INTRODUCTION – Managing Resources
Here you will find ways to manage your applications and also handle what common problems that normally occur. It’s will teach you what to look for and how to fix problems that cause application crashes. Understand memory leaks and know how to handle effective disk storage. Furthermore, this paper will provide situations where you will be able to tell which processes or applications consume a substantial amount of disk space and will lead into network saturation causes, effects, and tools or methods to address it.
Far from application management, you will have skills that will enable you to manage your time better. This includes knowing how to estimate and prioritize various tasks to determine time it takes to complete a task and communicate clearly the expectations when managing important responsibilities.
And, finally, you will deal with sophisticated problems by breaking things into manageable steps but will keep on focusing on achieving a clear goal. This will involve practising proactive approaches such as continuous integration and leveraging test environments as much as possible to help cushion any future challenges. The study will also bring out strategies related to resource planning along with the role of monitoring to anticipate and manage whatever future needs there will be.
Objectives of Learning
- Application management: management of disk spaces, prevention of network saturation, and management of memory leaks.
- management: task prioritization, task estimation, and clear communication of expectations.
- Problem Solving: breaking complex tasks into small, manageable steps.
- Proactive planning programs: using continuous integration, test environments, and supervision in resource planning.
- Good Practices: using appropriate techniques to sustain and enhance long-term efficiencies and reliability.
PRACTICE QUIZ: MANAGING COMPUTER RESOURCES
1. What is a memory profiler used for?
- It is used to store information.
- It profiles an entire Python application.
- It monitors memory consumption of a process over time, as well as the variables that require the most memory. (CORRECT)
- It modifies code.
Nice job! Memory profiler is a module that provides useful information about memory.
2. Your application is having difficulty sending and receiving large packets of data, which are also delaying other processes when connected to remote computers. Which of the following will be most effective on improving network traffic for the application?
- Bandwidth
- Latency (CORRECT)
- Number of connections
- Traffic shaping
Awesome! Calculating the delay of a request sent from one end to the other for the way much time that was involved in reaching its recipient from origin.
3. What is the term referring to the amount of time it takes for a request to reach its destination, usually measured in milliseconds (ms)?
- investigation
- incident
- event (CORRECT)
- analysis
An event is a form of observable occurrence in a network, a system, or a device. All incidents are events but not all events will be incidents.
4. If your computer is slowing down, what Linux program might we use to determine if we have a memory leak and what process might be causing it?
- top (CORRECT)
- gparted
- iftop
- cron
Great work! The top command will show us all running processes and their memory usage in Linux.
5. Some programs open a temporary file, and immediately _____ the file before the process finishes, then the file continues to grow, which can cause slowdown.
- open
- close
- delete (CORRECT)
- write to
Excellent! At times, files in question, when opened, will be deleted intentionally to prevent the program from later “forgetting” it. The file that is being written to is still invisible, only that it is already marked for deletion, and it will be swept out only when the process is complete.
6. Which of the following descriptions most likely points to a possible memory leak?
- Application process uses more memory even after a restart. (CORRECT)
- Garbage collector carries out its task.
- The function returns after it completes.
- Valgrind figures out memory usage.
Woohoo! It’s a shady-looking application that still requires loads of memory even after a reboot being probably a memory leak.
7. Which of the following is an example of unnecessary files on a server storage device that can affect applications from running if not cleaned up properly?
- A SQL database
- A mailbox database
- A set of application files
- A set of large temporary files (CORRECT)
You nailed it! Applications sometimes fail to clean up large temporary files after crashing.
8. The custom application running on a server can’t receive new connections. Existing connections are sending and receiving data in a reasonable time. Which of the following explains the reason why new sessions can’t be established with the server?
- Too many connections (CORRECT)
- High network latency
- Low network bandwidth
- No traffic shaping
Great work! A solitary host can handle as many connections as it’s allowed. After the peak, each connection fails to connect further.
PRACTICE QUIZ: MANAGING OUR TIME
1. Using the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, which of the following is an example of an event or task that is both Important, and Urgent?
- Office gossip
- Replying to emails
- Internet connection is down (CORRECT)
- Follow-up to a recently resolved issue
Great work! If a user is to carry out any works at all, it must do so by means of the gift of the Internet, and such matters must be attended to right away.
2. You’re working on a web server issue that’s preventing all users from accessing the site. You then receive a call from user to reset their user account password. Which appropriate action should you take when prioritizing your tasks?
