Table of Contents
Introduction
Heroku is a cloud-based platform that supports multiple programming languages. It functions as a Platform as a Service (PaaS), allowing developers to effortlessly create, deploy, and administer cloud-based applications. With its compatibility with languages like Java, Node.js, Scala, Clojure, Python, PHP, and Go, Heroku has become the preferred choice for developers who desire powerful and adaptable cloud capabilities.
In addition to its core features, Heroku Add-ons provide cloud services that enhance the functionality and capabilities of Heroku applications. These services are expertly managed, easy to provision and scale. This article will explore the advantages and considerations of using add-ons on Heroku such as MetricFire’s Hosted Graphite. That gives you in-depth insight into your environments, helping you maximize the performance and efficiency of your Heroku applications.
If you would like to learn more about it, please book a demo with us, or sign on to the free trial today.
Why You Should Use Add-ons
Heroku provides various features that can improve the functionality of your applications. These features include data storage, monitoring, analytics, and processing capabilities. These add-ons are handled entirely by Heroku or reliable third-party providers allowing developers to concentrate on their application's logic than dealing with the intricacies of maintaining supporting services at levels.
There are factors to consider when contemplating the use of add ons
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Convenience: Adding these services to your application is a breeze usually requiring one command. Heroku takes care of providing and managing these services saving developers a lot of time and effort.
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Enhanced functionality: Add ons offer an array of functionalities that can be useful, for your application, such as storing data caching information keeping track of logs and managing message queues.
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Scalability: Many of these add ons allow for seamless scaling capabilities. For instance if your database needs to expand you can effortlessly increase its size or performance.
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Maintenance and Support:The provider manages these add ons relieving you from the burden of maintenance tasks, updates or dealing with any downtime issues. In case something goes wrong a team of professionals is readily available to fix the problem.
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Integrated Billing: All your services are consolidated into a bill streamlining the payment process. Of handling bills, from different service providers you only need to manage one bill.
The Add-on Marketplace
Heroku offers fully managed cloud services that simplify application development, operation, and management. With Heroku Add-ons, you can easily deploy new services and manage invoicing, credentials, and configurations from the Heroku Dashboard or command line interface.
The popular add-ons seamlessly integrate with Heroku's deploy processes, logs, and API, enhancing the platform's functionality. Plus, you can take advantage of complimentary plans from numerous partners to evaluate their services hassle-free.
Key features include:
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Easy installation with just one click from the Heroku Dashboard or CLI
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REST API and integration tools for seamless connectivity
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Integrated invoicing and protection against fraud costs
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Co-marketing prospects through Heroku networks
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Access to technical resources from our engineering team
With over 200 Heroku Add-ons in the Elements Marketplace and new services introduced regularly, you'll find everything you need to speed up your development cycle and boost your team's productivity.
A Heroku application integrates with an add-on by:
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Specifying the configuration variables, including the cloud service's URL and required credentials.
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Accessing and managing the application's logs.
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Utilizing the Heroku Platform API for Partners to perform app administration tasks on behalf of the developer.
Factors to Consider when Using Add-ons
What Do I Need in an Add-on?
Heroku offers many different add-ons for various purposes, such as logging, monitoring, etc. As you navigate this extensive selection, it's important to pay attention to the specific goals of your project and identify the add-ons that best align with these objectives.
Here are some categories of add-ons that Heroku marketplace provides, and you can choose the one according to your requirements:
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Data Stores; These add-ons facilitate various data storage solutions for your application, including relational and non-relational databases, key-value stores, in-memory databases, and more. They're crucial for managing and storing the data generated by your application.
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Data Store Utilities: These add-ons offer tools for handling data, including migration tools, data visualization tools, and backup utilities. They help you manage your databases more efficiently and effectively.
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Monitoring: These add-ons provide solutions for monitoring your application's performance, infrastructure, and system health. They're essential for identifying potential issues before they become significant problems, thus maintaining optimal performance.
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Logging: Logging add-ons provide tools to log and trace events or errors within your application. They can be especially helpful when debugging or understanding the behavior of your application over time.
