Linux server security is of critical importance to sysadmins. One central part of keeping Linux servers secure is by installing security updates promptly. Too often, there are compromised servers on the internet due to pending security updates waiting for a manual update. On both Ubuntu and Debian, the unattended-upgrades package can be configured to perform […]
Enable Automatic Updates – Fedora/Red Hat + Bonus Tip
Linux server security is crucial to Linux server administration. Part of keeping Linux servers secure is installing security updates shortly after they become available. Too often, compromised servers are a result of pending security updates awaiting manual installation. In general, for critical servers where you cannot afford unplanned downtime should be very careful with automatic updates. While there are […]
PHP Performance: Additional CPU cores vs Faster CPU cores
Some time ago, I received an email from a client experiencing slow performance issues with a LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP web server). During a full audit, I found that the server’s load average was pretty low (see below screenshot). However, the website was indeed very slow. There were some misconfigurations, but one of […]
PHP 8: After 4 years, only 30% of PHP websites use it. But why?
Two years ago, one of our online community members discussed some of the reasons behind the slow adoption of PHP 8. One member stated that it’s due to PHP compatibility issues across new releases. In contrast, another put it down to the fact that important software/frameworks did not support PHP 8 until recently. I think […]
dnf error: cannot find the libbrotlidec.so.1 library (cPanel/WHM CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8)
Upgrading from CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8 is a significant step towards ensuring that your systems remain secure, supported, and up-to-date with the latest features and security patches. AlmaLinux 8, as a community-driven replacement for CentOS, offers a robust and reliable platform that is binary compatible with RHEL 8. This transition, however, can sometimes present […]
50 Essential Linux Commands that You Should Know
In this blog post, I will list 50 essential Linux commands you need to know to manage Linux systems effectively. These commands will help you perform various tasks efficiently. This post is a follow-up to my previous blog post: 90 frequently used Linux Commands. However, it’s designed to provide you with a carefully categorized list […]
atop for Linux server performance analysis (Guide)
When optimizing Linux server performance, ‘atop’ is a command every system administrator should have in their toolkit. While many sysadmins are well-acquainted with top and htop, atop stands out as a powerhouse tool for real-time system monitoring and in-depth server analysis. In this article, we will explore the ‘atop’ Linux command, examine its advantages, and […]
htop: Quick Guide & Customization
htop is an interactive system monitor and a process viewer, process manager, trace tool and more. Sysadmins may opt to use htop when Unix top does not provide enough information about system processes. htop uses a cursor-controlled interface for sending signals to processes. One example where this is helpful is: you don’t have to type […]
dstat command in Linux w/ examples
This dstat command guide follows my previous 90 Linux Commands frequently used by Linux Sysadmins article. As time allows, I will continue to publish articles on around the 90 commands geared toward Linux sysadmins and Linux power users. Let’s continue this series with the dstat command. Dstat is used for generating system resource statistics. It is a versatile […]
iftop command in Linux w/ examples
This iftop command guide follows my previous 90 Linux Commands frequently used by Linux Sysadmins article. As time allows, I will continue to publish articles on around the 90 commands geared toward Linux sysadmins and Linux power users. Let’s continue this series with the iftop command. iftop is a terminal program that shows network activity and details in text form. It’s […]