Migrating a server is never really a good idea, but in some cases, it may be just what you need for business growth or website stability and security. Depending on your needs, you may be switch from Windows to Linux, Linux to Windows, Solaris to BSD, or any number of …
June, 2010
May, 2010
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3 May
Linux vs. Other Free Unices
Linux is undoubtedly the most popular Unix-like operating system, and it is increasingly becoming the number-one choice for web servers, virtualization, and cloud computing. But it is not the only Unix-like OS on the map, and there are a few that rival Linux in terms of stability, security, and ease …
March, 2010
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25 March
Open source vs proprietary servers
Open Source typically refers to software that has code released under some type of free software license (GPL, BSD, Apache, etc.). Users and developers have access to the source code and can modify and redistribute it. Proprietary software usually means the source code is closed and/or the EULA (end user …
February, 2010
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3 February
Web server round-up
Over the past year, we have discussed several web servers. For your convenience, here is a quick list of each one we have already mentioned, as well as a couple we did not, including links to their project sites. Apache – This is the most widely used and the one …
January, 2010
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22 January
Using virtualization to host multiple operating systems
This week we have learned about several different server-ready operating systems. But what should you do if you need to run multiple operating systems? Should you fork out the cash for multiple servers? It really depends on your needs, but if you know you will not need an entire dedicated …
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20 January
BSD and its descendants
In a previous post, we looked at FreeBSD, one of the descendants of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), which was a Unix-like operating system developed at the University of California at Berkeley. There are other descendants of BSD that have developed as well. Here is a quick overview of them: …
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19 January
How to install Apache on a FreeBSD server
Continuing with our series this week on non-Linux operating system servers, today we will learn about FreeBSD. Its proponents (of BSD distributions in general) call it the most secure and reliable operating system for Internet-connected servers. It comes with several different versions of Apache. Here is a quick guide to …
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15 January
Disable unused services on your server
Unused services may seem like a non-issue, but they cause your server to take longer at boot, and they eat up RAM that could be used for critical services. This is a cross-platform issue, so Linux, Windows, BSD, and Solaris servers could all potentially have unused services running in the …
October, 2009
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30 October
What is named?
Question: I keep seeing the program called “named” running on my server. What is it? Answer: Named is one of the DNS programs, also known as Bind, which is a free and open source DNS management system. Bind handles all of the DNS for your Linux server and is usually …
September, 2009
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30 September
What is BSD?
Question: I have heard of Unix and Linux, but what is BSD? Answer: BSD commonly refers to the the UNIX-like operating system developed at the University of California, Berkley in 1977. It predates Linux and has been used in Unix server environments for decades, in response to the licensing issues …