Author: spierzchala

In case some of you want to host a GrabPERF Measurement Agent, the current prerequisites are available here.
I hope to get some folks signing up for this during this round.

Think I make this up?

These are the servers that power GrabPERF and this blog.
Don’t worry. The UPS on the floor is dead.

The TypePad application is currently experiencing performance degradation.

You could say that.

CLICK IMAGE

UPDATE: Looks like TypePad has returned to something resembling normal. Slow, but normal.

CLICK IMAGE

UPDATE: Geek News Central commiserates with TypePad. [here]

Technorati: typepad, web performance, six apart
IceRocket: typepad, web performance, six apart

Ok, so I lied; sue me.
The main database is now running MySQL 5.0.15.
Please report any weirdness you see with any of my applications.

Ok Everyone, if you start seeing some odd behaviour from my sites (GrabPERF, Newest Industry, Pierzchala.com), it’s because I am doing some testing to see if the scripts, processes, and applications I have built on top of MySQL 4.1 can stand the upgrade.
I will not be upgrading the primary database system until all of this testing is complete.

Have I ever mentioned that when it rains, water comes into our basement?
Have I ever mentioned that said water flows less than an inch directly below the only place in the house my servers can go?
Ugh.

I have said it before, and I say it again: the performance profile of the CIA Web Site SUCKS.

How can you stand this if you are a major government agency? Guess no one at the CIA cares.

Technorati: CIAIceRocket: CIA

Normally when I discuss the performance of a page I am measuring using GrabPERF, it’s either good news (“you just got 5 times faster!”) or bad news (“your page hasn’t loaded in 6 months; you still there?”).
Today, something a little different: a question. What’s the question?

Why is the performance of a Technorati Blog (aka Traditional) Search so different from a Technorati Tag Search?

For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that Technorati allows you to search for results based on a Traditional search engine methodology, which is date-ranked, most recent first. It also provides a way to search through the user-defined tags that are appended to posts, or listed as category titles.
The issue that I have been seeing from my measurements is that Tag Searching is performance substantially worse than Traditional Search.

TRADITIONAL SEARCH

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TAG SEARCH

What I need to understand from the Technorati team is the particular technical challenges that differentiate Traditional v. Tag Searching, because the difference in performance is astonishing.
And then there is the success rate of the Tag Search.

TECHNORATI TAG SEARCH SUCCESS RATE

When I examine the data, almost all of the errors on the Tag Search measurement are Operation Timeouts. I have set the GrabPERF Agent to time out when no response has come back for the server in 60 seconds. So, effectively 15% of the Tag Searches do not return data to the client in 60 seconds.
So, while the Traditional Search has been tuned and optimized, there appears to be much work left to make the Tag Search an effective and useful tool.

Technorati: technorati, search, tagging, seo
IceRocket: technorati, search, tagging, seo

The gang at the Never Work Alone blog have a fantastic post describing some of the solutions to the Introverted IT / Extroverted Sales-Marketing integration issue.[here]
The best points:

• When hiring, place a premium on being able to explain technical issues to users and determine whether they’ve mastered the material. Expect this to cost more.
• Offer raises for taking training in oral technical communication
• Offer “days off” learning the essential business function of the department. You don’t understand what they do, they often don’t really GET what you do either, nor why its important – gieve them a chance to understand each other
• Train non-IT staff to repeat back in their own words what the IT person explained to them and confirm that they got it right (a good idea for any complex communication)

My eternal salvation comes from falling into the first category listed above. I can tear apart a packet trace and spot issues at the TCP layer, and then turn around and explain this issue to the VP of Marketing in terms that she can understand, and are relevant to her.
That is not dumbing it down, as many IT people feel. This strategy (or survival mechanism) allows a technical person to appeal to a wider audience. Being recognized across your organization, not just in your team, leads to greater rewards in the long run.