2 min read
Why we ask where your data lives
It sounds like a simple question. The answer usually involves a database, object storage, backups, logs, notifications and a search index.
Blog
Notes from the work.
Occasional posts about how this is actually done. No announcements, no industry news, nothing written to rank for a search term.
Everything we have written
2 min read
The cloud is somebody else’s computer — and that is sometimes exactly what you want
Technically true and practically incomplete. The useful part is precisely that somebody else owns a great deal of difficult infrastructure.
4 min read
Why we run the machines ourselves
Reselling someone else’s capacity is cheaper to start and worse to answer questions about. Here is what running the machines ourselves actually changes.
2 min read
What happens to your software when we disappear?
An uncomfortable question to ask a supplier, and a very good one. Designing for departure makes the relationship better while it lasts.
2 min read
When should you rewrite old software?
Age is not a defect. A rewrite becomes interesting when the existing system prevents necessary change, which is a different test entirely.
3 min read image
Drupal or Laravel
We build in both, so we have no incentive to sell you the wrong one. The choice is usually decided by a single question.
2 min read
What actually happens when a server dies?
Good infrastructure is not designed to stop servers failing. It is designed around what happens next.
2 min read
Why your production server should not be interesting
A clever shell script only one person understands is a liability with good intentions. Production should be predictable, replaceable and mostly forgettable.
3 min read
A backup you have never restored is not a backup
Every system we have been asked to rescue had backups. The interesting question is never whether they run.
2 min read
Who owns the problem when the application is slow?
The developer says the server is slow. The hosting provider says the server is fine. Everyone has supplied an answer and nobody has solved anything.
Tell us what you are trying to run.
Describe the workload or the system you have in mind and we will tell you what it needs, what it costs, and whether we are the right people for it.