- Reset the user’s password
- Create a script to automate password resets
- Ask the user to open a support ticket.
- Ignore the user, and troubleshoot web server. (CORRECT)
Nice job! Request support so your call can appear in a queue and I can handle the most urgent at once.
3. What application monitors system activity, then produces alerts about possible intrusions?
- Technical debt (CORRECT)
- Ticket tracking
- Eisenhower Decision Matrix
- Automation
Right on! Nontechnically speaking, technical debt is practically the labour cost for future revisions that result from choosing a quick and dirty (non-deceptive) solution instead of a more effective, albeit challenging solution.
4. What is the first step of prioritizing our time properly?
- Work on urgent tasks first
- Assess the importance of each issue
- Make a list of all tasks (CORRECT)
- Estimate the time each task will take
Awesome! It is necessary for us to determine the priority task when we consolidate the list of what tasks need to be done.
5. If an issue isn’t solved within the time estimate that you provided, what should you do? (Select all that apply)
- Explain why (CORRECT)
- Drop everything and perform that task immediately
- Give an updated time estimate (CORRECT)
- Put the task at the end of the list
Thank you! Communication is unparalleled; this is also the flow of progress.
Thank you very much! If you were a little overly optimistic to begin with, great, after all, that was just the first estimate.
6. Which of the following describes a technical debt?
- Restarting a web server that has suspended services. (CORRECT)
- Rewriting a program to prevent memory leaks.
- Setting up traffic shaping to improve communication with remote services.
- Adding a hard drive to make room to install the application.
You got it! A problem is suppressing the condition in which organizations were embracing flexibility in all their templates.
7. Using a basic structure to organize and prioritize tasks, what’s the next thing you should do after creating a list of all the tasks you need to complete?
- Sort tasks in groups.
- Assess the importance of each issue.
- Complete most urgent tasks immediately. (CORRECT)
- Estimate the amount of effort.
Woohoo! Once you have made the list, all most important tasks must be done on the same day.
8. Which of the following factors will be most beneficial in estimating the time it will take for you to complete a specific project?
- Be overly optimistic with your time.
- Multiply the estimate by a random factor.
- Double your time.
- Compare time used to similar projects or tasks. (CORRECT)
You nailed it! To get a good estimate of how long it may take to complete a new project, compare your estimate with previous tasks or projects that you have done before.
9. Which of the following is an example of a practical shortcut to resolve incidents in a datacenter related to hard drive pre-failures?
- Spare drives (CORRECT)
- Automated RAID scripts
- Spare servers
- Automated server scripts.
Right on! Hot-swap drives are a viable solution for replacing drives close to failing.
PRACTICE QUIZ: MAKING OUR FUTURE LIVES EASIER
1. Which proactive practice can you implement to make troubleshooting issues in a program easier when they happen again, or face other similar issues?
- Automate rollbacks.
- Create and update documentation. (CORRECT)
- Use a test environment.
- Set up unit tests.
You got it! Comprehensible documentation regarding how to recompose or solve a problem can be so very valuable at the time when you need to address the same and similar kinds of problems in the future.
2. Which of the following is a good example of mixing and matching resources on a single server so that the running services make the best possible use of all resources?
- Run a RAM intensive application and a CPU intensive application on a server. (CORRECT)
- Run two applications that are CPU intensive between two servers.
- Run a CPU intensive application on one server and an I/O intensive application on another server.
- Run two applications that are RAM and I/O intensive on a server.
Great work! A high RAM-consuming application can remain functional even while the CPU is primarily used by another application on the same server.
3. One strategy for debugging involves explaining the problem to yourself out loud. What is this technique known as?
- Monitoring
- Rubber ducking (CORRECT)
- Testing
- Ticketing
Right on! Rubber ducking is the practice of explaining a problem to something you can tell it (or to yourself) in order to understand the issue properly.
4. When deploying software, what is a canary?
- A test for how components of a program interact with each other
- A test of a program’s components
- A small section of codeA test deployment to a subset of production hosts (CORRECT)
Nice job! A term that is compared to the idea that an animal as simple as a canary could pass as a sign that conditions were not very habitable in the underground labyrinths and tunnels that were developed with the onset of the mining age, the term “canary” is deployed in order to observe how a software version set in operation affects a blow in a live situation.
5. Which term describes a component of a system that might fail logically or physically?
- I/O intensive
- CPU intensive
- A problem domain
- A failure domain (CORRECT)
Awesome! A failure domain is basically a subset of the computer system (either hardware or software) within which a fault or fault will stay.
