30x Faster WP-Super Cache and Site Speed with TMPFS
I haven’t had time to post much the past year, I’m always working! So I wanted to make up for that by publishing an article on a topic that would blow your mind and be something that you could actually start using and really get some benefit out of it. This is one of those articles that the majority of web hosting companies would love to see in paperback, so they could burn it. Now ask yourself, if a webhost makes money based on how much memory, bandwidth, and data used by a customer, what would they not want their customers to do? That’s right, they do not want their customers to learn how to minimize and drastically reduce these moneymakers. They get giddy when you complain about slow-site-speed, or that it takes a long time for your site to load, because they have exactly the right answer- upgrade your memory, bandwidth, and data by purchasing a more expensive plan.
Tagged: Cache, devshm, filesystem, ram, ramdisk, ramfs, server, slram, speed, tmpfs | Continue...
Custom bash_profile for Advanced Shell Users
Looking for some advanced uses for the shell? Here is some of my best. The shell is where 70% of my work takes place, and I have at least one terminal open almost 100% of the time, for viewing tailing color-coded logs, and of course for the SSH Tunnels that I use to route various networking through, like my email. So I decided that to standardize and create a bash_profile containing the most time-saving and helpful functions that I could use on all the various hosting environments would really be some sweet sugar, so here is my constant Work-in-progress.
It works for all shells I encounter, including BackTrack, Debian, Knoppix, Arch Linux, etc. Also works for many hosting environments I use including DreamHost, HostGator, WiredTree, and pretty much any linux VPS.
I also rely on this heavily from within shell scripts I write to access all the functions and stuff in this .bash_profile, and to do that I just do like:
#!/bin/bash source ~/.bash_profile &>/dev/nulll pm "PM is a function to output nice messages with color" yn "Are you enjoying the shell" && pm "Thats great!" || pm "Perhaps you're better suited for DOS" yn "Show Calendar" && aa_calendar yn "Show Fortune" && aa_fortune
Tagged: .bashrc, advanced, alias, bash, bash alias, bash_profile, function, linux, scripts, shell script | 3 Comments | Continue...
DNS Round Robin Configuration using Rsync over SSH
The goal is to add the HostGator server to be an exact mirror of the static.askapache.com domain, then to add that server as a 2nd A record to my DNS zone. That way half the visitors to the size will be taking up resources and bandwidth on the HostGator server instead of mine.
Round Robin A records in DNS are intended to evenly distribute queries between each host of the same name. Using some tricks straight out of a hackers toolbox we can verify if the distribution is taking place. (It is.)
Tagged: DNS, DreamHost, HostGator, Powweb, Round Robin, rsync, ssh | 4 Comments | Continue...
Mirroring an Entire Site using Rsync over SSH
Sometimes there is an urgent need for creating an exact duplicate or “mirror” of a web site on a separate server. This could be needed for creating Round Robin Setups, Load-Balancing, Failovers, or for just plain vanilla backups. In the past I have used a lot of different methods to copy data from one server to another, including creating an archive of the whole directory and then using scp to send the file over, creating an archive and then encrypting it and then sending that file over using ftp, curl, etc., and my persistence at learning new ways to do things has paid off because now I use rsync to keep an exact replica of the entire directory on an external server, without having to use all the CPU and resources of other mirroring methods.
Tagged: backup, bash, encryption, mirror, password, rsync, ssh | 1 Comment | Continue...
Ultimate Htaccess Tutorial for .htaccess files
This is not an introduction to .htaccess… This is the evolution of .htaccess… The BEST, the ORIGINAL, the NEWEST, and the most HIGHEST, FLYEST .htaccess tricks I can find.
Originally known as the “Ultimate .htaccess Guide”, its changed over the years by adding new .htaccess tricks and .htaccess examples to it.. I also add my favorite .htaccess links, the best .htaccess articles on AskApache, the coolest .htaccess experiments, the Web’s best .htaccess hacks, and update this article on the regular.
Tagged: .htaccess examples, Apache, Cache, caching, Files, FilesMatch, Google, Hacking, howto, htaccess, htaccess guide, htaccess help, htaccess howto, htaccess rewrite, htaccess tricks, htaccess tutorial, httpd, litespeed, mod_rewrite, Mod_Security, rewritecond, rewriterule, sample .htaccess, Security, SEO, seo secrets, SetEnvIf, ssl, ultimate htaccess | 56 Comments | Continue...
