Welcome to my blog. I write Instruction Guides, How-Tos, and Tips & Tricks on Linux, Database, Hardware, Security and Web. Visit Best of the Blog section to get started.

All Linux distributions comes with PHP. However, it is recommended to download latest PHP source code, compile and install on Linux. This will make it easier to upgrade PHP on an ongoing basis immediately after a new patch or release is available for download from PHP. This article explains how to install PHP5 from source on Linux.
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Expanding the capacity of a server by adding new disk drives is a typical activity for administrator. In this article, let us review how to add two new disk drives to the DELL server and create RAID 1 using “Dell PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller - PERC” configuration utility. This tool is also called as “PERC/CERC Bios Configuration Utility”.
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The previous articles (openSSH to openSSH setup, SSH2 to SSH2 setup) explains about how to setup key based authentication on the same version of ssh to perform ssh and scp without entering password. This article explains how to setup SSH key based authentication between different version of SSH (from openSSH to SSH2) to perform ssh and scp without entering password.
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All Linux distributions comes with Apache. However, it is recommended to download latest Apache source code, compile and install on Linux. This will make it easier to upgrade Apache on a ongoing basis immediately after a new patch or release is available for download from Apache. This article explains how to install Apache2 from source on Linux.
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For geeks to be more productive, using keyboards as much as possible is a must. AutoHotKey for windows is an excellent tool that can automate repetitive typing. Using scripting in AutoHotKey, you can pretty much perform any activities on Windows. This is a jumpstart guide to get you started on the AutoHotKey.
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mysqlhotcopy is a perl script that comes with MySQL installation. This locks the table, flush the table and then performs a copy of the database. You can also use the mysqlhotcopy to automatically copy the backup directly to another server using scp
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If you have more than one domain name, consolidating to a single registrar is a preferred approach. This article will explain the high level steps to transfer a domain name from one registrar to another. In this example, I transfered a domain name from Network Solutions (current registrar) to Go Daddy (new registrar).

1. Purchase and request domain transfer at the new registrar

When you purchase a domain transfer, some of the registrars may let you to keep all the time remaining on your existing registration, plus you may get a FREE 1-year extension. After the payment is processed, the status of the domain at the new registrar will be set to Authorization Required. You will also receive an email from the new registrar containing Transaction ID and Security Code.
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In the previous articles we discussed about Nagios 3.0 Jumpstart guide and How to monitor remote Linux host using Nagios 3.0. In this article, l’ll explain how to monitor remote windows machine and the various service running on the windows server using nagios monitoring server. Following three sections are covered in this article.

I. Overview
II. 4 steps to install nagios on remote windows host

1. Install NSClient++ on the remote windows server
2. Modify the NSClient++ Service
3. Modify the NSC.ini
4. Start the NSClient++ Service

III. 6 configuration steps on nagios monitoring server

1. Verify check_nt command and windows-server template
2. Uncomment windows.cfg in /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg
3. Modify /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/windows.cfg
4. Define windows services that should be monitored.
5. Enable Password Protection
6. Verify Configuration and Restart Nagios.

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Most of the Linux distro comes with MySQL.  If you want use MySQL, my recommendation is that you download the latest version of MySQL and install it yourself. Later you can upgrade it to the latest version when it becomes available. In this article, I will explain how to install the latest free community edition of MySQL on Linux platform.

1. Download the latest stable relase of MySQL

Download mySQL from mysql.com .  Please download the community edition of MySQL for your appropriate Linux platform. I downloaded the “Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 RPM (x86)”. Make sure to download MySQL Server, Client and “Headers and libraries” from the download page.
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While performing ssh from a local-host to a remote-host that are on different versions of ssh, it is possible that you may get “Algorithm negotiation failed” message.  In this post, I’ll explain how to resolve this issue from the ssh client.

 
1. Unable to ssh to remote-host: In this example, when trying to perform ssh from local-host to remote-host, we get the “Algorithm negotiation failed” error message as shown below. Please note that the local-host is running ssh2 client.
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