9 min read
Bending QR to the will of λ
We needed a short-link site for ourselves. Being us, we didn't sign up for one: we built it, at l12.gr. And because a short link wants a QR code, and a QR code wants our logo, we went the ex
Blog
Notes from the work.
Occasional posts about how this is actually done, and the odd piece of news from us. No industry news, nothing written to rank for a search term.
Tag: Practice
Back to everything2 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.
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
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.
2 min read
Most email problems are DNS problems
When mail stops arriving, the mail server is rarely the thing that broke. Three records decide whether you are believed.
2 min read
What "managed" should actually mean
The word describes everything from a fully operated system to a provider who installed the operating system once and will answer an email if it catches fire.
2 min read
The cheapest server is rarely the cheapest server
A server advertised at €8 a month costs €8 a month. That is not the same as what running your system on it costs.
2 min read
Why boring technology is often the right technology
New technology is fun. Production systems are not supposed to be fun. What a mature technology has accumulated does not show up in a feature comparison.
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.