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Caching: Caching add-ons help speed up your application by storing frequently accessed data in a cache. This reduces the load on your databases and increases your application's performance.
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Metrics and Analytics: These add-ons provide tools to measure and analyze your application's performance data, user behavior, and other vital metrics. They're essential for informed decision-making and continuous improvement of your application.
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Testing: Testing add-ons provide tools for automatic application testing to ensure that new changes don't break existing functionalities. They're crucial for maintaining the quality and reliability of your application.
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Messaging and Queueing: These add-ons enable your application to send, store, and retrieve messages across distributed systems. They are critical for ensuring efficient communication and task management in complex applications.
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Network Services: These add-ons provide tools and services related to networking, including load balancing, DNS management, and more. They're crucial for maintaining reliable and secure connections for your application.
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Alerts and Notifications: These add-ons facilitate alert systems and notifications to inform you or your users about certain events or conditions within your application.
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Development Tools: These add-ons offer tools that aid in developing, debugging, and deploying your application. They can help increase developer productivity and streamline the development process.
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Security: These add-ons provide security measures like encryption, secure authentication, firewall, and DDoS protection. They're crucial for safeguarding your application's data and users.
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Dynos: Dynos add-ons offer tools for managing the dynos (lightweight Linux containers) in which your Heroku applications run. These can be crucial for scaling your application's resources.
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Continuous Integration and Delivery: These add-ons provide tools for automating the processes of integrating code changes and delivering the application to the production environment. They help maintain a consistent and reliable development workflow.
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Utilities: These add-ons provide various miscellaneous tools and services that help in enhancing the functionality, manageability, and usability of your application.
How Much Does It Cost?
Cost and Pricing Structure of Add-ons
Understanding the cost and pricing structure of the add-on is crucial. Pricing for add-ons on Heroku is generally usage-based. If you use the lowest plan available for only one day, you will pay significantly less than someone who uses a cheaper add-on every day of the month.
Each add-on offers multiple plans, each with cost and included features. Developers can select a plan when they provision an add-on and have the flexibility to change it later. The billing for add-ons is seamlessly integrated into Heroku's standard monthly invoicing.
With Heroku Add-ons, you can easily add new services and manage billing, credentials, or configurations directly from the Heroku dashboard or command line. Therefore, assess your needs and usage frequency to avoid unnecessary costs.
An Example of Cost-Effective Monitoring Add-on: Hosted Graphite by MetricFire
For instance, if you need a monitoring add-on, options like Hosted Graphite by MetricFire start at $16 a month! It offers valuable features like high-speed metric tracking without affecting your app's performance and enabling efficient team collaboration through shared dashboards.
If you would like to learn more about it, please book a demo with us, or sign on to the free trial today.
The tool serves an impressive clientele, including EA, Nielsen, and Coveo, owing to its ability to avert major operational issues and promote data-driven management. It provides automatic Heroku dashboards, Grafana dashboards, alerting, team users, AWS integration, and support for 500 metrics. This cost-effective solution eliminates the weeks-long setup time of an average in-house monitoring system and the continuous upkeep it requires.
Hosted Graphite by MetricFire offers high-resolution data storage for days, supports multiple languages, and even provides world-class customer support for queries or concerns. So, when assessing the cost of an add-on, always balance the financial expense against the value it offers to your project.
Conclusion
Heroku add-ons represent cloud services ecosystem that can significantly enhance your applications' functionality. They offer expanded functionality, scalability, integrated billing, and exceptional support, among other benefits, ultimately streamlining the development process and bolstering your project's overall productivity.
However, it's essential to be strategic in your add-on choices. The Heroku add-on marketplace is vast and diverse, providing solutions for everything from data storage and monitoring to user management and security. Therefore, carefully consider your project's specific needs and evaluate each add-on's cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and overall value before integration.
Remember, add-ons like Hosted Graphite by MetricFire, starting at $16 a month, can offer high-value features like efficient metric tracking, team collaboration, and high-quality customer support. If you would like to learn more about it, please book a demo with us, or sign on to the free trial today. Consider downloading Heroku Cheatsheet to further guide you in leveraging Heroku's capabilities.
