What do you do if you wonder if your internet connection is working? I built Pinging.net to be a fast and convenient way to monitor your internet connection. How does pinging.net work? Visiting Pinging will automatically run a few tests. Firstly, caching for the site is disabled so when the page loads you have a good indication […]
Firewalla Blue Plus Review by Ben Isai
I’d like to start off by thanking @hydn for the opportunity to enter and win this FWB+. Background I really enjoy homelabbing and playing with Linux (Servers/Networking devices). I have a few mini PCs, Raspberry Pis and other devices around the house that I thinker’ with. In 2020, I discovered Firewalla, and this company had everything I wanted, a beautiful phone […]
Fix – Error: Failed to download metadata for repo appstream – CentOS 8
Previously, we looked at What CentOS alternative distro should you choose? That article was posted before End of Life (EOL) for CentOS 8 – December 31st, 2021. CentOS 8 will NOT automatically migrate to the next version (CentOS Stream 8). There will be no more updates to CentOS 8. Error: Failed to download metadata […]
SCP Linux – Securely Copy Files Using SCP examples
This post includes SCP examples. SCP or secure copy allows secure transferring of files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts. It uses the same authentication and security as the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol from which it is based. SCP is loved for its simplicity, security and pre-installed availability. […]
Linux Performance: Almost Always Add Swap. Part 2: ZRAM
Previously, we looked at how swap space, particularly swapping, can severely slow down Linux performance. We then tweaked Linux kernel parameters to better use server memory and avoid heavy swapping. That article created some debate and good arguments for and against swap space. For example, if you have more than enough memory available, wouldn’t it […]
Using the find command in Linux with examples
This find command guide is a follow-up of my previous 90 Linux Commands frequently used by Linux Sysadmins article. Every week, or as time allows, I will publish articles on the ~ 90 commands geared toward Linux sysadmins and Linux power users. Let’s continue this series with the find command. The find command is part of findutils which […]
Nginx tuning tips: TLS/SSL HTTPS – Improved TTFB/latency
Since 30th June 2018, the PCI Security Standards Council has required that support for SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 be disabled and, more recently, to disable TLS 1.1. Using TLS 1.2 and 1.3 is strongly recommended. In addition, as of July 2018, Google Chrome began to mark ‘HTTP’ websites as “not secure.” Over the past […]
PHP 8: Only 3% installed it. Here’s why.
This morning, I read a comment by one of our online community members discussing some of the reasons behind the slow adoption of PHP 8. One member stated that it’s due to PHP compatibility issues across new releases. In contrast, another put it down to the fact that important software/frameworks did not support PHP 8 […]
The Two Generals Problem
Alice and Bob Imagine there’s a city in a valley. On either side of the valley, there’s an army commanded by a general. On the left hill stands General Alice and her army. On the right hill, General Bob and his army. Alice and Bob want to capture the city, but neither side has an […]
78% of the web powered by PHP (3% on PHP 8)
Today, PHP is used by almost 78% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know. Popular websites such as Slack, Etsy, Wikipedia, WordPress, Mailchimp, Canva, Indeed, Investing.com, and others are powered by PHP. However, in the coming months, many websites that fail to upgrade to the latest version of PHP 8 will be […]