Introduction.

This little tutorial aims to cover a simple, but vital process, that may be required if your secure shell (ssh) key becomes invalid.

How could this occur?

A simple explanation could be a corrupted file, but in my case, it was the result of implementing a clean installation of Debian Squeeze on my main production computer.

Recovering from an Upgrade Failure at Boot

Twice now upgrading from "Karmic Koala" to "Lucid Lynx" both are LTS versions the server have failed. I had each server fail to boot after upgrade and whilst I can not understand why, I can at least try to find a way around the failure and restore the system to working order. This article is my attempt to recover from such a disaster.

Introduction.

Some regular readers may have seen my articles on building a Debian server from scratch.

This has been up and running faultlessly for over a year now, with only the occasional maintenance from me and has proven to be a robust and reliable machine.

So why another; you may ask?

LTSP Workabout 27th June 2010

Introduction

The Linux Terminal server is much talked about these days but just what is LTSP, is a free and open source add-on package for Linux that allows many users to simultaneously run on the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client. This was a workshop that some colleagues of mine and I decided to learn what we could about LTSP.

Drupal Server Update

It may have escaped everyone's attention but this SoSLUG site is now running on Drupal 6 a significant web site upgrade.

This upgrade was not without it's problems, not least of which was the lack of drupal_wiki profile which still is only available for Drupal 5 and is core to the development of this site. Drupal Modules upgrades also proved problematic especially the views module.

Web Server & Software

Introduction.

So now the server is built and RAID5 configured. You can find the previous article here. I'm slowly beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. All I have to do now, is select the server software and that's it; or is it?

This project has seen its fair share of setbacks; smoke pouring out - frightening; a failed brand new hard drive - frustrating, to name but two! Surely now, all I had to do to complete the project would be completed in an hour or so, with time for a little self congratulation on a job well done.

Introduction.

This page assumes you have either built your server from my previous page here, or have sufficient knowledge to do so. It also concentrates on why I chose RAID 5 and in particular, how RAID 5 is set-up on the Adaptec 2410SA card.

How to build a Debian web server for home use

Introduction

The purpose of this wiki contribution is to describe how to build and configure a web server, to operate from your home. Later on, I hope to expand it into a file server and possibly a mail server.

It will provide detailed building instructions as well as some insights as to why I chose to complete it in the way I did.

Well I have my mail server up and running. I have found this Howto on setting up a mail server which can host multiple domains.

http://workaround.org/articles/ispmail-etch

Rather than reinvent the wheel I have been following it. I have also been using a book called "The book of postfix" by Ralf Hidebrandt and Patrick Koetter, published by No Starch Press.

The simple answer "Because I can" is probably premature at this stage. The main reasons I want to do it are principle and security.

As Paul points out in his page on encrytping e-mail [[How to Encrypt emails in Debian Etch 64 bit, PCLinucOS and Ubuntu Hardy Heron.]] plain e-mail is inherently insecure. It is sent in plain text through servers you do not control including your ISP's. However even if you encrypt your e-mails, as Paul suggests, an attacker who can monitor your internet connection can learn a great deal about you by studying who you send e-mails to and who you receive e-mails from. In security jargon this is called "Traffic Analysis".