Challenges with Traditional SCA Tools
Application security testing tools are designed to ensure that applications are put through rigorous security assessments to identify security flaws within the application and its code. Even though applications are tested thoroughly (in static and dynamic ways), attackers always seem to find new ways of compromising them. Some of these sophisticated attacks target the vulnerabilities […]
Helios Joins the AWS Marketplace!
We are thrilled to announce that Helios, the applied observability platform for developers, is now available on the AWS Marketplace! This marks a significant milestone in providing visibility and runtime insights for easy troubleshooting and reduced MTTR. This further cements our commitment to providing top-tier services to our customers and to AWS users. By bringing […]
Scaling microservices: Challenges, best practices and tools
Scaling the deployment, in order to meet demand or extend capabilities, is a known challenge in many fields, but it’s particularly pertinent when scaling microservices. This article looks at the challenges of scaling microservices and examines best practices to overcome them while maintaining app quality, dev efficiency, and a good developer experience. What is microservices […]
What is Observability?
What is Observability? Observability is the ability to gain insights into the internal state of a system by examining its external outputs. It involves collecting and analyzing telemetry data, such as logs, metrics, and distributed traces from various sources to understand how a system behaves, and performs, enabling effective monitoring, debugging, and understanding of system […]
What are Microservices?
Microservices have redefined how developers design, build and deploy mission-critical production software. Therefore, it’s essential to understand what microservices are, what they mean for developers, and the benefits and challenges it creates for software teams. What are Microservices? Microservices are a software architecture pattern that structures an application as a collection of small, independent, and […]
What is eBPF?
What is eBPF? eBPF, or Extended Berkeley Packet Filter, is a kernel technology available since Linux 4.4. It lets developers run programs without adding additional modules or modifying the kernel source code. Think of it as a lightweight, sandboxed virtual machine (VM) within the Linux kernel that lets you run Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) bytecode […]
What is a Distributed Application?
A distributed application is a group of independent computers (nodes) that run on different servers and work together as a cohesive unit to perform large computational tasks to deliver seamless user experiences. You might have already built distributed applications without knowing it. For example, consider the architecture diagram depicted below. Figure: A typical distributed application […]
What is OpenTelemetry (OTel)?
Introduction to OpenTelemetry (OTel) OpenTelemetry is an open-source observability framework designed to collect, instrument, and export telemetry data from software applications, systems, and infrastructure. OpenCensus and OpenTracing OpenTelemetry builds upon the success of two previous observability projects, OpenCensus and OpenTracing, and combines them into a unified, standardized solution. This merger provides comprehensive support for both metrics and traces. Vendor-Agnostic […]
What is Distributed Tracing?
What is Distributed Tracing? Distributed tracing is a method of monitoring request paths across distributed environments using unique identifiers. It tracks interactions with microservices, containers, and infrastructure, offering valuable performance insights. It allows developers to identify performance bottlenecks, troubleshoot issues, and optimize the system. In a distributed system, a single request often triggers a chain […]
What is a Span?
What is a span? At its core, a span represents the lifecycle of a single operation within a system. It serves as a vital building block, offering valuable context and insights into the behavior of applications. 1. What is the role of spans in observability? Spans let developers track the flow of requests across complex […]
