In Wordpress Responsiveness Part 2 I wrote about WP Supercache (WPSC) and how to tune it to your site. In this part I’ll talk about a separate plugin which works well with WPSC, CDN Sync Tool, and how it can improve your TTFB and load times dramatically.

WordPress Responsiveness, Part 2

Sun, 26 May 2013 09:15:00 +1200

In Wordpress Responsiveness Part 1 I introduced you to the basic concepts behind one aspect of your website’s performance: how fast it responds. In part two I will go into more details of using WP Super Cache to improve your site’s speed and responsiveness.

Wordpress Responsiveness, Part 1

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:14:00 +1200

How Fast Does Your Site Load?

It is a question that matters to your readers, to Google (and other search engines), and thus should matter to you. This is likely obvious to you. What you may not realize is there are a few fundamental types of site/page speed and how you handle each of them matters. In this article I’ll walk you through some of those details.

TTFB, Word Press, and Premature Optimization

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:30:00 +1200

Of late I’ve seen a lot of talk about “Time To First Byte” (TTFB). In a nutshell, TTFB is supposed to represent the time it takes for a web server to send the first byte of data to the client - usually a web browser. There are a variety of viewpoints regarding its usefulness.

Some thoughts on CFO's Cloud Questions Article

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:16:00 +1200

Yesterday I ran across this article at CFO.com. As someone who started in this industry nearly two decades ago and planted firmly in the cloud, I’ve a few observations and admonitions.

CloudFront Log Importer Now on GitHub

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:50:00 +1200

CloudFront Log Importer is a set of python scripts that upon proper configuration will retrieve your CloudFront access logs, order them, and store them locally. It also improves upon the formatting of the file by adjusting some fields and making it a tab delineated file. It is designed to run via cron and can be found at the cflogimporter repo.

QShowpost: Now On GitHub

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 04:46:00 +1200

QShowpost is a command line utility for examining the queue levels of a Postfix server. How many messages are delayed? How many are in the Hold Queue? QShowpost will give you those answers.