Servers and Scaling

Tips and tricks for managing Linux (CentOS) servers for web applications.
Running Metabase locally as a service

Running Metabase locally as a service

Want the power of Periscope or Tableau, without the big monthly bill? Setup Metabase to run locally on your CentOS server.

May 30, 2017
Shared filesystem between servers using NFS

Shared filesystem between servers using NFS

Mount a directory to be shared between multiple servers using Network File System (NFS).

Mar 31, 2017
Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Part 3 (Lambda)

Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Part 3 (Lambda)

Configuring your Lambda function for use with an Alexa skill.

Dec 19, 2016
Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Pt 2 (Alexa Skill)

Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Pt 2 (Alexa Skill)

How to create and configure a custom Alexa Skill.
Nov 10, 2016
Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Part 1 (Overview)

Create a custom Alexa Skill with AWS Lambda - Part 1 (Overview)

How to build a server-less application which handles authentication, saves details to DynamoDB, and communicates via Amazon's Alexa-enabled products.
Nov 1, 2016
How to Open a Port with IPtables [Step by Step Guide on CentOS]

How to Open a Port with IPtables [Step by Step Guide on CentOS]

A step by step guide (with example files) to open a port using IPtables, to allow restricted inbound traffic to a server.

Jul 26, 2016
Automated server deployments with Ansible

Automated server deployments with Ansible

Guide to automating server deployments with Ansible playbooks, with example files.

Apr 18, 2016
Sending log files to Logstash with Elastic's Filebeat

Sending log files to Logstash with Elastic's Filebeat

Centralize your logging by using Filebeat to send log files to Logstash.

Mar 9, 2016
Using Python's Watchdog to monitor changes to a directory

Using Python's Watchdog to monitor changes to a directory

A small Python script to take action whenever a new file is uploaded to a directory or its contents change.

Feb 23, 2016
Data Pipelines - Airflow vs Pinball vs Luigi

Data Pipelines - Airflow vs Pinball vs Luigi

Review of 3 common Python-based data pipeline / workflow frameworks from AirBnb, Pinterest, and Spotify.

Jan 13, 2016
Bash script to monitor instances and MySQL

Bash script to monitor instances and MySQL

A simple Bash script to check multiple server instances are responding, and rows are being added to a MySQL database.

Nov 11, 2015
Serving PHP with FPM (FastCGI) using Nginx on CentOS

Serving PHP with FPM (FastCGI) using Nginx on CentOS

Installation steps to start serving any PHP application (eg Wordpress) using FPM on CentOS, together with a sample Nginx config file.

Mar 12, 2015
Simple sysadmin tools - Screen on CentOS

Simple sysadmin tools - Screen on CentOS

Screen is one of my favourite utilities when managing servers - it allows you to use multiple shell windows from a single SSH session and to keep these active even after logging out. It is super useful for monitoring long-running processes.

Feb 5, 2015
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