ubuntu server

Setting Ubunutu 10.04 Raid with Dell PowerEdge T310 and PERC S100

file commands

It turns out that Dell PowerEdge servers (like the T310) with PERC S100 do not support RAID on Ubuntu. Bummer. But here is how I got Ubunutu software RAID 1 to work with my Dell PowerEdge T310, PERC S100 and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS… The main trick was to turn re-initialize the PERC Controller to use [...]

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Setup WordPress or WPMU to make an atomic version switch — AND allow you to revert

apache

I have a new WordPress MU (WPMU) install and I am ready for my first upgrade. I couldn’t get automatic upgrade to work, and all the forums said: do it by hand manually. This is fine, but I didn’t want my site to be in flux with some old an some new files as I [...]

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How to keep the existing file attributes (owner, timestamp, etc) when copying files or directories

command line

When copying files and especially directories, sometimes you want to keep the existing file attributes. For example, you may likely want to keep the same owner, group, timestamp, etc. You can keep the attributes by using the preserve argument. preserve=all will keep everything: You can use the -p version of preserve to keep the default [...]

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How to Check the Ubuntu Version.

command line

How do you know which version of Ubuntu you are running? This will return something like this:

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Configuring Log Rotation of Apache2 and Other Logs

apache

I went to check out my apache2 logs and I noticed that they were being automatically rotated (access.log, access.log.1, etc.) and compressed with gzip (access.log.2.gz, etc.). This seems to be the default Ubuntu configuration. I wanted to make find out more, and I found this helpful article about Ubuntu logs, including Apache2 Log info and [...]

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How to change your password from the command line

command line

To change your own password from the command line: To change the password for another user, you must use sudo:

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How do I know which kernel I am using?

newbie

How do you know which linux kernel you are using? uname -kFind out other system info withuname -a

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How to prevent server (daemons) from starting during apt-get install

newbie

Some times you may not want a server or daemon to start as part of the postinstall scrip when installing with apt-get or dpkg. To prevent servers from starting, do the following: # Prevent launch of servers during apt-get install mkdir -p /usr/sbin/ cat < /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d #!/bin/sh exit 101 EOF chmod 755 /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d When you [...]

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Newbie: how to edit a file from the command line

file commands

Could there be any more basic question? We all know there are no stupid questions, but I sure felt dumb having to look up this one. I found the built in editor nano. Likely more searching will yield a better editor. But for now nano will work. For other newbies, note that you need to [...]

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Setting up CUPS and installing local printer in Ubuntu Server

cups

After my first Ubunutu Server install (Hardy Heron LTS 8.04), I couldn’t get the local printer setup. Here’s how I fixed it. I’m a linux newbie and was feeling a bit lost without GUI. Several articles I read said gnome on a server was an unnecessary security risk, so I installed Webmin. But I couldn’t [...]

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