dnstop is a great tool when maintaining a DNS server. Log file can give out required information but dnstop is just like top command for monitoring dns traffic. It is a small tool to listen on device or to parse the file savefile and collect and print statistics on the local network’s DNS traffic. You can see information about all DNS clients, DNS queries and much more with this tool.

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TP is insecure protocol, but file-transfer is required all time. You can use OpenSSH Server to transfer file using SCP and SFTP (secure ftp) without setting up an FTP server. However, this feature also grants ssh shell access to a user. In this article series we will help you provide secure restricted file-transfer services to your users without resorting to FTP. It also covers chroot jail setup instructions to lock down users to their own home directories (allow users to transfer files but not browse the entire Linux / UNIX file system of the server) as well as per user configurations.

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The problem of cooling the computer is not new. The more powerful and faster computers become, the “hotter” they get. Coolers inside computer cases, video card and power supply units are quite common nowadays. However, hard disk has no additional means to cool them. Most hard disk manufacture recommends 35-40 C working temperature for a hard drive. Once it crossed the limit safety of your data and hard disk becomes critical. Computer hard drive is the main storage media for your data. This article explains how to monitor hard disk temperature and prevent the loss of data under Linux using automated scripts.

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The last time I wrote about Lighttpd optimization tips here and here.
You must optimize server side as well as client side. Client side optimization includes CSS code, javascript and images as they would hardly change.
We can force client web browser not to download files for particular day / hour.
Lighttpd comes with mod_expire which controls [...]

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Recently updated/posted Linux and UNIX FAQ (mostly useful to Linux/UNIX new administrators/users) :

FreeBSD Setting up Firewall using IPFW
Install PHP 5 in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
Howto do I install multimedia plugins, codecs, libdvdcss in Debian Linux etch 4.0
UNIX File Encryption howto
Howto Install pine mail client under Linux
Howto get Red Hat Enterprise Linux Installation Number
Howto Red [...]

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Linux System Administration is a book for a seasoned Linux or UNIX administrator. The book attempts to describe day-to-day administration, maintenance and advanced issues commonly faced by Linux system administrator. Book covers wild verity of topics.
Both Tom Adelstein and Bill Lubanovic has done an extraordinary work to put together Linux System Administration. Tom is [...]

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Ah, it is indeed a beautiful Saturday night here in New Delhi.
There is some dissuasion going on with my old friend and I thought it is a good idea to share the same:
* Linux admin == smart people
* They learn quickly
* A typical Linux user is a power user and likes to run his/her [...]

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This is an excellent list of top five things that every Perl programmer should be aware of. A great article with good tips.
From the article:
Inside every tangle of obfuscated Perl code is a clean, well-architected gem struggling to emerge from its cocoon. brian d foy has spent a lot of time thinking about this for [...]

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There is a program called trickle. It is a portable lightweight userspace bandwidth shaper. It can run in collaborative mode (together with trickled) or in stand alone mode.
trickle works by taking advantage of the unix loader preloading. Essentially it provides, to the application, a new version of the functionality that is required to send and [...]

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CentOS 5 has been released. It is only a few weeks behind the release of RedHat Enterprise Linux 5. We run at least 100+ servers using CentOS. CentOS also used at my as development workstation. If you don’t want to pay Redhat (RHEL) money, use CentOS
From the announcement list:
We are pleased [...]

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OpenBSD’s spamd is a SPAM deferral daemon which rejects false mail in a very efficient way. spamd is a fake MTA or mail daemon which rejects false mail. It is designed to be very efficient so that it does not slow down the receiving machine.
For large email server I put spamd infront [...]

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Opera version 9.2 has been released. I’m dam sure you will find browsing faster and more enjoyable with Opera’s many new features
According to official opera blog:
9.2 is not only an important update with bug fixes and the new Speed Dial functionality, it’s also a milestone in spreading Opera to new users around the [...]

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My last post was all about selecting a Linux desktop distro. One of the major factors that hold many users making a switch from Windows to Linux is Gaming support.
This article strikes at the heart of one of the biggest Linux myths out there - that it doesn’t have gaming support. One of the [...]

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Almost all new Linux wanna be guru (read as users who want to switch to Linux) asks a question:
I want to switch to Linux completely from Windows XP SP2. Which Linux version will be best - Redhat, SuSE, or other? I use my PC for:
Browsing Internet
Watching DVD / MP3
Writing CD/DVD
I’m also willing to spend a [...]

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From the digg story:
This BIOS is ONLY for use with Windows Vista. Please do not install this BIOS for use with Windows XP, or other Windows versions. and who cares about something known as Linux!

