Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS brings five years of support, performance boosts in Linux 6.8, and built-in container tools. This guide walks you through every command and menu click—from preparing your USB stick to locking down SSH—so you can deploy a production-ready server with confidence. 1. System Requirements & Preparations CPU: 2 cores @ 2 GHz minimum RAM: 4 GB (8 GB+ recommended) Disk: ≥ 25 GB (SSD preferred) Network: Wired Ethernet adapter Boot Media: USB stick (8 GB+) Secondary Machine: To download ISO and write USB Tip: Enable virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V) in BIOS if you plan VMs. 2. Download & Validate the ISO Download wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/24.04/ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso Verify Checksum sha256sum ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso Compare against the checksum on releases.ubuntu.com/24.04. 3. Create a Bootable USB...
Mastering keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Illustrator can save you hours of repetitive clicking. Below is a fully-loaded, high-quality reference listing the most commonly used shortcuts—organized by category—for both Mac and Windows. 🛠 Tools Shortcuts Action Mac Shortcut Windows Shortcut Move Tool V V Direct/Group Selection Tool A A Pen / Add-Anchor / Delete-Anchor / Convert P / + / – P / + / – Type Tool T T Shape Tools (Ellipse, Polygon, Star, Spiral) L L Rectangle / Rounded Rect Tool M M Paintbrush Tool B B Pencil / Smooth / Erase Tools N N Rotate Tool R R Scale Tool S S Reflect Tool O O Free Transform Tool E E Blend / Auto-Blend Tool W W Graph...
1. Introduction Enterprises worldwide are racing to adopt IPv6 to solve the IPv4 address exhaustion problem and unlock modern networking benefits. This guide walks you through a realistic, zero-downtime migration on Cisco Meraki MX, MS, and MR devices. Each step includes dashboard screenshots (you’ll capture locally), example configurations, validation commands, and troubleshooting tips—so your team can implement IPv6 without guesswork. 2. Planning & Design 2.1. Audit Existing IPv4 Infrastructure Export your current Meraki network report: Dashboard > Organization > Summary report > Export as CSV. Document all VLAN IDs, subnets, DHCP scopes, firewall rules, NAT policies, VPN peers. Create a spreadsheet with columns: Device Serial, VLAN, IPv4 Subnet, DHCP Range, ACLs. 2.2. Design Your IPv6 Address Plan Obtain a /48...
As a database administrator, I once relied on DELETE to purge large volumes of obsolete records. Over time, I discovered this approach caused hidden performance and storage headaches. In this post, I’ll share what I learned about InnoDB’s storage model, the pitfalls of bulk DELETE, and the best practices I now follow. Understanding InnoDB’s Storage Architecture InnoDB stores data in tablespaces, segments, extents (groups of 32 pages), and pages (16 KB each by default). When you delete rows, InnoDB simply marks them as deleted—it doesn’t return space to the operating system. As a result, the .ibd file stays the same size, leaving unused “holes” in your tablespace. My Experiment: DELETE Doesn’t Free Space I created an empty table and saw...
As the person responsible for our company’s IT infrastructure, one of my essential tasks was optimizing our web servers. After much research, testing, and consideration, Nginx emerged as the optimal solution due to its high performance, reliability, and flexibility. Understanding Nginx Architecture and Working Model One aspect that immediately attracted me to Nginx was its highly efficient architecture. Unlike Apache’s thread-based approach, Nginx uses a Master-Worker architecture. Master and Worker Processes The Master process manages global operations: reading configurations, launching worker processes, and overseeing their health. Each Worker process, operating independently, handles client requests using an event-driven model, efficiently managing multiple connections with minimal resource usage. Event-Driven Asynchronous Model Worker processes employ a non-blocking, event-driven model, ensuring quick request handling...
How I Centralized Our Desktop Wallpaper with Active Directory GPO As the IT administrator for one of our corporate clients, I was recently tasked with standardizing the desktop background on nearly 200 domain-joined PCs. Manually updating each machine would be a logistical nightmare, so I leveraged our Windows Server’s Active Directory and Group Policy to automate the process. Scenario & Requirements The client wanted a branded 1920×1080 wallpaper across all employee workstations without touching individual machines. To prepare, I gathered: A high-resolution wallpaper file (1920×1080) to enforce on all desktops. An Active Directory domain controller with file-share capability. Verified AD health (DNS, replication) and appropriate GPO editing permissions. Step 1: Create & Share the Wallpaper Folder On the domain controller:...
Securing Our Linux Servers with SSH Two-Factor Authentication In my role as a systems administrator at our company, I recently observed numerous automated login attempts against our Linux servers. Handling sensitive customer data demands robust security measures, so I decided to implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for all SSH access. Below is the scenario that prompted this change and a detailed walkthrough of how I set it up using Google Authenticator. The Scenario: Why We Needed SSH 2FA Our production environment runs on Debian 12.5 and Ubuntu 24.04 servers hosting web applications and internal tools. After receiving alerts about repeated failed SSH logins, I knew it was only a matter of time before a breach occurred. To mitigate this risk quickly...
DNS Records Guide: A Comprehensive Look at Domain DNS and Record Types Domain Name System (DNS) is the backbone of the modern Internet—translating human-friendly domain names into IP addresses that machines understand. In this guide, we’ll dive into how DNS works, explore the most common record types, and explain the purpose and best practices for each. How DNS Works: The Basics When you type www.example.com in your browser, your computer queries a DNS resolver, which cascades through root, TLD, and authoritative name servers to find the matching record. That record points to an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6), and the browser then connects to the server. This multi-step lookup happens in milliseconds, seamlessly routing you to the correct resource. Key...
How I Transformed Our File Sharing Workflow with Snapdrop In my role as an IT engineer, I encounter daily requests for transferring large design assets, logs, and multimedia between team members. USB drives require manual handoffs, emails choke on attachments over 25 MB, and Bluetooth can take minutes for just one file. Apple’s AirDrop is convenient—if all devices are Apple—but our environment spans Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. I needed a truly universal solution, and that’s when I discovered Snapdrop. Background: Limitations of Traditional Methods Before Snapdrop, our team struggled with: USB Drives: Risk of lost or infected devices. Email Attachments: Size limits and slow uploads. Bluetooth: Tedious pairing and slow transfer speeds. What Is Snapdrop? Snapdrop is an open-source,...
As an IT professional, one of the constant challenges I face is managing suspicious files and spam emails within our company. Often, these emails or attachments might look legitimate but could easily contain hidden malware that could put our network and data at risk. That’s where Windows Sandbox comes into play—a simple yet powerful solution I rely on daily. Why Choose Windows Sandbox? Windows Sandbox is essentially a lightweight, isolated desktop environment, perfect for safely testing files and links without risking your main operating system or network. Once you close the Sandbox, everything inside it is permanently deleted, making it ideal for handling uncertain files. My Step-by-Step Approach to Testing Files in Windows Sandbox 1. Enabling Windows Sandbox First things...
FoxDoo Technology
FoxDoo Technology
