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CloudWatch is a suite of cloud-native visualization tools for Amazon Web Services (AWS) monitoring and logging. Accessing CloudWatch metrics removes the uncertainty that creeps in when your applications hosted on AWS stop working as they should. Engineers, database administrators, and other non-technical members can gain insights into the state of applications through user-friendly graphs and charts in CloudWatch. This allows quicker troubleshooting and resource allocation decisions for peak application performance. This post will guide you through the process of using CloudWatch metrics. Find out more from Taurai Mutimutema on Scalyr’s blog.

Kubernetes Logging: Tips to Avoid Memory and Resource Issues

After the introduction of Docker, the life of a developer became much easier. Kubernetes solved many problems and offloaded the task of setting up the necessary runtimes, libraries, and servers. Kubernetes even simplified complex deployments and made managing multiple containers for bigger applications within the reach of most developers. But using Kubernetes also introduces new types of issues that can be difficult to spot and troubleshoot. Memory and resource allocation issues are a good example. They can have a wide impact on application performance and be hard to identify and correct. Fortunately, some general tips can help you avoid some common issues with misconfigured resource allocation in Kubernetes. Learn more from Dawid Ziolkowski on Solarwinds’ blog

Local File Inclusions, Explained

When building a web application, developers must focus on both user functionality and user security. A single security issue can have a dramatic impact on the credibility of your organization and the security of your users. Server-side scripting languages, like PHP and JavaScript, use inclusions to open files. An “inclusion” refers to dynamically loading a file that your application needs. However, when not properly implemented and validated, file inclusions can be exploited by unscrupulous actors to open up other local files on your server. This article discusses the ins and outs of local file inclusions: how they work, what the impacts of local file inclusion vulnerabilities may be, and how to prevent them. Michiel Mulders can fill you in on Sqreen’s blog.

Scaled Agile Framework: Understand SAFe and Its 4 Core Values

If there’s one thing we can say about software development in the early 21st century, it’s that agile methodologies have taken the world by storm. Many organizations worldwide implemented agile, adopting one of its many flavors, such as scrum, XP, or lean software development. Many doesn’t mean all, though. Not all organizations were able to adopt agile, which is especially true for large organizations or enterprises. That’s why SAFe was created. The Scaled Agile Framework attempts to help large organizations successfully adopt agile methodologies and reap the benefits of doing so. In this post, you’ll learn more about this framework and understand how its four values can help steer your organization in the right direction. Find out more from Carlos Schults on Plutora’s blog. 

We also recently updated a post on error budgets. Do you know the biggest mistake some firms make? Focusing on extreme reliability. So, how about knowing how to recover from failure? We know that site reliability engineering (SRE) is all about balancing unavailability risks. Along with that, you need to keep efficiency and innovation as the goals. Not to mention, flawless user experience is the key here. Thus, there should be a clear metric to determine the unreliability of a service—meaning how much you can compromise reliability within one quarter. That’s where error budgets come in. Learn more on Scalyr’s blog.