1. Do not allow direct root/administrator login 2. Make sure passwords are secure and changed regularly (by force if necessary) 3. Use a network firewall, such as APF 4. Use an application firewall, such as ModSecurity 5. Chroot all non-root users to keep them out of system directories 6. Use …
Read More »Server Networking Tips
Over the past year, we have covered many networking tips for servers. Here is a brief summary of the most important networking tips you should keep in mind for your dedicated server. 1. Use both a router firewall and a software firewall 2. Your name servers should be hosted on …
Read More »South Pole data center is coldest in the world
<center A150-server data center might not seem like much of a big deal, but it is when the data center is located in the South Pole. In the video above, software consultant John Jacobsen discusses the data center at the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory. According to Jacobsen, the facility is …
Read More »Twitter to open Utah data center later this year
To help keep up with ever-increasing traffic, Twitter is set to open up a new custom-built data center in Utah later this year. Considering 300,000 new Twitter users log on every day, the site desperately needs to expand its capacity. The data center is being built especially for Twitter’s needs. …
Read More »Easily Repeat Root Commands with History
Previously, I mentioned some of the benefits of using the “history” command to display any or all of your previous commands. On dedicated servers, whether Linux or Unix, that use “sudo” rather than “su” to become root, it can be aggravating when you type a long command string only to …
Read More »How to Change Your FTP Port
The default port for most FTP servers is 21, and that is how most system administrators will leave it. The majority of FTP clients are configured to use it, and some will not even ask you to change it unless you dig through the configuration. There are, however, a few …
Read More »Running Apache on Another Port
Question: I have one instance of Apache running on the standard port 80, but I would like to run another on port 8080 for a different web application. Is this possible? Answer: Yes, it is possible, and it is actually easier than you may think. Rather than creating a new …
Read More »Google increases spending on data centers
Google has nearly doubled its data center spending. It went from investing $239 million last quarter in capital investments to $476 million this quarter. Although a capital investment is any physical asset that has long-term value, most of Google’s capital investments are IT-related. Large capital investments are often a sign …
Read More »Oracle CEO hates on cloud computing
If you’ve never been a fan of the cloud computing hype that has been bandied about the web lately, check out this video of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison bashing the technology. As far as Ellison is concerned, cloud computing has been around for years. It’s just a computer connected to …
Read More »HP signs $3 billion contract with US Navy
Last Thursday, HP announced the signing of a $3 billion contract with the US Navy. Under the deal, HP will continue to provide IT services to the Navy, including the operation of its Intranet. Dennis Stolkey, senior vice president of the US public sector at HP Enterprise Services, stated: The …
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