Cfengine is a declarative system configuration tool. This helps apply standards to system configuration. The configuration files specify the desired configuration and the engine applies these specifications to the system. It is useful to: Distribute configuration files; Install standard packages (including on Debian and Ubuntu with code provided here); Cleanup old files; and Ensure certain programs… Continue reading Cfengine 2 for Debian and Ubuntu
Firewalling Google Chat and Skype
To enable for Internet chat I set up Google Chat and Skype. My firewall rules have been extremely restrictive with only known and approved services allowed to connect. Google Chat installed with no noticeable impact to the firewall. Things did not go so well with Skype. The installation of Skype resulted in lots of warnings… Continue reading Firewalling Google Chat and Skype
Setting up Squid Proxy on Ubuntu
Squid is a proxy service for HTTP and other requests. This article covers installing it and configuring it to run on Ubuntu as a transparent proxy. This documentation includes configuring Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WPAD) via DHCP and DNS. I run a heterogeneous configuration. This provided a number of challenges as various implementations of WPAD were encountered. Each seems to… Continue reading Setting up Squid Proxy on Ubuntu
Database Naming Conventions
Naming standards for database objects can simplify development. The names used for tables and columns are most visible. Using standard conventions for the other objects can clarify where they fit in the design. This article describes the conventions I use by default.
Code Optimization Rules
It is common for developers to worry about optimization while doing initial programming. Some write extremely complex code in the belief that it is optimized. Unfortunately, this code is often slower than it might otherwise be. Additionally, the compiler may be unable to optimize the code. I find optimization is rarely necessary and effective optimizations… Continue reading Code Optimization Rules
Running an Email Server
I administer an email server for a couple of domains and a few users. Incorrectly configured email servers result in a lot of my administration work. Due to improper configuration, far too many servers look like Spam servers. A little effort in setting up your server can make my life easier, and increase your chance… Continue reading Running an Email Server
Connecting a Palm via USB
The computer to which I had been synchronizing my Palm Tungsten E died a while ago. I explored the two options for connecting to my Ubuntu system using a USB cable. The fastest is to use a direct USB connection. However, I wanted to ensure I could synchronize over a network connection. I also configured… Continue reading Connecting a Palm via USB
Analog with Report Magic and Logwrangler
I am now using Report Magic for Analog with my Analog installation. My last attempt had failed miserably, but this time it went extremely well. I found Logwrangler which does a lot of the work. I encountered an incompatibility between Report Magic and an updated graphics library. Once the patch was applied the program ran… Continue reading Analog with Report Magic and Logwrangler
Analog for Multiple Sites
Analog is a fast and flexible web log analysis tool. Its configuration can consist of several files nested using include statements. This allows common configuration items to be grouped in separate files. The minimal site specific configuration items can be contained in small include files. Similarly, time period specific include files allow for reports by… Continue reading Analog for Multiple Sites
Monitoring with Munin
Munin is a system monitoring program designed to capture and graph performance statistics with minimal configuration. It is significantly easier to configure than MRTG and has a wide variety of plugins. The Ubuntu (Debian) installer will setup a reasonable configuration on installation. It requires one server, and a client daemon on all monitored servers including… Continue reading Monitoring with Munin