29 Top articles on Cloud 66 blog in 2017

This article includes a collection of the most popular posts published on the Cloud 66 blog in 2017.

The articles have been organized into 5 categories based on technology interest: Containers, Rails, Node, Full Stack and Case Studies. As a bonus, we've added all-time favorite posts that are still relevant and are attracting readers.

Best Articles by Category

#1 Containers

In 2017 there was a lot of happening in the containers and microservices space. And without a doubt, Kubernetes took the lead in orchestration, backed by 15 years of experience at Google, and a thriving CNCF community. We relaunched our stack on Kubernetes in June, and since then, these are the articles that received the highest number of views:

• How to be a cloud agnostic Kubernaut and go wild with Kubernetes
  This article is a great introductory resource for a single developer or startup. It shows how you can use Kubernetes to thrive and how it can fit into your existing DevOps process.

• Kubernetes: (Graceful) Sidekiq Worker Lifecycle
  A step-by-step guide on performing a graceful shutdown of Sidekiq workers via the Kubernetes pod shutdown lifecycle. Based on Cloud 66 Container Stack v2 (Skycap + Maestro).

• Kubernetes in Space: how to deploy cloud-agnostic object storage with Cloud 66 and Minio
  This handy guide explains how to run your cloud object storage on any server with Minio and Cloud 66 backed by Kubernetes.

• Cloud-native transformation: containers in the enterprise
  This article includes a white paper—'Continuous Delivery Pipelines for Container-Based Applications'—which explains in detail the challenges of microservices for traditional pipelines, as well as providing insights into building and managing a pipeline, security and compliance, and maintaining the delicate balance between Devs and Ops.

• 8 Components You Need to Run Containers in Production
  This blog post, just published last week, is our opinionated review of the container industry based on our own experience of deploying containers in production. Learn more about how to build the best container infrastructure (includes a solutions assessment).

Popular blog posts with the use cases of deploying containers with Cloud 66 in combination with other technologies in production:

• Containerize & deploy Elixir and Phoenix apps in production
  A quick guide to creating a Phoenix app, that was developed locally using Docker and Docker Compose, that can be deployed to any cloud provider using Cloud 66.

• Deploying your Laravel/PHP applications in production using Docker
  This blog post is about how to deploy your Laravel, or any other PHP application, in production using Docker and Cloud 66.

#2 Rails

Rails is a mature framework with a strong community around it. For the past 4 years, we have been making it easier for our fellow developers to deploy Rails applications to their own servers. These were the most popular Rails articles in 2017:

• Ruby Mutex Mayhem-Part I
  This blog post explains how to use Ruby Mutex and synchronize it on many servers. Dip into Ruby Mutex Mayhem and learn from some example code.

• Rails Threading Gains-Part 2
  This blog post is looking at an enhancement to a multithreading solution in Ruby to provide the use of a ThreadPool and concurrency limiting.

• Adding SSO to your Rails application with SAML
  This article can give you the basics of adding SAML to your Rails app. From there you can enforce 2FA or other VPN-, IP-, group- or organization-based restrictions on your app’s users directly from your ID Provider’s side.

• Easy scalable Ruby on Rails deployments using Vultr, Scaleway, Gridscale, Exoscale and many others using Cloud 66
  A guide how to deploy your Ruby on Rails application to Vultr, Scaleway, Gridscale, Exoscale and many others using Cloud 66 and the registered server feature.

#3 Node

Node is a lightweight and dynamic language ideal for real-time applications like chat or games. It also works very well together with a microservices architecture. These were the most popular Node articles in 2017:

• Build, deploy and manage a Facebook chatbot using Node.js
  This article includes a step-by-step guide to designing, building, deploying and managing a Facebook chatbot written in Node.js and deployed using Cloud 66.

• Having fun with machine learning, Node and Cloud 66
  This blog is a primer into the exciting world of machine learning and comes with a working demo written in Node.

• Kubernetes: Orchestrate your Node.js (micro)services
  Read how Kubernetes can help to scale your Node.js application and start breaking down the monolith into microservices.

#4 Full Stack

In this category, you will find a mixture of articles, starting from tips on UI, nginx, lua and more.

• position: sticky problem
  This article describes a few gotchas you might encounter if you're trying to integrate sticky positioning into an existing layout (following the release of Chrome 56 position:sticky).

• box-shadow transition performance
  Learn a handy trick—how to add a CSS transition to animate the box-shadow of an element.

• Bash Bonanza: Quoting and Escaping
  This article is the first in a five-part sequence. It provides you with tips and tricks on bash that will help you improve your workflow.

• Supercharging NGINX with LUA
  This is part three of a three-part sequence on lua. It demonstrates how to use Lua to effectively extend your NGINX capabilities.

• Keep an eye on your servers
  There are thousands of monitoring systems. This blog post showcases how to build / DIY Zabbix with Docker containers. Part 1 includes a Zabbix installation.

#5 Case Studies

This is a short overview of the companies that are using Cloud 66 in their infrastructure. Learn more about different use cases:

• Sembly transformed the way of presenter-audience communication EdTech set up with Cloud 66
  Sembly shared with us how they use Node, Rails, Cloud 66 and DigitalOcean in the EdTech industry.

• TextMaster - European leader in online translation powered by Cloud 66
  Learn how this SaaS translation services company uses Docker with Cloud 66 on AWS and Microsoft Azure.

• Checkend Builds Ecommerce Apps For Shopify
  Find out more about the Checkend infrastructure set up, including the use of Docker and Rails deployments with Cloud 66 on Linode VPS and bare metal servers.

• KAPA brings sports clubs to life. Tech stack set-up with Cloud 66
  Check out KAPA's multi-cloud vendor setup with containers, security, managed backups and other tools available at Cloud 66.

All-time favorites

• 9 Critical Decisions for Running Docker in Production
• Getting the Most out of your Database with Ruby on Rails
• How to Get Code into a Docker Container
• Using SSH Private keys securely in Docker build
• Pulling Git into a Docker image without leaving SSH keys behind
• 7 obstacles to overcome when deploying Ruby-on-Rails to production

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