November 2016 Summaries

Ably now supports proprietary realtime protocols of other platforms in addition to its native protocol. The platform provides a native realtime socket based protocol and REST API with ordering, continuity, and durability guarantees. However, using another protocol may be more appropriate or convenient for certain situations such as IoT devices with MQTT built-in, migrating from other platforms without swapping out client libraries, or mixing-and-matching client libraries from different providers. To facilitate interoperability between these protocols, Ably has developed protocol adapters like the Pusher adaptor and the Pubnub adaptor. These adapters use different endpoints and run as middleware between routers and the main Ably service, translating requests into the Ably protocol and vice versa. While using native Ably client libraries is recommended for optimal performance, these adapters provide flexibility and compatibility with other platforms.

Ably, a realtime data delivery platform, has integrated five previously disconnected realtime protocols: Ably, Pusher, PubNub, AMQP, and STOMP. This allows developers to easily migrate between platforms and avoid being locked into a specific protocol. Realtime experiences are becoming increasingly important in digital customer interactions, with features like live chat, document editing, gaming, and real-time visualization of taxi pickups. The Internet of Things (IoT) also relies on real-time data delivery, as it connects the physical world to the digital one. However, technical challenges arise due to different protocols used by IoT devices and existing real-time platforms. To address this issue, Ably has launched Adapters, which provides interoperability between five realtime protocols and other open protocols like MQTT. This makes real-time "plug & play" and supports all the protocols it can, including competitors' protocols.

In the wake of the Dyn attack, which highlighted the vulnerabilities of relying on single points of failure, the author examines strategies to enhance service continuity by addressing such points across various components of a system. The discussion emphasizes the importance of implementing fallback mechanisms for TLD domains, diversifying DNS providers, and employing external DDoS prevention services. It also highlights the need for efficient request handling to mitigate load, the potential pitfalls of relying on certificates, and the critical role of load balancers distributed across multiple data centers. Additionally, rate limiting is essential to prevent abuse, and distributing applications and data layers across multiple regions is crucial for maintaining service continuity. Ably, as a case study, demonstrates the value of proactively investing resources in eliminating single points of failure, which can safeguard against major internet outages and unexpected system failures, thereby ensuring the reliability of their real-time applications.

OnePulse, a UK-based app for measuring public opinion, has chosen Ably, the realtime data delivery experts, to power its platform. The partnership aims to enable more brands to reach honest opinions of thousands of people within seconds. OnePulse's unique approach involves delivering interesting content tailored to each user's interests, encouraging better engagement and faster response rates. The app offers cost-effective solutions for businesses seeking genuine public opinions. Clients include major advertising agencies and large enterprises such as Coca Cola, Tesco, Aviva, and Marks and Spencer.

Matthew O'Riordan, co-founder of Ably, discusses common challenges faced by fantasy sports and live events app developers, focusing on solutions for realtime data delivery. Ably, a realtime data delivery platform, has gained traction among fantasy app developers who often encounter problems such as scaling live updates to an unknown number of users, maintaining data synchronization, and handling upstream gameplay events. To address these, O'Riordan suggests using the Pub/Sub pattern for scalable asynchronous data distribution, Serial JSON Patches and CRDTs for efficient and consistent data synchronization, and message queues for managing upstream events without compromising system performance. Ably's offerings, including its Pub/Sub feature and message queues, provide scalable and reliable solutions for these challenges by ensuring data integrity, efficient bandwidth usage, and fault tolerance, allowing developers to build robust realtime applications.