THE JOURNAL
Notes on building, shipping & securing the web.
FEATURED · AI
How we shipped a support agent that resolves 62% of tickets
The architecture, evals and guardrails behind a production AI agent — and the three mistakes we made first.
Daniel Reyes
Sep 18, 2026 · 5 min read
DevOps · 5 min
CDN caching rules for dynamic sites that still feel instant
Logged-in users, carts and personalization make caching feel impossible. How we design CDN rules that cache most traffic without serving anyone the wrong page.
Ravi Iyer · Jul 21, 2026
DevOps · 5 min
Moving a busy site to new servers: a DNS cutover checklist
Server migrations fail in the last hour, at the DNS switch. The preparation, sync strategy and cutover sequence we use to move busy sites without lost orders.
Leo Tanaka · May 14, 2026
DevOps · 5 min
When Kubernetes is too much: simpler ways to run containers
Kubernetes solves real problems, but not every team has them. How we decide between a managed container platform, a few VMs and a full cluster.
Leo Tanaka · Mar 17, 2026
DevOps · 5 min
SLO-based alerting that does not burn out a small on-call team
Paging on every CPU spike wears people down and hides real incidents. How we define service level objectives and alert only when users are actually affected.
Leo Tanaka · Jan 15, 2026
DevOps · 5 min
Backups you have actually restored: running a quarterly drill
A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a plan. The quarterly drill we run for clients, what it measures, and what it usually uncovers.
Leo Tanaka · Nov 13, 2025
DevOps · 5 min
Terraform state layout and guardrails for small teams
One giant state file works until it does not. How we split Terraform state, protect it, and review changes so a three-person team can manage infrastructure safely.
Leo Tanaka · Sep 15, 2025
DevOps · 5 min
Staging environments that actually match production
A staging site that differs from production in a dozen small ways will pass every test and still let bugs through. How we close the gaps that matter.
Leo Tanaka · Jul 16, 2025
DevOps · 5 min
Cutting a cloud bill by a third without re-architecting
Most cloud waste sits in idle capacity, forgotten storage and on-demand pricing. A step-by-step review that trims spend without touching the application.
Leo Tanaka · May 14, 2025
One email a month. Only the good stuff.
Field notes from real client projects. No spam.