Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0978739213, Paperback)

Whether it's in Java, .NET, or Ruby on Rails, getting your
application ready to ship is only half the battle. Did you design
your system to survive a sudden rush of visitors from Digg or
Slashdot? Or an influx of real world customers from 100 different
countries? Are you ready for a world filled with flakey networks,
tangled databases, and impatient users?

If you're a developer and don't want to be on call at 3AM for the
rest of your life, this book will help.

In Release It!, Michael T. Nygard shows you how to design and
architect your application for the harsh realities it will face.
You'll learn how to design your application for maximum uptime,
performance, and return on investment.

Mike explains that many problems with systems today start with the
design:

"It's disconnected from the real world. It's the same as cars
designed solely in the cool comfort of the lab-they look great in
models and CAD systems, but don't work well in the real world. You
want a car designed by somebody who knows that oil changes are always
3,000 miles late; that the tires must work just as well on the last
sixteenth of an inch of tread as on the first; and that you will
certainly, at some point, stomp on the brakes while you're holding an
Egg McMuffin in one hand and a cell phone in the other."

With a combination of case studies and practical advice, Patterns to
follow and Anti-Patterns to avoid, Release It! will help you manage
the pitfalls that cost companies huge amounts of time and money each
year.