6. What is the primary goal of change management in virtualized environments?
- Maximizing disruptions and system changes
- Rapidly implementing changes to VM infrastructure
- Ensuring system integrity and minimizing disruption (CORRECT)
- Safeguarding VMs from unauthorized access
That’s correct! When the virtual machine becomes troubled, acting like a gazelle-nothing happens; the infected VM releases individual compartments into the cloud.
7. When should you NOT use Docker to manage applications?
- Running a large, monolithic legacy application (CORRECT)
- Using Docker to deploy an application that has already been packaged as containers
- When you are developing a microservice-based application
- Running an application across hundreds or thousands of servers at internet scale
That’s right! It is not easy to wrap legacy monolithic applications with containers and to manage cost effectively using Docker due to their complexity and resource demands.
8. When it comes to software development, what does the term “problem domain” mean?
- The failure of different subsystems within a complex system
- A technical solution to a system failure
- The process of manually solving the problem using illustrative datasets
- The scope and complexity of a problem that needs to be solved (CORRECT)
You got it! So here what the problem domain refers to is the range and complication of a particular issue, because it requires going into the depth of the issue to map effectively to more powerful recommendations.
9. When facing a problem with a service, which of the following examples can remediate the issue quickly for the short-term?
- Create tests for the program before coding.
- Develop codes in small chunks.
- Ask someone who has solved the issue before for help. (CORRECT)
- Grab a cup of coffee.
Awesome! One who has gone through facing a problem will quickly install short-term fixes, saving long-term remedies for later on.
10. Which proactive practice can you implement to make troubleshooting issues in a program easier when problems arise?
- Use a test environment.
- Build infrastructure for rollbacks.
- Set up integration tests
- Include debug logging in code. (CORRECT)
Great work!. Betterification of the Troubleshooting by logging debugs knowledge that helps determine the principal root of the issue and accelerates the resolution process.
11. You have a small rack of servers and other components that make up a virtual infrastructure. This rack hosts virtual machines that provide web services, and user file shares to employees in the local office, and immediate regional branches. Which component in the rack can be most easily planned for future growth?
- CPU Capacity
- RAM Capacity
- NAS capacity (CORRECT)
- Network bandwidth
Nice job! Other storage offerings from companies such as NetApp offer extra shelves, expanding memory through websites that grow along with their users’ storage needs.
12. Which of the following is the most effective way to prevent an issue in a program that you own from happening again?
- Report a bug
- Write a test (CORRECT)
- Monitor resources
- Reproduction case
Great work! Create a new test after changing the code to fix the problem and verify to say that the job the changes should do is actually the same.
DEBUG AND SOLVE SOFTWARE PROBLEMS
1. What aspects of the date does the start_date_report.py script prompt the user to input? Select all that apply.
- Year (CORRECT)
- Hour
- Month
- Day (CORRECT)
Correct
2. What was the specific cause of the TypeError in the start_date_report.py script?
- Invalid file path specified
- Incorrect data type for date components (year, month, day) (CORRECT)
- Missing library import
- Syntax error in the code
Correct
3. What steps did you take to reproduce the TypeError message in the start_date_report.py script? Select all that apply.
- Use a debugging tool to trace the script’s execution and monitor variable states at error occurrence.
- Run the script and enter varying year, month, and day values to trigger the error. (CORRECT)
- Observe the script’s behavior when provided with out-of-range or non-numeric input scenarios. (CORRECT)
- Modify the script code by altering function parameters to intentionally produce a similar error.
Correct
4. In the context of the lab, which of the following is a key indicator that a script has been successfully optimized?
- Ability to process larger files only
- Reduced execution time to a few seconds for report generation (CORRECT)
- Enhanced graphical user interface
- Increased complexity for better accuracy
Correct
5. Which of the following best describes the error handling improvement needed in the start_date_report.py script?
- Implementing additional checks for input data validity to avoid runtime errors
- Optimizing the script for faster execution to prevent timeout errors
- Refactoring the script to handle large datasets without crashing
- Casting the user input values for year, month, and day to integers to prevent TypeError (CORRECT)
Correct
6. After you debugged the original error and fixed it, you discover that processing the file to print a report takes a long time. How do you fix this issue?
- Nothing. Speed is dependent on the size of the dataset.
- Run the Python script start_date_report.py earlier in the process.
