In 2012, Microsoft engineer Bill Baker first used the pets vs. cattle analogy in his "Scaling SQL Server 2012" presentation? It was a lightbulb moment for ops teams everywhere—one single server is like a pet you name and nurse back to health; a herd of identical servers is like cattle you round up and replace without batting an eye.

Flash forward thirteen years, and most of us treat app servers exactly like cattle (hallelujah for containers and Kubernetes!). But when it comes to databases— they continue to struggle to achieve cattle like hehavior

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In an earlier article, we introduced the NIST Cybersecurity Framework - one of the most widely adopted standards for structuring an organization's security posture. We also explored how a curated set of open-source and free tools, chosen for their ease of installation and real-world usefulness, can be mapped to the five NIST functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

In this article, we're jumping into one of the tools from that stack: Snipe-IT. It's a free, open-source asset management tool that helps you catalog your organization's assets such as laptops, phones, routers, licenses, cloud accounts, and more. In this guide, we'll walk you through setting it up locally and adding your first real-world assets - all mapped to the Identify function of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

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Security threats feel more real than ever, yet businesses - especially SMBs - struggle to build a strong defensive strategy on a budget. Most don't fail because of a lack of tools - they fail because no one tells them how to stitch those tools together into a real security strategy. Enter NIST CSF (Cybersecurity Framework) and open-source tools. In this series, we'll explore how to align community-backed solutions with NIST's five core functions - Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover - to create a robust, affordable security stack that just works. Read More ...

What happens when you give the same coding prompt to ChatGPT 4o and Claude 3.7 Sonnet ? We did exactly that — asked both to build a lightweight AWS Graviton cost comparison tool. The results surprised all of us. One gave me boilerplate code. The other? A polished, working app in minutes. We also threw Cline into the mix — and that added another layer of magic. If you’re into AI-assisted dev workflows, vibe coding, or just want to see how these tools stack up in the real world, this one’s for you. Full code, live demo, and honest breakdown inside Read More ...

Linux is the no brainer choice to develop , test and deploy but many developers, especially freshers and juniors, are more familiar with Windows and may not be comfortable setting up a dual-boot partition or getting a separate Linux machine. Given these constraints we had 2 choices either go with WSL or go with VirtualBox. Here is a brief comparison of WSL vs VirtualBox Read More ...

With all the recent advancements in AI-assisted software development, we frequently get asked where software development is headed by young engineers we speak to at engineering institutions and at businesses we advise. GreyNeuron's take on this is that AI will lead in the green field projects, that most Human Developers will become system integrators, and that AI will pose more challenges for entry level jobs. Design thinking, Critical thinking, and System thinking all become crucial to succeed in you careers. Finally, since the boss cannot dismiss the AI, so Human Devs will continue to be needed. Read More ...

Our team is developing a new product, and as part of the process, we are documenting design conversations that emerge within our diverse group of engineers—each bringing different levels of experience and database expertise to the table. This post captures key insights on:
✅ Using AI to Generate Database Schemas – Expectations vs. Reality
✅ Trade-offs in Database Optimization – Balancing row storage, index storage, and query performance
✅ Why You Should Avoid ENUMs in PostgreSQL – The hidden pitfalls of space efficiency and long-term maintainability
✅ Why MySQL Offers More Storage Options – Exploring how MySQL provides flexibility for space-optimized database design. Read More ...

While NVIDIA is firmly entrenched as the dominant player in AI with its indispensable chips required for AI workload, the AI hardware market is undergoing a seismic shift. Competitors like AMD and Intel, as well as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, are making strides in a race to catchup with NVIDIA. That said, NVIDIA’s software ecosystem remains its ultimate moat. Let'sexplore why NVIDIA is so hard to beat, where its competitors stand, and whether the industry can unite to create a common software ecosystem that challenges NVIDIA’s supremacy. Read more...