Some time ago I built a setup using Amazon’s S3 and Cloudfront that would allow large file uploads/downloads directly from the an S3 bucket, through a Cloudfront endpoint (which provided both a lower latency and allowed using SSL on a custom domain). I recently came across OVH, and two things caught my attention – low… Continue reading OpenStack PHP and OVH
MCP9701A Thermistor Requires a Stable Input Voltage
I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with computers, so it is not uncommon for me to go a few months feeling a bit apathetic towards them. Recently, I have been getting more into electronics and microcontrollers (it seems like the perfect next step after computers). So, here is what is, hopefully, the… Continue reading MCP9701A Thermistor Requires a Stable Input Voltage
Adding a Notification to Old WordPress Posts
While some articles may be timeless, depending on the type of content being published, many posts have a definite expiry date. It is the double edged sword of rapidly evolving technologies – they improve swiftly, but articles written about them become outdated just as fast. This site, for instance, is primarily about cloud computing and… Continue reading Adding a Notification to Old WordPress Posts
WebSockets – Varnish, Nginx, and Node.js
Like many others I have been drawn in by the appeal of websockets and their use in (near) real-time communication. As such one of my current projects uses Node.js and websockets (via socket.io). To maximize compatibility, I would, of course, like my Node.js site to run on port 80. My server, however, is not used… Continue reading WebSockets – Varnish, Nginx, and Node.js
DRBD on Amazon’s Linux
Note: this was done more as an experiment than for something I intended to use in production – so consider it to be more a compilation of notes than a full out procedure. DRBD – Distributed Replicated Block Device – is a kernel level storage system that replicates data across a network. It uses TCP… Continue reading DRBD on Amazon’s Linux
Varnish – Nothing but 503s
I use Varnish on my production server without any issues – it works quite well, and I have come to consider it an essential component in my server stack. I have recently been having a bit of trouble with a new project of mine that I currently believe a misconfigured Varnish instance to be responsible… Continue reading Varnish – Nothing but 503s
Root Autologin on CentOS
Do not do this – it is a very, very bad idea!!! Doing this for any reason (other than the fun of it – in a ‘safe’ virtual environment) should carry with it an eternal ban prohibiting the use of a computer. Alright, if you are still reading, and understand that you should never, ever… Continue reading Root Autologin on CentOS
Windowless VirtualBox VMs (Windows Host)
Since I haven’t gotten around to playing with VMware or xen yet – VirtualBox is what I am using for virtualization in my test environment. Under Windows I like to use PuTTy to connect to my VMs – even those running on the same machine. Other than providing a consistent interface, it has a few… Continue reading Windowless VirtualBox VMs (Windows Host)
Directly connecting to PHP-FPM
When it comes to troubleshooting, it is ideal to be able to isolate each component of a system. In the case where multiple connected items are performing correctly, they can sometimes be grouped together – however, if one of these items is not functioning, diagnostics become much harder. My typical web server stack includes: Varnish… Continue reading Directly connecting to PHP-FPM
Combating WordPress Spam
Akismet and Conditional CAPTCHA make the perfect combination in avoiding spam comments on a Wordpress site.
Autoscaling with custom metrics
One of the appeals of cloud computing is the idea of using what you need when you need. One of the ways that Amazon provides for this is through autoscaling. In essence, this allows you to vary the number of (related) running instances according to some metric that is being tracked. In this article, we… Continue reading Autoscaling with custom metrics
WordPress – SSL login page without SSL admin
In WordPress (v3.3), FORCE_SSL_LOGIN will transmit login credentials over SSL, however, the login page itself may be accessed over HTTP (as opposed to HTTPS). If the login page is accessed via HTTP, the user has no (easy) way of verifying that the page is legitimate and that the credentials will in fact be sent over… Continue reading WordPress – SSL login page without SSL admin
Easy Windows-Linux File Sharing with a LiveCD
The intent of this article is to address a very specific case – it is not meant as a best practices guide. Scenario: A. You have a windows computer (Computer 1) with files that are remotely accessed from second windows computer (Computer 2). B. Access from Computer 2 is via a program that expects the… Continue reading Easy Windows-Linux File Sharing with a LiveCD
Building Ice Cream Sandwich (Android v4) for VirtualBox on EC2
This was completed 2 weeks ago, but I am only now getting around to posting it online. This experiment was purely for the fun of it – I don’t own (or want) a cell phone, and have never used Android. However, it is an interesting operating system, and I always enjoy playing around with such… Continue reading Building Ice Cream Sandwich (Android v4) for VirtualBox on EC2