iowait (wait, wa, %iowait, wait%, or I/O wait) is often displayed by command-line Linux system monitoring tools such as top, sar, atop, and others. On its own, it’s one of many performance stats that provide us insight into Linux system performance. I/O wait came up in a recent discussion with a new client. During our support […]
Guide to Optimizing PHP for High Traffic Sites
Note: This article serves as an overview and index, connecting you to previous detailed PHP optimization articles. For comprehensive insights on each topic, please follow the provided links to previous articles under the subheadings below. It made more sense to connect these articles here for your convenience, rather than trying to merge 12 articles covering […]
CDN Benchmarking: How to Compare the Performance of Different CDNs
Content delivery networks (CDNs) are crucial in ensuring fast and reliable access to digital content across the globe. With numerous CDNs on the market, the ability to compare their performance effectively is essential to making the best choice for your needs. In this guide we’ll delve into the key aspects of CDN benchmarking, explaining the […]
50 Top Observability and Monitoring Solutions – 2026
“A more targeted list that includes 50 server and observability solutions for 2026” Back in 2014, I compiled a list of top server and application performance monitoring solutions. Sharing that list publicly was a great way to gain feedback and recommendations on other tools available. Over time that list grew from 20 to over 100 server monitoring […]
Free Linux Server Monitoring and APM solutions for SysAdmins
Today’s software applications require developers, testers, and SysAdmins to work together (DevSecOps) more seamlessly than ever before. A single line of code or poorly configured service can negatively impact your application’s performance, causing crippling slowdowns for end-users. This is where infrastructure and application monitoring comes in. Regarding Linux server monitoring, monitoring critical performance metrics of […]
Observability in 5 minutes. Plus, 20 observability software vendors
Previously we’ve covered the future of APM (application performance monitoring) and the expansion of APM into observability. Followed by the race between software vendors to define observability. Most recently, we looked at the evolution of observability as shared by industry-leading software vendors. This article will answer the following questions to bring clarity to the topic of […]
25 Best CDN Providers 2026
A content delivery network, also referred to as a content distribution network (CDN), is a geographically distributed network of data centers containing proxy servers. CDN providers serve internet content, including web objects (text, graphics, and scripts), downloadable objects (media files, software, documents), applications (e-commerce, portals) and live-streaming media, closer and thus faster to end-users. Some of the main advantages […]
100 Top Observability Tools (+ Server Monitoring and APM solutions)
Looking for application monitoring and observability solutions? On this page, I’ve listed the top application performance monitoring (APM), infrastructure monitoring, and observability solutions to date. The listings are updated periodically as APM and observability solutions continue a rapid evolution. While I haven’t tested all of these solutions, I’ve used more than a third of them. […]
Best low-memory Linux Server Distros for < 1GB deployments
Running Linux servers on under 1 GB of RAM (think 512 MB or even 256 MB) can be challenging, but it’s absolutely feasible with the right distro choice. I’ve found that using ultra-lightweight Linux distributions gives you plenty of headroom to run actual services on these tiny systems, rather than wasting precious memory on the […]
Linux benchmark scripts and tools
This list of Linux benchmark scripts and tools should prove helpful for quick performance checks of CPU, storage, memory, and network on Linux servers and VPS. Check each script before running it from the command line. Most of these scripts will benchmark the CPU, memory, storage, and network. In most cases, the CPU model, frequency, […]