- Check the execution time: time ./test.py. (CORRECT)
- Modify the get_same_or_newer() function.
Correct
7. Based on your experience in the lab, which approach is most beneficial for identifying and resolving bugs in a complex script?
- Sequentially address each bug, starting with the most critical or easiest to fix. (CORRECT)
- Change the programming language or tools used to gain different perspectives on the bug.
- Rely solely on automated debugging tools to identify and fix all issues.
- Focus on optimizing the script’s performance before addressing specific bugs.
Correct
8. After debugging and fixing the initial problem in the lab, you need to optimize file processing and printing speed. What steps should you take for preprocessing the file? Select all that apply.
- Create a dictionary using start dates as keys to replace repetitive calculations. (CORRECT)
- Sequentially process the data starting from the earliest start_date.
- Compile a dictionary to organize start dates for sequential use in the script. (CORRECT)
- Sort the data by start_date, then process it date by date. (CORRECT)
Correct
9. In the lab, the get_same_or_newer() function in the start_date_report.py script was originally inefficient because it did which of the following?
- It generated unnecessary intermediate files during data processing, leading to increased disk I/O operations.
- It used a complex and computationally expensive algorithm for sorting the data, slowing down each query.
- It relied on external network resources for each data query, causing delays due to network latency.
- It downloaded and processed the entire data file for each date queried, leading to excessive and repetitive data handling. (CORRECT)
Correct
10. What type of error caused the start_date_report.py script to crash?
- SyntaxError
- ValueError
- FileNotFoundError
- TypeError (CORRECT)
Correct
11. Finish this sentence: In the lab, to isolate and understand the conditions that caused the error, you _____.
- reviewed the script’s documentation and code comments.
- systematically reproduced the TypeError by running the script with various inputs. (CORRECT)
- modified the script to include additional error logging.
- consulted online resources for similar error patterns.
Correct
12. What caused the start_date_report.py script to crash?
- The script crashed due to a TypeError caused by string inputs. (CORRECT)
- The script had a ValueError due to invalid input range.
- The script experienced a SyntaxError due to incorrect function usage.
- The script crashed due to a FileNotFoundError.
Correct
13. In the lab, to enhance the performance of the start_date_report.py script, what specific preprocessing step is recommended for the data file?
- Encrypt the file for secure and faster data processing.
- Split the file into multiple smaller files for parallel processing.
- Convert the file format to a more efficient data structure like JSON.
- Create a dictionary from the file with start dates as keys for quicker data access. (CORRECT)
Correct
14. According to this QwikLab, what is an effective strategy for dealing with complex debugging issues like the ones encountered in the start_date_report.py script?
- Implement automated testing to identify all issues at once.
- Break down the problem into smaller, more manageable parts for targeted resolution. (CORRECT)
- Consult online forums and communities for similar issues and solutions.
- Completely rewrite sections of the script to avoid dealing with complex issues.
Correct
15. In the optimization process of the start_date_report.py script, why is creating a dictionary with start dates as keys an effective strategy?
- It is a prerequisite for implementing multithreading in the script.
- It simplifies the script’s code for easier maintenance.
- It allows for rapid data retrieval without repeatedly scanning the entire dataset. (CORRECT)
- It prepares the data for potential export to external systems.
Correct
16. In resolving the TypeError within the start_date_report.py script, which solution was implemented?
- Importing an additional Python module
- Correcting a file path in the script
- Fixing a loop logic error
- Casting string input to integers for year, month, and day (CORRECT)
Correct
17. Why is it important to reproduce the TypeError message encountered in the start_date_report.py script when debugging?
- To ensure that the script is completely error-free.
- To verify that the error consistently occurs under the same conditions.
- To test the script’s performance under error conditions.
- To understand the specific circumstances that lead to the error, enabling targeted debugging. (CORRECT)
Correct
18. After you debugged the original error and fixed it, you discover that processing the file to print a report takes a long time. How do you fix this issue?
- Check the execution time: time ./test.py.
- Nothing. Speed is dependent on the size of the dataset.
- Run the Python script start_date_report.py earlier in the process.
- Modify the get_same_or_newer() function. (CORRECT)
Correct
19. Why does the lab suggest creating a dictionary with start dates as keys in the preprocessing step of the start_date_report.py script?