Chmod, Umask, Stat, Fileperms, and File Permissions
Unix file permissions are one of the more difficult subjects to grasp.. Well, ok maybe “grasp” isn’t the word.. Master is the right word.. Unix file permissions is a hard topic to fully master, mainly I think because there aren’t many instances when a computer user encounters them. I’ve done a lot of research on it the past couple weeks… and now here’s everything I’ve learned so far.. cuz you guys AskApache Regs Rock!
Tagged: chmod, File Permissions, fileperms, Hacking, Security, stat, umask | 5 Comments | Continue...
Automated Folder Backup Shell-Script
This simple unix shell script automatically creates backups of a specific folder at regular hourly, nightly, weekly, and monthly intervals. Instead of the usual method for copying directory trees using tar with fifo, pipes, rsync, or NFS methods this script uses cpio which is much much faster and has cool options like saving m/a/c times, symlinks, relative paths, and weird file names.
AskApache.com May 2008 DreamHost Site of The Month
With a rating of 8.58, this marks the highest rated DreamHost Site Of The Month Winner in the History of the Contest!
Upgrading to DreamHost Private Servers
DreamHost PS gives you your own “virtual machine”, protecting your CPU and RAM on your physical machine for faster websites. Here’s what I like and dislike about DreamHostPS, and some of the issues and solutions for migrating.
Mod_Security .htaccess tricks
Mod_Security rivals Mod_Rewrite in the amount of features it provides. I decided to go ahead and post what I learned about it today, even though its tough to give away such awesome htaccess and apache tricks.. Learn how to control spam once and for all, conditionally log/deny/allow/redirect requests based on IP, username, etc.. Mod_Security is so fine!
Tagged: Hacking, htaccess, Mod_Security, Security | 8 Comments | Continue...
Fresh .htaccess Examples: Cookies, Variables, Custom Headers
Fresh .htaccess code for you! Check out the Cookie Manipulation and environment variable usage with mod_rewrite! I also included a couple Mod_Security .htaccess examples. Enjoy!
Tagged: Cookies, Headers, htaccess, mod_rewrite | 7 Comments | Continue...
IP Abuse Detection for DreamHost
Scan Apache logs for IP address that are probably evil, then generates an .htaccess file to DENY them all.
Tagged: bash, DreamHost, ip abuse, shell script | 5 Comments | Continue...
Log all .htaccess/.htpasswd logins
Learn how to log and debug usernames and passwords used to login to a htaccess basic authorization protected website using php. This article is BOSS and will show you how to fully take control of this aspect of security using php and .htaccess, I don’t believe you will find instructions to do this anywhere else on the net.
Tagged: 401, authorization, basic, htaccess, htpasswd, htpasswd login, password, username | 3 Comments | Continue...
Skeleton .htaccess file for Powweb Hosting
If you have a Powweb Webhosting account, you will appreciate this simple skeleton .htaccess file for use on their systems.
Lets win the DreamHost Contest
DreamHost has a contest every month nicknamed “DHSOTM” or DreamHost Site Of The Month, that lets the customers rank websites hosted on DreamHost.
By winning the contest you get to put a graphic designed in the 90’s on your site. I want it so bad!
PHP5 Custom Install Shell Script Example
Today I successfully learned how to compile and run multiple custom php installations for a DreamHost account, and to get it working I came upon a simple shell script that I made a couple changes to.
Apache Directives and Modules on DreamHost
Apache .htaccess Directives and Loaded Modules allowed on DreamHost Apache Server 2 Setups.
What I think about DreamHost Web Hosting
You may have noticed that we do things a little differently around here. There’s a reason for that.
Website SEO Score Tool
Check out this free online SEO site-scoring tool. The SEO generated report is simple, neat, and helpful. The main thing I like about it is how it is a stand-alone website, a residual money making machine.
Speed Tips: Use Multiple SubDomains
To make your site even faster, serve certain content from different subdomains. The reason this works is amazingly cool!
Custom Webmaster Shell Environment
Webmasters often use SSH to remotely admin web sites and servers, learn how to make your shell colorful and powerful using my sample .bash_profile and you can be up and running in 30 seconds!
Rigging the DreamHost Site of the Month Contest
Since I was disqualified and accused of cheating, which is absolutely false, I decided to go ahead and do the crime I have been punished for. That’s right, I’m going to show YOU how I could have rigged the DHSOTM contest to hopefully make the statement that I absolutely did not cheat and I absolutely want to be re-instated as the winner.
DreamHost Site of The Month is AskApache!
