Cloudflare Workers User Management and Session Framework
Stateful sessions on Cloudflare Workers beat JWT sprawl when your admin needs context and data persistence.
DevOps & Infrastructure
48 posts
How Does Cloudflare Workers Compare to AWS Lambda?
Cloudflare Workers beat Lambda on latency, cold starts, and pricing - I'm migrating production apps to the edge.
Simple Wufoo Style Form Handling Using AWS
Build your own Wufoo with TypeScript and AWS - serverless forms that store data and send alerts automatically.
AWS Lambda and EFS Troubleshooting
EFS unlocks 512MB+ file storage for Lambda, but connection errors have common fixes you should know.
File Uploads to AWS S3 Made Easy!
Pre-signed S3 URLs let users upload files directly from browsers without touching your backend.
Allow GitLab CI to use Docker Registry with Self Signed Certs
GitLab CI can trust private Docker registries with self-signed certs - here's the dind config.
Solution for Docker Registry Error: certificate signed by unknown authority
Private Docker registries with self-signed SSL require special config - here's how to make Docker trust them.
AWS, Wordpress, Bitnami, and Ansible - A Journey
Switching from Bitnami AMIs to custom AWS setups gave me flexibility but required rethinking WordPress ops.
error invoking target irman ioracle of makefile
Missing ljavavm12 library during Oracle installation? A simple file copy solves the error.
Installing GitLab on RedHat Enterprise 5 RHEL 5
Ubuntu-centric GitLab docs don't work on RHEL 5. Here's how to force it into submission.
Recent Server Downtimes
Hard drive failures took the site down. New RAID array means significantly better uptime ahead.
More Speed!
mod_pagespeed and CloudFlare combine to deliver faster page loads and stronger reliability.
PHP and FastCGI
Converting Apache mod_php to FastCGI aims for better performance and scalability.
Sparkred SoftLayer Partner Blog
Sparkred partnership highlights SoftLayer's infrastructure advantages for tech-forward companies.
Boston Web Performance Meetup - JMeter and New Relic
Co-presenting on load testing and performance analytics using JMeter and New Relic at the Boston Web Performance Group Meetup, September 18th, 2012.
rsync is MUCH faster than scp
Benchmark test reveals rsync outpaces scp by 2-10x on file transfers - practical performance comparison for deployment workflows.
Apache Web Performance
Apache Performance presentation at Boston Web Performance Meetup covers optimization techniques for web servers.
MySQL.com Hacked and Infected
MySQL.com security breach exposes critical vulnerabilities in web infrastructure.
Why you should be using a VPN
Wireless networks expose personal data constantly. A VPN encrypts traffic and protects privacy everywhere.
Spammers using a Thesaurus?
Spam bot ran English through a thesaurus to dodge filters - "beneficial perform" and "possess" exposed the trick.
SpamCop RBL is Blocking Several Facebook Mail Servers
SpamCop's RBL blocklist is flagging legitimate Facebook servers - if you use it, verify your allowlist.
Make Google Ignore JSESSIONID
Google's Webmaster Tools now lets you tell crawlers to ignore session parameters like JSESSIONID.
Automated ClamAV Virus Scanning
Automate ClamAV virus scanning on Linux with cron and firewall tuning for continuous protection.
Looking for abusive clients in your web server logs
Find IPs hammering your web server with a single command: `cut -d ' ' -f 2 | sort | uniq -c | sort -nk 1`
Server Backups to S3
After a hard drive failure, I moved backups to Amazon S3 - cheap, remote, and fast enough for cost-effective disaster recovery.
Hard Drive Fail
Server hard drive failed - don't forget to back up /etc and apt package lists along with your data.
Ant Exec Spawn Jobs Broke Under Hudson?
Hudson's February 2009 update fixed one bug but broke ant spawn tasks - upgraded builds stop starting application servers.
Monster.com Security Breach
Monster.com breach: user IDs, passwords, emails compromised. Change yours now.
Additional CDN Information
CDNs boost end-user performance 20-25% while slashing server load - geographic distribution wins.
Comcast 50/10 Service
Comcast 50/10 launches in my area - blazing speeds after the kinks get ironed out.
Server Migration
Server migration complete - sites, apps, and email now live elsewhere. Report issues if you spot them.
Apache mod_deflate and mod_cache issues
mod_deflate + mod_cache = cache explosion. Compression multiplies files - separate or carefully manage.
Why I love Debian (and PostgreSQL)
Load average 239+ but SSH worked perfectly: Debian + PostgreSQL kept systems responsive even under extreme duress.
AT&T DNS Cache Poisoning
AT&T DNS servers hit by cache poisoning attacks; vulnerable servers can poison others through trust chains - widespread problem.
Using IPTables to Prevent SSH Brute Force Attacks
Two iptables rules throttle brute-force SSH attacks: three tries, then a three-minute lockout that bots can't bypass.
JBoss jsessionid Query Parameter Removal
Strip jsessionid from URLs entirely instead of redirecting - prevent Google from indexing session chaos.
Hiding jsessionid parameter from Google
Google crawlers skip jsessionid parameters, diluting your rank. Mod_rewrite strips them cleanly without breaking sessions.
Spark::red Expands ATG Hosting Offering
Spark::red specializes in ATG hosting with response times measured in days, not months.
13 Steps to peace of mind
Load balance with redundancy, monitoring, and failover - 13 steps to bulletproof uptime.
Don't like people leeching your wireless?
Block wireless leeches? Get creative - upside-down internet redirects everything.
How to identify the process listening on a port
Use fuser to identify which process owns that unexpected port immediately.
Apache Proxy & Making Things Look Nice
Apache mod_proxy consolidates multiple services on a single port 80, making your dev stack accessible with clean URLs and proper routing.
How to block an IP in Linux
Block malicious IPs in Linux with iptables - a simple script keeps brute-force attackers from hammering your server.
Home Backups
Bash rsync scripts keep backups and remote MacBook storage in sync via cron - set ssh keys and forget.
Firefox, xhtml, JBoss 4.2.0, JSF, and Google Ads
Firefox rendering failures for Google ads explain a revenue drop after JBoss upgrade - sometimes the culprit is unexpected.
How to cleanout your postfix queues by sender
A massive postfix queue backup teaches lessons in email management - qshape uncovers hidden bottlenecks before they cripple the server.
Server Move
A server migration brings growing pains but opens the door to future expansion after years of constraints.
Index page issues when putting JBoss behind Apache
Switching from .seam to .html files in Apache-proxied JBoss breaks index pages - a gotcha that directory listings can't solve.