March 2020 Summaries

The creator of Datasette, a tool for dataset sharing and exploration, has added Fly as a platform to publish and share data. Datasette is designed by Simon Willison to make sharing datasets easy using SQLite databases. Users can import CSV files into an SQLite database and use Datasette to present the data through a web site. The new plugin, datasette-publish-fly, allows users to publish their Dataset on Fly platform with HTTPS secured connections and Let's Encrypt certificates generated automatically. Additionally, users can deploy their applications worldwide and use custom domains or hostnames for their deployment.

The text discusses how to set up Continuous Deployment with Fly and GitLab using the .gitlab-ci.yml file. It outlines the necessary steps, including selecting an image for the virtual machine, installing flyctl, creating a fly.toml file, obtaining an API token, and configuring environment variables in GitLab's CI/CD settings. The author also mentions that the principles discussed can be applied to most CI/CD platforms, allowing users to incorporate Fly into their workflows easily.

Fly Answers Questions is a platform where users can ask questions related to Fly and get answers from the community. Some key points covered in this text include setting up custom hostnames or domains with Fly, regenerating fly.toml file easily, running Heroku slugs as containers on each edge, minimizing database latency by choosing regions, enabling SSL termination at the edge, testing CockroachDB for distributed databases, continuous deployment using GitHub Actions, and automatic scaling down to one instance for idle apps.

Dj Walker-Morgan introduces the scaling controls feature on Fly, which allows users to control the number of instances of their applications running in different regions around the world. The update also includes changes to the scaling system and commands for simplicity. Users can now use flyctl scale regions command to view or set the regions where their app is running and minimum instance counts. Additionally, they can scale the size of their application's virtual machines using the flyctl scale vm <sizename> command. The Fly platform offers various VM sizes with different memory and vCPU core configurations, and users can choose the one that suits them best.

Custom Domains with Fly is a new application guide that demonstrates how to use Fly to proxy traffic or serve applications for multiple custom domains. The guide covers configuring an NGINX server, attaching host and domain names using the flyctl command line tool, and utilizing Fly's GraphQL API for managing hosts and certificates. Additionally, it provides a repository of Node applications that showcase how the API works and can be customized. A speed run example is provided to illustrate the ease of adding a host/domain to an application. Fly allows unlimited certificate attachments, making it suitable for businesses with branded applications and custom domains. The guide encourages users to explore more about Fly through its Docs and Hands On section.