Bit by Bit

Bit by Bit focuses on cloud observability, covering tools, technologies, and practices for monitoring cloud operations. It explores OpenTelemetry, software development innovations with GPT, cost optimization strategies, real-time monitoring, and the balance between security and simplicity in cloud services. It also touches upon leveraging technology for personal and professional growth.

Cloud Observability Software Development Cost Optimization Real-Time Monitoring Security in Cloud Services Professional Growth Cloud Computing Programming Practices

The hottest Substack posts of Bit by Bit

And their main takeaways

A Deep Dive into Observability Pricing

6 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Pricing Models
  1. Observability pricing involves complex models like volume-based and resource-based pricing.
  2. Volume-based pricing can vary based on ingest, storage, and query stages, creating different cost points.
  3. Understanding price modifiers, annual plans, retention, and value-add options can impact overall observability costs.

OpenTelemetry in 2023

21 implied HN points • 28 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Observability Protocol
  1. OpenTelemetry (OTEL) has evolved to cover all of observability, providing a stable standard and SDKs for metrics, logs, and traces.
  2. OTEL is now the second most active project in the CNCF, showing widespread adoption among observability providers.
  3. Key sub-projects of OTEL include specifications, implementations, the OpenTelemetry Protocol, the OpenTelemetry Collector, and the Open Agent Management Protocol.

The Architecture of Modern Observability Platforms

11 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Observability Architecture Platforms Data Storage
  1. Observability platforms help organizations understand the health of their applications using metrics, logs, and traces.
  2. Modern observability platforms tackle the challenge of handling large volumes of data and offer different types of architectures.
  3. Unifying the storage, ingestion, and querying layers can significantly scale and reduce costs in observability platforms.

First Mile Observability and the Rise of Observability Pipelines

8 implied HN points • 14 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Observability Data Collection Open Source
  1. Observability extends beyond just backend systems to include the 'first mile' of data collection and processing.
  2. First-mile observability involves components like receivers, processors, and exporters to create observability pipelines.
  3. Various open-source and commercial solutions exist for implementing first-mile observability pipelines, with options like Vector, Fluent Bit, OTEL Collector, Cribl, Calyptia, Datadog, and Mezmo.
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How Real-Time is Amazon Cloudwatch Logs Live Tail?

3 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Cloud Computing AWS Logging Websockets
  1. Amazon CloudWatch Logs Live Tail helps developers follow cloudwatch logs in real-time with features like dynamic filters and highlights.
  2. Live Tail can stream logs in around 2 seconds from when they are ingested in CloudWatch, while using CLI can vary between 2 to 9 seconds.
  3. Live Tail's pricing model is per-second and includes a free tier of 1,800 minutes per month, making it a useful addition to AWS console tool set for real-time log monitoring.

The S3 Balancing Act: Security vs Simplicity

3 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Cloud Computing Security Infrastructure as Code Developer Experience AWS
  1. AWS made changes to S3 default settings for improved security by blocking public access and custom ACL rules for new buckets.
  2. While enhancing security, the process of creating public buckets has become more complex and requires explicit steps to disable block policies.
  3. The complexities of managing storage like S3 in the cloud call for solutions that balance simplicity, security, and extensibility.

Letter to a Burned Out Founder

3 HN points • 23 Apr 23
💼 Business Startups Mental models
  1. Burnout can slowly build up and affect your joy, will, and ability to work.
  2. Startups often face burnout in the early stages before and after achieving product-market fit.
  3. Consider the mental models of 'looking for gold' and playing an 'infinite game' to prevent burnout and make strategic decisions.

My Other Computer is Amazon EC2

2 HN points • 18 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Cloud Computing AWS Infrastructure as Code DevOps
  1. Transitioning to running your dev environment on the cloud, like Amazon EC2, can offer more versatility and improved performance.
  2. Key components of setting up a development environment on Amazon EC2 include VPC, Autoscaling Group, and EC2 Instance with specific configurations.
  3. Optimizations like adding tailscale, hibernating instances, using vscode for connection, and utilizing reserved instances can further enhance the cloud-based development setup.

Coming soon

1 implied HN point • 20 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Website
  1. The website bit.kevinslin.com is coming soon.
  2. Kevin Lin is sharing updates through his Substack profile.
  3. There is an option to subscribe for more updates about Bit by Bit.