DevOps

Install a LAMP stack (Apache, MariaDB, PHP) on Ubuntu Server

Tuesday, 10th April, 2018

Ubuntu Server is a Linux distribution that is ideally suited to server workloads. For example: hosting websites and web applications.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install a LAMP stack – that’s Apache, MariaDB (in place of MySQL) and PHP – on Ubuntu Server using the latest available releases, and how to keep it up-to-date.

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Redirect all visitors to a primary domain in Apache

Saturday, 31st March, 2018

There are several scenarios in which you may want to redirect all your website visitors to a single, primary domain in Apache:

• Redirect the www and non-www (root domain) hostnames of your domain to avoid duplicate content and improve SEO
• Redirect an old domain to a new domain, maintaining links and search engine reputation
• Redirect secondary domains (e.g. “spelling mistake” domains, or alternative-spelling domains) to your primary domain

I have recently implemented the following on my own website, and I would like to share this Apache trick.

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Why I prefer self-hosted Git repositories to Github, Bitbucket, etc.

Saturday, 10th February, 2018

It’s the year 2018 and it’s impossible for a software developer to have not heard about (or used) Github, or a variant like Bitbucket. Even self-hosted Git evangelist GitLab is a popular choice.

At the start of February 2018, I provisioned a new Cloud VPS to run my website and other apps. I also chose to migrate all my private Git repositories to it and cancelled my paid Github subscription.

This article explores the reasons why I went self-hosted.

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The Great Big Cloud Hosting Speed Test 2017

Sunday, 21st January, 2018

2017 was an exciting year for the bigger players in the cloud hosting arena.

With all these improvements in cloud hosting, I thought it would be interesting to focus on a key metric of hosting providers that many overlook: network speed.

Most modern cloud hosting providers give your dedicated server or VPS a 100Mbps or 1Gbps network connection. But how close can you actually get to that speed?

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Content Delivery Networks can improve your website’s performance

Monday, 27th November, 2017

Content Delivery Networks were created for one reason: to speed up your websites and web applications. In this article, I explore how you can take advantage of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to improve your website performance for a small cost.

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MariaDB 10.1 is Generally Available

Tuesday, 20th October, 2015

The open-source database fork of MySQL, started by MySQL’s original developer – MariaDB – have certified their latest release of the 10.1 series (10.1.8) as Generally Available.

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Migrate an SVN repository to TFS

Tuesday, 6th October, 2015

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server (TFS.) It is a complete tool for managing an application throughout its lifecycle. However I was bought up (and learnt most of my programming skills) on open-source software. It’s important to me that I don’t forget my roots!

While TFS is a fantastic tool for commercial application lifecycle management, SVN (Subversion) also has its place in corporates. It’s free and has lower training overhead: perfect for companies that don’t need anything other than source control (or use other tools.)

In this article I’m going to teach you how to migrate an SVN repository (including all its history) into TFS using a Git repository.

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Linode: Why I chose them to host my website and applications

Thursday, 1st October, 2015

This post explains why I chose Linode to host my new website (this one) and other web applications I use in my day-to-day work – and why I’d fully recommend them to anyone who needs a virtual server (VPS.)

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