When a system needs to change from one version to the next, this can be disruptive and risky. One approach to reducing this disruption and risk is a via a blue/green approach. Changing from one version to the next is also known as migration, upgrading or updating. I will describe the blue/green approach using three … Continue reading Reducing risk and disruption during migration using a blue/green approach
Category: Production
Good software and how to get it
A little while ago, I was asked “What makes software good?”, which was followed up by “How do you end up with good software?”. I thought that they were excellent questions, and I will give my answers below. I don't claim to have the answer, just an answer. I’ll try to limit esprit d’escalier / … Continue reading Good software and how to get it
Fault tolerance
Introduction I am slowly working my way through the 300+ back issues of the podcast Software Engineering Radio. I've got as far as a couple of excellent episodes on fault tolerance with Bob Hanmer. I recommend that you listen to them, even if (like me) you don't have to worry about this kind of thing … Continue reading Fault tolerance
Psychology, not technology, is the key to Google’s reliability
An excellent video by a Google Site Reliability Engineer, from Goto Conference 2017. What I liked in particular were three key points: Being honest that trying to have operations act as border guards, who attempt to vet code changes with an increasingly-long checklist before they go live, is a path to failure and frustration. Agreeing … Continue reading Psychology, not technology, is the key to Google’s reliability
A video with some practical security stuff
Another good Gotocon video, although the first few minutes are a bit bumpy until the speaker gets into the main part of the talk. The key points for me: Think about what security and risk mean for your system Add nasty strings from Fuzz DB to your existing tests Read OWASP Prepare for attacks and … Continue reading A video with some practical security stuff
Designing your system for when it fails (which it will)
A couple of excellent related videos from Goto Conference 2017. Some highlights are below. Metrics are better than nothing, but some context will make them much more useful. (My queue is filling up - is that because more things are arriving than I'd expect, or things are leaving more slowly?) Alerts and logs better than … Continue reading Designing your system for when it fails (which it will)
Getting your System into Production, and Keeping it There
An excellent video by Eoin Woods from Goto Conference 2015. The grown-up, how not to get called in the middle of the night, part to software. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgWVsTkYfUM
Random Tech Thoughts 