How I create Linux device files — and why
First, what the heck is a Linux device file -- and why should I care? Linux handles almost everything as a file. This has some...
Secure electronic document disposal with Linux
We can't be too careful about ensuring that our personal data is safe, both paper documents and electronic ones. I'm sure I don't need to...
How to access Rescue mode (runlevel 1) in Linux
I frequently find need to perform maintenance on the filesystem of one of my dozen or so physical computers. Many maintenance tasks require the system to be running the Rescue.target, formerly, runlevel 1. There are two methods you can use to enter Rescue mode.
How to remove existing traditional swap partitions
Swap space is a common and important aspect of computing today regardless of operating system. Linux uses swap space to substitute for RAM when it becomes too full to effectively support additional programs or data. It is a way to temporarily enable the system to keep running albeit at the cost of reduced performance. However the use of zram for swap space has provided an interesting, if counter-intuitive, method for providing a reasonable amount of swap space while significantly improving swap performance.
Getting started on the command line
As a SysAdmin, the Linux command line is typically my happy place. The command line interface, the CLI, is the closest I can get to the raw power of my computers. It gives me access to tools that make my work easy, fast, and even fun. I use the command line so much that I sometimes forget how much power I have to manage my computers.
I also forget that it took me a long time to really understand the terminology that applies to the various tools that I use to access that command line. This article is about those tools and the sometimes confusing terminology necessary to function on the CLI.
Automate Raspberry Pi tasks with crontab
If you need to do a task on a regular schedule, explore how you can use crontab to do the repetitive work for you.
Am I a SysAdmin?
Wikipedia defines a system administrator as “a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems, especially multiuser computers, such as servers.” In my experience, this can include computer and network hardware, software, racks and enclosures, computer rooms or space, and much more.
How to do fast, repeatable Linux installations #2 — Bash scripts + RPM
In Episode 1, How to do fast, repeatable Linux installations #1 -- Bash scripts, I discussed how I used a Bash script after performing a...
How to do fast, repeatable Linux installations #1 — Bash scripts
Image by: Opensource.com Some of my articles and an entire book have been about The Linux Philosophy For SysAdmins and its impact on the daily...
Intro to the Linux useradd command
Adding a user is one of the most fundamental exercises on any computer system; this article focuses on how to do it on a Linux system.
How to configure multiple websites with Apache web server
Here’s how to host two or more websites on Apache, a popular and powerful web server. With name-based virtual hosting, you can use a single IP address for multiple websites. Modern web servers, including Apache, use the hostname portion of the specified URL to determine which virtual web host responds to the page request. This requires only a little more configuration than for a single site.
The Art of Problem Solving
Image by: Opensource.com Although it would be nice to believe that cars, home theater systems, computers, and Linux never break, the reality is that they...
Managing devices in Linux
There are many interesting features of the Linux directory structure. In this article I cover some fascinating aspects of the /dev directory.
Device files are also known as device special files. Device files are employed to provide the operating system and users an interface to the devices that they represent. All Linux device files are located in the /dev directory, which is an integral part of the root (/) filesystem.
Get started with Midnight Commander, a visual shell and file manager for Linux
Midnight Commander (MC) is a text-based Command Line Interface (CLI) program. It is particularly useful when a GUI is not available but can also be used as a primary file manager in a terminal session even when you are using a GUI. Midnight Commander can be used to interact with local and remote Linux computers using the CLI.
The man page for Midnight Commander calls it a visual shell because it’s capabilities are greater than the file manager we usually use it as. This article will provide you with enough information to get started using Midnight Commander as a file manager as well as its other capabilities.
How to build rpm packages
Over the years I have created a number of Bash scripts, some of which have separate configuration files, that I like to install on most of my new computers and virtual machines. It reached the point that it took a great deal of time to install all of these packages, so I decided to automate that process by creating an rpm package that I could copy to the target hosts and install all of these files in their proper locations.
Save time and effort installing files and scripts across multiple hosts.
Regular Expressions #4: Pulling it all together
This series delves into the practical applications of regular expressions within Linux tools such as grep, sed, and awk, demonstrating how to simplify and optimize command-line tasks. The articles guide readers from basic to more complex uses of regex, emphasizing their usefulness in data stream transformation and text manipulation across various tools and programming languages. Through hands-on examples and resource recommendations, the series aims to enhance the reader’s understanding and proficiency with regex in diverse scenarios.