keule

Usually, your monolith has these components: a web server (apache/nginx + php), a database, and other custom tooling.

> Where would someone start ?

I think a first step is to move the database to something managed, like AWS RDS or Azure Managed Databases. Herein lies the basis for scaling out your web tier later. And here you will find the most pain because there are likely: custom backup scripts, cron jobs, and other tools that access the DB in unforeseen ways.

If you get over that hump you have done your first big step towards a more robust model. Your DB will have automated backups, managed updates, rollover, read replicas etc. You may or may not see a performance increase, because you effectively split your workload across two machines.

_THEN_ you can front your web tier with a load balancer, i.e. you load balance to one machine. This gives you: better networking, custom error pages, support for sticky sessions (you likely need them later), and better/more monitoring.

From thereon you can start working on removing those custom scripts of the web tier machine and start splitting this into an _actual_ load-balanced infrastructure, going to two web-tier machines, where traffic is routed using sticky-sessions.

Depending on the application design you can start introducing containers.

Now, this approach will not give you a _cloud-native awesome microservice architecture_ with CI/CD and devops. But it will be enough to have higher availability and more robust handling of the (predictable) load in the near future. And on the way, you will remove bad patterns that eventually allow you to go to a better approach.

I would be interested in hearing if more people face this challenge. I don't know if guides exist around this on the webs.

https://github.com/brettwooldridge/HikariCP

Docker is a container, and I therefore apply the same set of standards that my linux distribution/kernel should fullfill.

I am starting to get sick of every argument that tries to defend these rediculous investment decisions these days. Currently everyone doing that is citing network effects, potential growth, the next big thing.. And for sure, if someone wants to invest his or her money, I will not judge that decision or the person itself.

But looking at the situation as a whole, so many decisions are made based on highly flawed expectations. A nice designed marketing page and multiple years without revenue? Here take some $m because <insert overestimation in here>.

Consider Airbnb.. I use it myself, but I am by no means locked in as a customer. Maybe it will crumble due to new/old regulation. Maybe too many weird people will start offering their spare-rooms, and it won't feel cool and hip anymore. Maybe hotel-chains react by offering better prices... There are so many maybes in that company alone.. simply believing in the network effect should not be the basis of a meaningful valuation.

I am highly sceptical about the current behavior of this part of the investment market. My concern lies not in the companies or the investors themself. They probably did hedge their risks. I just feel that the next bursting bubble will stretch far beyond the whatsapps and airbnbs out there.

Legislation in this case does not eliminate your freedom, but protects it, forcing companies to obey to privacy and data protection.

The only freedom that would be eliminated here is the freedom of a company to abuse data they do not own.

You send a letter to a friend with sensible information. The letter is transported by the post office from door to door. While in transit, the post office recognizes, from a 3rd party, that a letter exists, that contains sensible information about the post-office's business. Therefore the CEO of that company demands a internal investigation, which searches for a letter with the given senders/recipients address and then opens it.

IANAL, but at least where I come from, there exist laws that acknowledge the intimacy and privacy of these letters and would sentence this behavior.

So why on earth is everyone talking about policy, terms of service, the lack of alternatives a.s.o? Nobody sees the desperate need of legislation here?

I hope you know that the FED is not a independent institution, but owned by the banks themselves?