- To enable complex statistical analysis on the start date data
- To ensure data integrity by maintaining a unique record for each start date
- To facilitate data export to external databases or systems
- To improve performance by allowing quick access to employee records based on specific start dates, reducing the need to scan the entire file repeatedly (CORRECT)
Correct
20. In start_date_report.py, what is the primary benefit of sorting the data by start_date before processing it?
- It ensures data integrity by maintaining chronological order.
- It reduces the file size, making it easier to handle.
- It enhances performance by allowing quicker access to relevant records for each date. (CORRECT)
- It aligns the data format with standard database practices.
Correct
21. What is the primary outcome of preprocessing the file in the start_date_report.py script using the get_same_or_newer() function?
- The function adapts to generate output dynamically based on demand, improving script responsiveness.
- The function generates output that is reusable for multiple dates, reducing the need for repetitive calculations. (CORRECT)
- The function enhances script efficiency by optimizing system resource usage, though the output remains the same.
- The function restructures the dataset to expedite subsequent calculations by optimizing data order.
Correct
22. What is the expected performance improvement in the start_date_report.py script after optimization?
- It should generate reports significantly faster. (CORRECT)
- It should use less memory, irrespective of execution time.
- It should allow handling more data but might take longer.
- It should take about the same time but with fewer errors.
Correct
23. In the context of optimizing the start_date_report.py script, what is the primary role of the get_same_or_newer() function?
- The function filters and processes employee data based on start dates. (CORRECT)
- The function is responsible for generating graphical representations of the data.
- The function calculates the total number of employees starting on a specific date.
- The function is used to sort data by employee start dates.
Correct
24. What key principle should guide your approach to debugging complex problems, as exemplified in the lab’s challenges with the start_date_report.py script?
- Prioritize the most recently introduced code changes as the likely source of bugs.
- Apply the same debugging techniques used in simpler scripts, regardless of complexity.
- Collaborate with a team to brainstorm potential solutions for all issues simultaneously.
- Systematically analyze and resolve individual components of the problem to avoid being overwhelmed. (CORRECT)
Correct
25. How does preprocessing the file in the start_date_report.py script specifically address the problem of slow report generation?
- It organizes data by start dates for efficient access, reducing the need for repetitive calculations. (CORRECT)
- It compresses the file for quicker loading and processing times.
- It cleans and sanitizes the data for error-free processing.
- It indexes the file for faster search operations within the script.
Correct
26. You are optimizing a Python script similar to the one in the lab, designed to generate reports from a large dataset of employee start dates. The script currently processes the entire dataset each time a report for a specific date is requested, leading to slow performance. What change should you implement to improve the efficiency of the script?
- Implement multithreading to process different parts of the dataset in parallel.
- Increase the hardware resources allocated to the script, such as CPU and memory.
- Rewrite the entire script using a more efficient programming language.
- Modify the script to use the get_same_or_newer() function, which generates output that is reusable for multiple dates. (CORRECT)
Correct
27. In the start_date_report.py script, what corrections are needed to fix the TypeError encountered during execution? Select all that apply.
- Cast month input to integer (CORRECT)
- Cast day input to integer (CORRECT)
- Cast hour input to integer
- Cast year input to integer (CORRECT)
Correct
28. Complete this sentence. To fix the error found in the lab, you need to cast the data type of the year, month, and day values to _____.
- integers (CORRECT)
- text and use the print () function
- revise the call parameters
- to concatenating strings
Correct
CONCLUSION – Managing Resources
The conclusion reached is that the subject is completely understood, because from ensuring a few troubleshooting issues that people face every day through utilization optimization and time management, it also gives a few ways that you can address a problem. And in fact it presents you with valuable knowledge regarding the bugs that lead to application’s crash, which could be either memory leakage or the mismanagement of a disk space. Essentially, this becomes your assurance that you have gained much more insight into the reasons for application crashes, particularly those related to things like memory leaks and disk space management. You will also have advanced your troubleshooting skills, and will be able to understand such things as network saturation and be competent on how to resolve these errors using the most effective tools.
Regarding time and productivity management, you learn a range of practical tips: sequence of jobs based on priority, time estimates for each job, good communication skills to enhance productivity. Complex problems can be greatly simplified when broken down into parts, while the finish line remains centered. Efficiency in management improves through procurement of considerable advantages like these, for instance, that of understanding or monitoring resources more efficiently, integrating continuously, or making such responses proactive on the most likely of the possible defending axes. All in all, it grows on your part as applications, time, and resources management are almost added to the sheet-your professional path will be smoother and problems resolvable more effectively with a better understanding of managerial principles for a better journey.