Read the complete story here.
Boy I hate this kind of problem. Why on the earth they are locking down end users? [...]

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This is a reader-contributed article.
Technology has changed dramatically in the last decade. OpenSSH is one the best project. It allows you to control remote Linux / UNIX server using command line or GUI tools.
Do you miss GUI configuration server management tools such as Debian network-admin or Redhat/Cent os system-config-* tools/utilities while administrating a [...]

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As you may be aware that - The O’Reilly School of Technology has officially opened its virtual doors with educational offerings for students looking to further or launch their IT careers, whether they aspire to become alpha geeks or not. The school is a unique partnership between O’Reilly Media and the University of Illinois.
Students can [...]

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Yet another good article from Martin Streicher , Editor-in-Chief, Linux Magazine that explains UNIX Multitasks (many concepts applies to Linux as well).
From the article:
On UNIX systems, each system and end-user task is contained within a process. The system creates new processes all the time and processes die when a task finishes or something unexpected happens. [...]

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I found two interesting articles / post.
First one is written by Paul Graham - Microsoft is dead:
A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear [...]

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Debian 4.0 has been released. It is recommended that you upgrade the system to latest version. Upgrading remote Debian server is a piece of cake
Currently many of our boxes are powered by Debian 3.1 Sarga. For example typical web server may have following packages only:
=> Apache
=> PHP
=> Postfix and other mail server software
=> [...]

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The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0, codenamed etch.
We run large number of servers using Debian to cut RHEL cost. This is very good news for us as latest Dell server hardware is fully supported with Debian 4.0 stable.
Download links
=> Debian CD/DVD
=> Debian Torrent AMD 64
=> [...]

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Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, and Zephyr networks.
Say hello to Pidgin
Now Gaim changes name to Pidgin and releases version 2.0. According to the Gaim [...]

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Old version 1.4.xx has mod_fastcgi for PHP. This module has been replaced by mod_proxy_backend_fastcgi and mod_proxy_core in Lighttpd 1.5.xx.
FastCGI was developed by FastCGI and is a binary container around HTTP requests which reduces the parsing overhead.
FastCGI used for both PHP and rails application. In this small howto I will explain howto configure PHP under Lighttpd [...]

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The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) includes C, C++, Fortran and other programming languages. GCC was originally written by Richard Stallman in 1985. GCC is the only compiler you can find under wild verity of operating systems / hardware architectures (CPU).
gcc gives us many useful options to make our code into whatever we like. By understanding [...]

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MediaWiki is a web-based wiki software application used by famous wikipedia project. This software is quite famous and scales very well.
Installing mediawiki under Lighttpd is quite simple. If you need clean SEO urls; just follow following instructions.
Download and install wiki software in your domain directory. For example install software under /home/lighttpd/theos.in/http/w directory.
Download mediawiki
Visit official site [...]

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Recently updated/posted Linux and UNIX FAQ:

Lighttpd checking for GTHREAD… configure: error: Package requirements (gthread-2.0 >= 2.4.0) were not met error and solution
How do I install and search FreeBSD ports or a package?
Finding a File containing a particular text string in Linux server
Perl display and pass command ling arguments with @argv
Redhat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) install and [...]

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This article describes the most important concepts related to the Linux kernel’s interrupt handling mechanisms.
A clear understanding of the Linux kernel’s interrupt handling mechanism is essential if you are to write solid, reusable device interrupt handlers. It is also mandatory if you are to successfully port Linux to custom hardware.
Bill Gatliff provides a walkthrough [...]

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I don’t wanna get into BSD vs GPL war here. If I were GPL guy (Michael) I’d prefer to talk other BSD guy in private first regarding this issue. Following is email posted by Michael Buesch:
I, Michael Buesch, am one of the maintainers of the GPL’d Linux wireless LAN driver for the Broadcom chip [...]

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The O’Reilly School of Technology and the University of Illinois have partnered to offer Certificates of Professional Development in information technology and related skills.
You can learn the skillz and earn professional certificate. You will find courses related to:
=> Web development
=> UNIX Admin
=> Perl/ PHP programming
=> HTML, CSS, Java etc
The university will issue certificates if you [...]

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OpenSourceParking.com is a domain parking service that helps Free Software and Open Source. Domain parking provides a place-holder web page for an undeveloped domain name.
According to netcraft:
An open source initiative to reverse gains for Microsoft web server software appears to be using edited server headers to try and improve the showing of the Apache [...]

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