falko's blog

The Perfect Server - Mandriva 2008 Free (Mandriva 2008.0)

Posted Thu, 2007-10-11 12:21 by falko

This is a detailed description about how to set up a Mandriva 2008 Free (Mandriva 2008.0) server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters: Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server with SMTP-AUTH and TLS, BIND DNS server, Proftpd FTP server, MySQL server, Courier POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc. This tutorial is written for the 32-bit version of Mandriva 2008, but should apply to the 64-bit version with very little modifications as well. http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect_server_mandriva_2008.0

Nginx HTTP Server + PHP5 (With fast-cgi And xcache) On Ubuntu Feisty Fawn

Posted Wed, 2007-10-10 12:06 by falko

This HowTo describes the implementation of Nginx with php5 support (through FastCGI). The fast-cgi process will be initiated via spawn-fcgi. Nginx is a great replacement of Apache with very low memory footprint and contrary to Lighttpd, does not suffer from memory leak over time. You can then use all the memory left to unleash the power of mysql for instance by increasing the default query cache. http://www.howtoforge.com/nginx_php5_fast_cgi_xcache_ubuntu7.04

Installing Ubuntu Or Fedora From A Windows Or Linux System With UNetbootin

Posted Sun, 2007-10-07 11:16 by falko

UNetbootin is a tool that allows you to install various Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuSE, Debian, ArchLinux) from a Windows or a Linux desktop over the internet (i.e., you do not need to burn the Ubuntu, Fedora, ... CDs). Unlike the Ubuntu installation with Wubi, real partitions are created during the installation. In the end, you have a dual-boot system (Linux/Windows or Linux/Linux). http://www.howtoforge.com/unetbootin_windows_ubuntu_fedora

Enhanced Logging With rsyslog On Debian Etch And phpLogcon For Viewing

Posted Wed, 2007-10-03 13:13 by falko

Well everybody knows the issues of reading and searching in log files. If you have more than one machine it even gets worse. This tutorial describes how to install and configure rsyslog on Debian Etch, but it can be adapted to other distributions. http://www.howtoforge.com/logging_with_rsyslog_phplogcon_debian_etch

Preventing Brute Force Attacks With BlockHosts On Debian Etch

Posted Sun, 2007-09-30 11:55 by falko

In this article I will show how to install and configure BlockHosts on a Debian Etch system. BlockHosts is a Python tool that observes login attempts to various services, e.g. SSH, FTP, etc., and if it finds failed login attempts again and again from the same IP address or host, it stops further login attempts from that IP address/host. By default, BlockHosts supports services that use TCP_WRAPPERS, such as SSH, i.e. services, that use /etc/hosts.allow or /etc/hosts.deny, but it can also block other services using iproute or iptables. http://www.howtoforge.com/blockhosts_debian_etch

Installing Debian Etch From A Windows System With "Debian-Installer Loader"

Posted Thu, 2007-09-27 12:32 by falko

Debian-Installer Loader is a Debian Etch installer for Windows which adds an entry to the boot menu that allows you to start the Debian installation. Unlike the Ubuntu installation with Wubi, real Debian partitions are created during the installation. In the end, you have a dual-boot system (Windows/Debian). http://www.howtoforge.com/debian_windows_installer

Installing The IBM Lotus Symphony Beta 1 Office Suite On Ubuntu 7.04

Posted Tue, 2007-09-25 10:36 by falko

This document describes how to set up IBM Lotus Symphony Beta 1 on Ubuntu 7.04. IBM Lotus Symphony is an office-suite that is based on OpenOffice.org (a fork of v1.x) and ported to Lotus Expeditor (IBM's enhancement of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform). It contains programs for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation. http://www.howtoforge.com/ibm_lotus_symphony_ubuntu_7.04

Virus Protection With F-PROT Antivirus On Ubuntu Feisty Fawn

Posted Mon, 2007-09-24 10:30 by falko

This tutorial shows how you can install and use F-PROT Antivirus on an Ubuntu Feisty Fawn desktop. Although there are not many Linux viruses out there, this can be useful if you often exchange files with Windows users - it can help you to not pass on any Windows viruses (that do not do any harm to Linux systems) to Windows users. F-PROT Antivirus for Linux is free for home use. http://www.howtoforge.com/f_prot_antivirus_ubuntu_feisty

Disk Based Backups With Amanda On Debian Etch

Posted Sun, 2007-09-23 12:11 by falko

This document describes how to set up Amanda (The Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver) on Debian Etch. For this tutorial I chose Ubuntu v7.04 as a backup-client. The resulting system provides a flexible backup system with many features. It will be able to back up multiple hosts via network to various devices. I chose the disk based backup for this howto. http://www.howtoforge.com/disk_based_backups_amanda_debian_etch

Chrooted SFTP With MySecureShell On Debian Etch

Posted Fri, 2007-09-21 10:49 by falko

This tutorial shows how to install MySecureShell on a Debian Etch system. MySecureShell is an SFTP server that is based on OpenSSH and can be configured in many ways, e.g. it has support for chrooting users into their homedirs or for limiting upload-/download bandwidths. MySecureShell makes SFTP available for users that do not have shell access so that these users do not have to use the insecure FTP protocol anymore. http://www.howtoforge.com/mysecureshell_sftp_debian_etch

How To Compile rTorrent From SVN In Ubuntu Feisty Fawn / Gutsy

Posted Wed, 2007-09-19 10:24 by falko

Torrent is a great way to transfer large files very quickly. However most torrent clients are gui based and have quite some impact on system resources (e.g. Azureus). rTorrent is a lightweight client running from the terminal. Being able to run it in a screen session (also upon boot) makes it ideal to also control it from a remote location. http://www.howtoforge.com/compile_rtorrent_from_svn_ubuntu

Xen Cluster Management With Ganeti On Debian Etch

Posted Tue, 2007-09-18 10:31 by falko

Ganeti is a cluster virtualization management system based on Xen. In this tutorial I will explain how to create one virtual Xen machine (called an instance) on a cluster of two physical nodes, and how to manage and failover this instance between the two physical nodes. http://www.howtoforge.com/ganeti_xen_cluster_management_debian_etch

Modifying PDF Files With PDFedit On Ubuntu Feisty Fawn

Posted Mon, 2007-09-17 12:09 by falko

This article shows how you can install and use PDFedit on an Ubuntu Feisty Fawn desktop. PDFedit is a free and open-source editor for manipulating PDF documents. http://www.howtoforge.com/editing_pdf_files_pdfedit_ubuntu_feisty

Monitoring Network Latency With Smokeping (Debian Etch)

Posted Sun, 2007-09-16 12:49 by falko

This guide shows how to install and configure Smokeping on Debian Etch to monitor network latency. From the Smokeping web site: "SmokePing is a deluxe latency measurement tool. It can measure, store and display latency, latency distribution and packet loss. SmokePing uses RRDtool to maintain a longterm data-store and to draw pretty graphs, giving up to the minute information on the state of each network connection." http://www.howtoforge.com/monitoring_network_latency_smokeping_debian_etch

Speeding Up Perl Scripts With SpeedyCGI/PersistentPerl On Debian Etch

Posted Fri, 2007-09-14 10:45 by falko

This tutorial shows how to install and use SpeedyCGI (also known as PersistentPerl) on a Debian Etch system. SpeedyCGI is a way to run Perl scripts persistently, which can make them run much more quickly. It keeps the Perl interpreter running, and during subsequent runs, this interpreter is used to handle new executions instead of starting a new Perl interpreter each time. http://www.howtoforge.com/speedycgi_debian_etch