There are over a hundred Linux distributions available. Knowing which one to choose only makes it more challenging for users to adopt Linux. This section aims to provide good information about different distributions and why you would want to choose one over the other. Covers the most popular distributions out there.

Postgresql Performance Tunning

Database Tuning has been described as a blackart. And in many ways I suppose this statement is correct. However, I look at it as more along the lines of identifying bottlenecks and then finding solutions to those bottlenecks.

A good starting place for any database performance problem is installing the tools that allow you to do your job. I have found the following tools to be essential.

Life With Systemd

Connecting Linux to Large Active Directory at a University Using Samba and Kerberos

Integrating Linux in a predominantly Windows environment at a local University can be challenging on many fronts. The biggest challenges are often lack of expertise from administrators, and proper support in Active Directory like installing Services for Unix (SFU) integration or including a standards-based LDAP schema for typical UNIX user and group attributes. Like most products from Microsoft, Active Directory, which is just another LDAP implementation, was designed to support Windows clients. Consideration for making it a compatible solution for Unix was an afterthought

Boot Ubuntu, Mint, or Debian to Single User Mode

Sometimes your system refuses to boot properly. Even recovery mode selection from the command line prompt is not very helpful. Here is a good technique to boot your Linux system into single user mode. Single user mode is great for password recovery tasks and other tasks that may not work in recovery mode.

Linux Command Cheat Sheet

File commands	System Info
ls -- Directory listing	date -- Show the current date and time
ls -las -- Formated listing with hidden files	cal -- Show this months calendar
cd dir -- Change the directory to dir	uptime -- Show the current uptime
pwd -- Show current working directory

Recover from a Frozen Linux System the Right Way

Even Linux is subject to system freezes. Problems with defective hardware, or a pesky bug in the Linux kernel itself can leave your system in a frozen state and unresponsive to key board commands. Even the three fingure salute, ctrl + alt + delete are ineffective. Hitting the power button should always be your last resort, and just be aware you could boot back up with a lengthy fsck or even worse, a system that must be recovered from backup.

Find NFS Shares on Network Using BASH Script

Have you ever wanted to scan a network for NFS volumes that are available. The following script requires the NFS client tools in order to work properly.

Understanding the FSTAB File

The /etc/fstab file contains information about file systems. It is used by several commands on Linux to define how file systems are mounted. Every filesystem that Linux supports supports many different mount options depending on the file system. For example, a filesystem called XFS, supports custom options like barriers/nobarriers, but ext4 supports options like discard if you are using solid state disks.

The /etc/fstab file is comprised for six fields or columns, device, mount point, file system type, mount options, dump options, fsck options.

Install OpenLDAP on Centos or Redhat Enterprise Linux

We all respect Redhat's goal of providing a stable operating system to its customers, the stability often comes at price. Often in the form of missing features that are available in the more recent releases of many packages. One such product has always been OpenLDAP.

Building Ganglia RPMS on Centos or Redhat Linux

Ganglia is a scalable distributed monitoring system for high-performance computing systems such as clusters and Grids. It is based on a hierarchical design targeted at federations of clusters. It leverages widely used technologies such as XML for data representation, XDR for compact, portable data transport, and RRDtool for data storage and visualization.

Know Your Linux

Linux Distribtutions