Original, source-backed articles about running small systems, static sites, HTTP, DNS, TLS, and operations.
Posts are original articles written for this site. Each one is script-free, source-backed, and tied to the same operational reality the rest of the site records: how a small, static, publicly served system is built, secured, and kept honest.
Docker healthchecks report a state; recovery needs a consumer
A Docker HEALTHCHECK runs a configured command inside a container and records the result as health state. It adds an observation beyond whether the main process is running. The meaning of that observation depends on what the command tests: a process check, an HTTP response, or an application-specific readiness condition. Docker does not infer a universal readiness contract from the presence of the instruction.
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A 404 page answers honestly
A 404 response has two audiences. Software needs an accurate status; a person needs a useful next step. A beautifully designed error page cannot compensate for a false 200, and a correct status does not excuse an inaccessible page. Keep both parts of the response truthful without turning a missing address into a business outage.
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ConfigMap files and environment have different lifetimes
Changing a ConfigMap updates an API object. Whether a running application changes behavior depends on how Kubernetes delivers the value and how the application reads it. Environment injection, normal volume projection, a subPath mount, and an already-open file are different paths with different lifetimes. Diagnose the consumer that actually matters rather than treating all configuration delivery as one mechanism.
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Sitemaps guide crawler discovery
A sitemap gives a crawler an explicit list of URLs to consider. It is useful when new or deeply linked documents are difficult to discover through ordinary navigation. The list does not bypass authentication, grant crawl permission, guarantee indexing, or promise a revisit date. Treat it as a published inventory of intended public documents, and keep that inventory aligned with the site’s canonical URLs and actual release state.
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Redis TTL lets every key carry its own clock
Redis expiration answers when a key should stop being available, not how much memory the server may consume. A deadline belongs to the key, and later commands can preserve, replace, or remove it. Reliable TTL use therefore requires testing update paths as well as the initial insertion. A successful write alone says nothing about the deadline remaining afterward.
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TLS handshakes add latency you can shrink
HTTPS latency combines several stages, and a warm request may avoid some without making cryptography faster. DNS, connection acquisition, TCP setup, TLS authentication, server work, and response transfer have different clocks. First determine which stages actually ran. Request duration alone cannot distinguish an existing connection from a new connection that resumed a TLS session.
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Canonical URLs name a preferred representation
Several URLs can deliver the same document: a tracking parameter, alternate host, or trailing-slash variant may leave the meaningful content unchanged. A canonical link identifies the preferred representation among suitable duplicates. It helps consumers interpret that relationship, but it does not redirect an HTTP request or force a search engine to select the declared URL. The declaration is useful only when its target and surrounding signals describe the actual content relationship.
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Point-in-time recovery starts with a valid physical base backup and replays the WAL required to reach a chosen recovery target. The target must fall within the recoverable history of that backup and its available timelines. Archiving does not create the ability to recover to arbitrary earlier dates, nor does it repair a gap between the backup and the desired endpoint.
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