Category Archives: Architecture

Build A Moat

Posted on August 24, 2009 by M@

Your app is falling down because it’s been Slashdotted. Your database can’t handle the query surge. Your app is highly dynamic so tossing up a static front-page, using Akamai, etc. isn’t viable. How can you handle 30kviews/s? You have a … Continue reading →

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Beating CAPTCHA-Crackers

Posted on April 21, 2009 by M@

Everyone is in this arms-race. Those who make CAPTCHAs, and those who want to crack them. The solution for the former is simple: Animate them. I’m not talking about making a 6-frame looping GIF, whereby the cracker can steal a … Continue reading →

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EXT4, AKA "Watching M@ Wrestle His Demons"

Posted on March 10, 2008 by M@

As someone with a history in filesystems, I have kept abreast of the EXT4 developments, most recently, an interview with Eric Sandeen on the topic, from an RH/Fedora angle. EXT4 will have lots of features new to EXT3 (as well … Continue reading →

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Back to Billboarding

Posted on March 4, 2008 by M@

Billboarding used to be the way to share groups of read-heavy bit or small-byte data across numerous processes or systems. The concept was simple: Have a file with a bunch of zeros in it, and on occasion change one of … Continue reading →

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CopyFS is now even cooler

Posted on February 12, 2006 by M@

[UPDATE: There is a newer version of CopyFS available] Some backstory: I used to write a LOT of code in the C programming language. I used to be actively involved in numerous open-source programs that used C. Hell, I even … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Coding, Linuxy, Work | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments