​A few tips I've been given by my Network (Part 1)​I often hear from clients and candidates about customers who've fallen into a trap of knocking up big bills from not using AWS services correctly:https://www.theinformation.com/articles/aws-customers-rack-up-hefty-bills-for-moving-dataI asked my Network for some tips and general advice that I could share with anyone trying to avoid these nasty surprises.1: Shutdown Unused AWS ResourcesBy using AWS OpWorks and Elastic Beanstalk to allow developers to quickly deploy and redeploy applications, they can do so with consistency, without worrying about how this affects the infrastructure 🏢Obviously, ensure these development environments are shut down at the end of the working day and at the weekends.2: Use the Right Storage ClassThere are 5 tiers of Amazon S3 object storage available, which one works best for your means?Amazon S3 Standard- A general-purpose solution - As part of the AWS Free Usage Tier, a user will get 5 GB of Amazon S3 storage, 20,000 Get Requests, 2,000 Put Requests, and 15 GB of data transfer out each month. Beyond this, the first 50 TB per Month will be$0.023 per GB. The next 450 TB per month will be$0.022 per GB. Over 500 TB the price per month will be$0.021 per GB.Amazon S3 Infrequent Access (IA)- Best used for data used less frequently but requires the same resiliency as the standard storage class. However, this can be retrieved rapidly when needed but charged a retrieval fee of $0.01 per GB.Amazon S3 One Zone Infrequent Access is an even less expensive option since the data is only stored in a single availability zone with less resiliency. As a result, One-Zone IA is a great option for storing secondary backups.Amazon Glacier is designed for data that is retained for long term storage, such as backups or cold data. Two main options are bulk retrievals (that take 5–12 hours to restore) and faster retrievals, more expensive expedited retrievals that can take 1–5 minutes It might be an option to introduce object lifecycle management that automatically transitions data between the storage classes. For instance, you can automatically move your data from S3 Standard to IA after 30 days, archive data to Glacier after 90 days or set up a delete policy to expire specific objects after 180 days.3. Select the Right Instance TypeTo maximize your workloads while minimizing your spend, consider your specific use case:What is the type of processing unit and amount of memory required?Optimize the instance resource that results in the delivery of price performance for the priceAt least twice a year, assess your choice of instances to ensure they match the reality of your workload Tagging your instance is not only best practice but the cost per hour of running systems can be monitored in real-time: these results can drive the development team to optimize costs. To enforce discipline on tagging using tools like open-source tools like Cloud Custodian can automatically stop any instance without a Tag.​Do you have any other tips to help reduce the cost of AWS usage? Feel free to email me - Gerry.Darley@Foxtekrs.com.Thanks,Gerry

​It's a very common piece of advice to give to candidates for them to'do their research'before an interview in order to prepare, but sometimes this can be a little vague and candidates don't know where to start when preparing for an initial interview with a new company. Here's a pretty comprehensive list of the research you should do beforehand to prepare for & give yourself the best chance when introducing yourself to a potential new employer:Researching the company itselfThe best place to start is with a company's website - from here you can gain a good understanding of what the company does, how they operate & the company's culture. You can use it as a way to understand the different sectors & locations they operate in, the size of the company and more. Once you've checked out the main website of the company, check for a careers page to find out more about different benefits the company offer & investigate what they feel sets them apart from their competitors.After diving into the direct sources of information about the company, it's time to think a little further outside of the box. Using tools such as Glassdoor to check employee reviews, Googling them to find out news & articles of the company, will all formulate an extensive amount of knowledge in order to answer questions around what a company does & what you know about them.Also, it's a great way to generate a list of questions around parts of the company you wish to know more about, and ultimately shows you've gone above & beyond to prepare and show your interest in your potential new employer.Understand the job role and responsibilitiesEnsure you read the job specification carefully, to avoid any surprises in an interview. Identify in the experience section where you feel you're strongest & where you feel you may be able to improve. Knowing these points allows you to display your strengths when questioned about your previous experience, whilst allowing you to be honest when asked about things you feel less confident with - interviewers always appreciate this honesty, as long as you show you're willing to apply yourself and learn new things!You want to be leaving the interview with as much clarity as possible about what working for a new company looks like, so here's a perfect chance to ask those questions and build a true opinion on how this position will affect your career.Know your interviewersUltimately a huge part of any interview process is your interviewers judging how well you will fit with your potential new colleagues & team-mates. No connection in an interview? Often this will be the quickest way to an unsuccessful outcome. You can have all of the knowledge and experience required for a role, but if the people you speak to can't get along with you or connect with you, you won't get very far.The best way to avoid this is to research the people you're meeting. Here, Linkedin is your friend. Investigating a hiring manager's previous career path, mutual connections, interests & activity allows you to get an indication of the kind of individual they are. It may be that you both have a contact in common, both work with similar technologies or you see something on their profile that you're also interested in - all of these things are hidden gems in an interview to build a relationship & get bonus points with an interviewer. Remember, 'culture fit' is something tested in one way or another in almost every interview, so showing you're a match will go a long way in a company's decision-making process.Understand the logisticsThis one seems a little obvious, but definitely worth a mention. Know the location for the interview, be clear of your route & ensure you leave plenty of time to get to your destination without risk of being late! Always check the address for a company's office & understand what the journey entails, as this could be a route you follow many times in the future if you receive an offer and join the company!Establish why you're interested & what you likeLast but definitely not least, it's important to have a good idea in your head WHY you're interested in the company you're interviewing with. Maybe it's the technologies they work with? Maybe it's the sector they operate in? Maybe it's the growth opportunities & culture of the company? There's many different reasons why a company might interest you, but it's super important to identify these so you can really express your interest, passion & curiosity in the interview itself.Above all, following these tips & ensuring you prepare thoroughly for any interview will give you the best chance, whilst also allowing you to gain as much knowledge about a potential new employer as possible and make informed decisions on companies you speak with.In summary; Ask intelligent questions & give educated answers for the best chance moving forward!Good luck :) 

How can a Devops Engineer save money using Azure?1 - Shutting down Azure VM’s correctly2 - Using Azure DevTestLabs effectively 1) Just like the annoying person accidentally leaving a light on (guilty), one of the biggest mistakes Devops/Developers can make when using Microsoft Azure is incorrectly closing VM’s (Azure virtual machines) that are no longer needed.Simply flicking a switch to turn off the VM won’t work but there’s a better way to achieve this:- Ensure the VM is in a Stopped (Deallocated) state - Use the Azure Management Portal to find the Virtual Machine blade for the VM you want to stop and click Shutdown2) Azure DevTest Labs allows you to create servers you’ll need at specific times during the day or create a schedule (say after 5:30 or at a weekend) in case your Dev team leave them on accidentally.Plus, Azure DevTest Labs is a free-to-use tool. You only pay for the VM’s it’s on.

​Taking the leap and starting your freelance career is like setting up any other business, it's a time filled with excitement, but it can be daunting. You’ve made your decision for all of the right reasons; you want some more autonomy, you’re excited about meeting new people, working on different products and you’re loving the idea of learning new technologies. That’s without even mentioning the increase in pay.Hopefully in this article you can pick up some useful points I’ve taken from client feedback and the feedback of more experienced freelancers.​Preparing to freelanceLogistics - freelancing usually requires an extra degree of geographical flexibility. It helps to find how far you can feasibly travel on a daily basis. 60km may sound achievable in theory, but you don’t want to have to let your very first client down because you misjudged the traffic on that route. Try to figure out which main towns and cities you can easily reach.Rate – this is often the most under-researched aspectwith new freelancers. I often have conversations where the only research has been to ask a far more experienced freelancer at their current company what they are making. My advice would be to seek the advice of people you trust. This might be a specialist recruiter; someone you respect in a managerial position or maybe seek out a freelancer of a similar experience level through LinkedIn.Availability - leaving a secure job and jumping into the unknown is a tough thing to do, but the most successful first-time freelancers I’ve worked with have always either handed in their notice already or negotiated a reduced notice with their current company. Availability comes up in every single interview and in my experience when a client has multiple options, they will lean towards the person who is available sooner.Skill set - this is for those of you who plan on going freelance eventually but aren’t ready yet. Don’t get stuck working with outdated technologies and try to avoid becoming a “generalist”. Freelancer roles are often created when an expert is needed. It’s rare that a company will hire a freelancer to do general tasks. They are usually brought on for their in-depth knowledge of a particular language or framework.Keep an open mind - in an ideal world your first freelance role would be a 12-month contract with your dream company. In reality it might be only for 2-months, but that’s okay. That 2-month contract could be extended and last for 3 years. Alternatively, something you learn in those 2-months might help to secure you the dream job we were just talking about next time around. ​Building your personal brandReferences - when you’re up and running as a freelancer try to get a written reference from every client you’ve worked at. It might sound obvious, and you might not want to share them with every recruiter you speak to. However, surprisingly few people actually keep a list of references and it's a simple way to stand out from the crowd. LinkedIn - keeping your LinkedIn up to date, populated in detail and maintaining a good network is excellent marketing for your business. Clients will often look up your profile ahead of an interview, a mutual connection can be a great conversation starter or even offer up a recommendation.Take pride in your CV – as a freelancer your CV is a window to your business and the portfolio of your work so far. Would you brush past typos in your code, or leave formatting errors on your company website?Self-develop - study the trends in the market and make sure you get ahead of them. Take up certifications and go to seminars on the next big technological advancement. The best developers I’ve worked with are active within their commmunity. Attending conferences, meet ups and completing courses will keep your CV up-to-date and improve your network. ​The best characteristics of a freelancer Communication - this is the most under-rated tool available to any freelancer. If I was going to pinpoint the number 1 reason that freelancers don’t work out, it’s definitely not technical ability.- Clear and regular communication around the progress of your work. Be honest, give detailed reports and manage expectations. - Don't be afraid to ask questions. There is nothing more frustrating for a client than having someone take a day to figure something out which could have been resolved with a simple question (especially if that day costs them €700).- Phone ahead - if you're unwell or your train is running late, 99% of clients don't mind as long as you call ahead to let them know. It might feel like this is unnecessary when you're self-employed but as a professional courtesy, it should be standard practice. Willingness to learn and take responsibility - while a client will hire you for your specialist knowledge, they might also need to utilize your experience on different parts of the project. Try to view this as a positive thing. A common theme in positive references I receive point to freelancers using their initiative to solve a problem outside of their field of expertise.