As one of the most widely used scripting languages for web development, PHP is known for its flexibility and ease of use. However, with complex applications and increasing traffic, PHP performance can sometimes take a hit. Monitoring PHP performance and diagnosing bottlenecks is essential to ensure that your web applications are running smoothly and efficiently. In […]
Free vs. Available Memory in Linux
At times, we will need to know precisely how our Linux systems use memory. This article will examine how to use the free command-line utility to view memory usage on a Linux system. In doing so, we will clearly define the difference between free vs. available memory on Linux systems. Free vs. Available memory explained […]
Observability: 15 Industry-Leading Companies Discuss its Evolution
In this article, you’ll find recent commentary from executives and decision-makers of industry-leading observability providers on two key questions regarding the evolution of observability. Published: May 17th, 2021 | Updated: Aug 1st, 2024. The observability cloud continues to expand and evolve rapidly. Over the past year, millions of workers left their offices to work from […]
Attain Peak Redis Server Performance with Proactive Monitoring
Remote Dictionary Server (Redis) is an open-source NoSQL database that comprises of a fast, in-memory data structure to store data in key-value pairs. It serves as a fast and highly efficient data store that is utilized for its database, caching, message broker, real-time analytics, and data storage capabilities. In this article, you will learn the […]
PHP Performance: Additional CPU cores vs Faster CPU cores
Some time ago, I received an email from a client experiencing slow performance issues with a LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP web server). During a full audit, I found that the server’s load average was pretty low (see below screenshot). However, the website was indeed very slow. There were some misconfigurations, but one of […]
PHP 8: After 4 years, only 30% of PHP websites use it. But why?
Two years ago, one of our online community members discussed some of the reasons behind the slow adoption of PHP 8. One member stated that it’s due to PHP compatibility issues across new releases. In contrast, another put it down to the fact that important software/frameworks did not support PHP 8 until recently. I think […]
Strip Down Apache to Improve Performance & Memory Efficiency
Can you believe that it’s been more than a decade since the release of Apache 2.4?! If you haven’t replaced Apache with Nginx, then here’s a quick guide for boosting Apache’s performance using a method that’s often overlooked. Now, before we get into that, please note that I’m not claiming that Apache is faster than […]
5 database metrics every DBA should monitor for peak performance
Database monitoring is indispensable for maintaining the health, performance, and reliability of your database system. It provides administrators and IT teams with real-time insights into the system’s operations, enabling them to proactively identify and address potential issues before they need to be escalated. You can confirm your database operates efficiently and delivers optimal performance by […]
The Two Generals Problem
Alice and Bob Imagine there’s a city in a valley. On either side of the valley, there’s an army commanded by a general. On the left hill stands General Alice and her army. On the right hill, General Bob and his army. Alice and Bob want to capture the city, but neither side has an […]
Improving OpenVPN performance and throughput
OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, IKEv2, PPTP, or others. If you had the luxury of choosing, which VPN protocols would you use? Therein lies my problem. In my current use case, I must find a way to improve OpenVPN performance and throughput. You may have been following my Linux home lab build. One of the most […]