How do distributed databases handle secondary indexes? A survey
Learn how different distributed databases handle secondary indexes, and the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.
DeBrie Advisory Blog
DeBrie Advisory Blog
Latest posts
How you should think about DynamoDB costs
DynamoDB's costs are predictable and legible. You should use this to your advantage when designing your data model.
Event-Driven Architectures vs. Event-Based Compute in Serverless Applications
The terms 'event-driven' and 'event-based' get used a lot with serverless architectures. See what they are, how they differ, and what it means for your application.
Why I (Still) Like the Serverless Framework over the CDK
The Serverless Framework is the most popular tool for deploying serverless applications, but the AWS CDK has been building momentum. In this post, see why I prefer the Serverless Framework over the CDK for serverless applications.
Key Takeaways from the DynamoDB Paper
This post reviews the key takeaways from the DynamoDB Paper, an excellent 2022 paper that details learnings from running and improving DynamoDB.
Understanding Eventual Consistency in DynamoDB
DynamoDB is an eventually consistent database. There's a lot of fear around that. In this post, we'll discuss how to think about eventual consistency in DynamoDB as well as strategies to work around it.
CAP or no CAP? Understanding when the CAP theorem applies and what it means.
If you're confused by the CAP theorem, you're not alone. In this post, we walk through some scenarios to see when CAP applies and how to use CAP to consider overall system availability.
Inconsistent thoughts on database consistency
In this post, understand the different concepts of consistency as applied to distributed databases, as well as some issues with the conversation of consistency.
GraphQL, DynamoDB, and Single-table Design
In using DynamoDB with GraphQL, should you use one table or multiple tables? Get the factors to consider to make the right decision.
Everything you need to know about DynamoDB Partitions
Understanding DynamoDB partitions will make you a better user of DynamoDB. In this post, you'll learn how DynamoDB partitions work and how they should affect your data modeling.
The Three DynamoDB Limits You Need to Know
Learn about the three most important limits in DynamoDB and how they should affect your data modeling.
The Missing Guide to AWS API Gateway Access Logs
Learn the what, why, and how of API Gateway access logs.
Understanding DynamoDB Condition Expressions
DynamoDB Condition Expressions are useful but often misunderstood. See how to use them properly in this post.
How to model one-to-many relationships in DynamoDB
In this post, see strategies and examples for modeling one-to-many relationships in Amazon DynamoDB.
DynamoDB Transactions Performance Testing
DynamoDB has added support for transactions. In this post, see the performance impacts of using transactions in your applications.
DynamoDB Transactions: Use Cases and Examples
DynamoDB Transactions are powerful ways to operate on multiple items in a single request. In this post, see some examples of how and when to use DynamoDB Transactions.
The What, Why, and When of Single-Table Design with DynamoDB
AWS recommends using just a single DynamoDB table for your entire application. In this post, learn why you would do that and the few times you shouldn't.
Building a developer community
In this post, learn which strategies work and which ones don't when you're building a developer community without a lot of resources.
Three ways to use AWS services from a Lambda in a VPC
By default, Lambda functions in a VPC cannot access the public internet. In this post, learn three ways to use AWS services from Lambda functions in a VPC.
When to use (and when not to use) DynamoDB Filter Expressions
DynamoDB Filter Expressions don't work like you think they do. In this post, learn how Filter Expressions work and when you should use them. You will also learn the right way to filter your data in DynamoDB.
SQL, NoSQL, and Scale: How DynamoDB scales where relational databases don't
Understand when and why relational databases don't scale, and how DynamoDB is designed to avoid these limitations.
My DynamoDB Wish List
In this post, I talk about my #awswishlist for DynamoDB, including filtered DynamoDB streams and more Redis-like behavior.
A Guide to S3 Batch on AWS
This post contains an overview and tutorial of AWS S3 Batch Operations. S3 Batch let you run tasks against large numbers of existing objects in S3.
A Detailed Overview of AWS API Gateway
Look inside the black box of AWS API Gateway to understand authorization, method requests and responses, integration requests and responses, VTL templates, and more.
Using Custom Resources to Extend your CloudFormation
This CloudFormation custom resources tutorial walks you though when and why to use custom resources. Further, it includes two examples of writing and using custom resources.
How and Why to Use CloudFormation Macros
Macros are a powerful tool for making CloudFormation easier to work with. Learn what CloudFormation macros are, as well as why and how to use them.
Understanding CloudFormation Updates: Replacement, Resource Policies, and Stack Policies
In this post, we cover how CloudFormation handles updates to resources and how to prevent accidentally deleting critical infrastructure.
How to Migrate an existing DynamoDB Table to a Global Table
Take your serverless application global with DynamoDB Global Tables
Three Projects to Get You Started with Serverless in 2019
Serverless is one of the hottest programming trends in 2019. Check out three categories of projects to kick-start your journey with serverless.
AWS API Performance Comparison: Serverless vs. Containers vs. API Gateway integration
A performance comparison between three different methods of deploying an API on AWS
Connect AWS API Gateway directly to SNS using a service integration
With AWS API Gateway, you can skip the compute layer and connect API requests directly to other AWS services. Learn how to connect API Gateway requests to AWS SNS in this post.
The Complete Guide to Custom Authorizers with AWS Lambda and API Gateway
API Gateway custom authorizers are a great way to separate auth logic from business logic in serverless applications. Learn the ins and outs of how to use them here.
Get faster GitHub search with Livegrep
Learn how to run your own instance of Livegrep for blazing fast code search.
Why the PIE theorem is more relevant than the CAP theorem
When choosing a database, consistency vs. availability is overrated. Learn why the PIE theorem really helps you choose a database.
Faux-SQL or NoSQL? Examining four DynamoDB Patterns in Serverless Applications
DynamoDB is a popular choice for Serverless applications. In this post, I review the four modeling patterns I see with DynamoDB in serverless applications.
The Invisible Improvements of AWS
AWS consistently improves its services in unseen ways that greatly benefit its users. See what invisible improvements AWS made to Redshift, DynamoDB, Lambda, and S3 this year.