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I don't maintain my homelab, it maintains itself
6 days ago
- The author has automated their homelab to require minimal maintenance, achieving a self-maintaining setup.
- Infrastructure includes a single server and UniFi networking gear, both designed to update and run without manual intervention.
- Software maintenance is handled through a weekly Docker update cron job and automated backups, reducing hands-on time to about 15 minutes per month.
- This setup provides resilience, allowing the homelab to operate for extended periods without intervention, balancing privacy, security, and convenience.
Transparent Compression with Folder Actions in macOS
4 days ago
- AFSCT is a transparent file system compression built into macOS that compresses files on disk while keeping them accessible normally.
- Use applesauce (a modern Rust tool) for faster, parallel compression with safe atomic writes instead of the older afsctool.
- Set up a Folder Action with Automator to automatically compress files when they are added to a specific folder.
- Folder Actions only trigger on top-level file additions or removals, not on changes to existing files or subfolders.
- By default, applesauce uses LZFSE, but you can choose LZVN for faster decompression or ZLIB for better compression ratios.
- Compression savings are visible in Finder's Get Info, with the size in brackets showing the reduced disk usage.
- Manage Folder Actions setup via the Folder Actions Setup dialog to enable or attach actions to multiple folders.
Designing DB partitions you don't have to babysit
4 days ago
- PostgreSQL and MySQL require partition keys to be included in primary keys, leading to potential issues with uniqueness and query performance.
- Partition pruning, a key optimization, fails if the WHERE clause doesn't include the partition key, causing slow queries.
- Static partition boundaries can become imbalanced over time, creating operational overhead for manual rebalancing.
- Partitioning by the primary key (e.g., BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT) ensures automatic pruning without code changes.
- Automated services can manage partitions by watching growth, splitting catch-all partitions, and handling retention, reducing manual work.
- Time-aligned boundaries can be derived from date columns without including them in the partition key, avoiding query leakage.
- Tools like pg_partman and TimescaleDB automate time-based partitioning but may leak keys into queries; a DIY service offers flexibility.
- Hash and list partitioning require monitoring for skew or promoting values from catch-all partitions, with automation focused on detection rather than splitting.
- Choosing a partition key that is already in all critical queries (like the primary key) prevents abstraction leaks and maintains performance.
Rare things become common at scale (2014)
a day ago
- Rare events become common at scale due to the sheer number of servers, leading to daily incidents like fatal server errors.
- Scale amplifies customer impact, causing issues like bad first impressions for new customers and increased support workload.
- Automation is crucial but insufficient; human elements like customer support and problem-solving remain essential for handling rare events.
- Growth projections often underestimate the need for hiring in areas like security, automation, and specialized roles to manage scale challenges.

Hasty Briefsbeta

#automation

I don't maintain my homelab, it maintains itself

Transparent Compression with Folder Actions in macOS

Designing DB partitions you don't have to babysit

Rare things become common at scale (2014)