AskApache.com won the contest for May! Thanks to all of you who voted for my site! Even though AskApache won the contest according to the rules, somehow they said I cheated by giving DreamHost too much free publicity and advertising. I love DreamHost!
Advanced Google Analytics 404 Error Page
Advanced 404 Not Found Error page usage with Google Analytics. This makes it very easy to diagnose and keep track of 404 Error messages from within google analytics. Enjoy!
Multiply your DreamHost Referrals
Learn how to make YOUR DreamHost promo codes work much better for YOU! This is not about promo-codes, this is about a simple method you should implement.
DreamHost Site of The Month Contest
Every month a contest called DHSOTM is held for the highest rated website on DreamHost. By winning the contest your site gets SEO and traffic benefits, which I hope to measure soon.
On-Demand MySQL Backup Shell Script
On-Demand WordPress MySQL database Backup Shell Script for DreamHost
SEO Redirects without mod_rewrite
Web Professionals use mod_rewrite to issue 301 and 302 Redirects for Search Engines. Sometimes you may not have mod_rewrite.c or you want an alternative redirect method. Using mod_alias RedirectMatch you can use REGEX in Redirect commands!
Tagged: htaccess, ultimate htaccess | 11 Comments | Continue...
PHP htaccess tips and tricks
Htaccess php tips and tricks for the Apache HTTPD Web Server, mostly these tips show you how to run customized versions with customized php.ini files, I require custom php.ini files because they are so useful!
301 Redirect with mod_rewrite or RedirectMatch
301 Redirects using Apache mod_rewrite or RedirectMatch in .htaccess or httpd.conf
Custom PHP.ini with FastCGI on DreamHost
I’m really sorry but I had to disable the sites you had running under
user $USER because that was the only way I could keep the associated
processes from restarting themselves and making the server unstable.
Please do not run these sites with a persistent php.cgi process with a
php.ini file as an argument.
DreamHost Server IP Address List
A list of all DreamHost Servers and corresponding IP address. The dreamhost.com DNS zone is currently having troubles, so most hostnames within this zone are not resolving.
Serve Alternate Content based on Time
Time-dependant rewriting uses mod_rewrite and apache server time variables to display different files depending on the time, while the URL stays the same. An often requested implementation of this is to display a different home page or image depending on if its morning, noon, or night.
Tagged: htaccess, mod_rewrite | Continue...
Custom PHP.ini tips and tricks
Tagged: htaccess, PHP, php.ini | 9 Comments | Continue...
Shell Scripts for Dreamhost
Example shell scripts (bash or sh) that automate and easyate tasks from within the dreamhost ssh env
SPF Records on DreamHost
Here are the steps that I take to get an SPF Record going on DreamHost
v=spf1 mx ip4:64.111.100.0/24 ip4:66.33.201.0/24 ip4:66.33.216.0/24 ip4:208.97.1 32.0/24 ip4:208.97.187.0/24 ip4:208.113.200.0/24 ip4:208.113.244.0/24 ip4:64.18.0.0/20 ip4:74.125.148.0/22 include:aspmx.googlemail.com include:_spf.google.com ~all
Tagged: Anti-Spam, Dig, DNS, DreamHost, Email, Gmail, Host, SPF | Continue...
FastCGI on DreamHost
Regular Expressions in Dreamweaver
Find and Replace tool in Adobe DreamWeaver is useful of course, but you aren’t using a fraction of the power until you use REGEX.
My Picks
- Rsync + SSH = Freedom
- THE Mod_Rewrite Cheatsheet
- AskApache .bash_profile
- Elite Log Viewing
- THE Ultimate Htaccess
- Intense Windows Speed
- DNS: Round Robin Speed
- Fsockopen: Nuts
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-- William Hazlitt
Newest Posts
- 30x Faster WP-Super Cache and Site Speed with TMPFS
- Tips and Tricks for a BASH Power Prompt
- PortaPutty Auto-Reconnecting SSH Tunnels on an Encrypted TrueCrypt Portable USB Key w GPG
Tech Topics
- WordPress Plugins
- Google + SEO
- .htaccess Tips and Tricks
- Apache HTTPD
- Computer Security Articles
- Search Engine Experiments
- PHP Programming
- Linux / Unix / BSD
- Shell Scripting
- CSS, DOM, XHTML
- Advanced Shell-Scripting
htaccess Guide
- htaccess tricks for Webmasters
- HTTP Header control with htaccess
- PHP on Apache tips and tricks
- SEO Redirects without mod_rewrite
- mod_rewrite examples, tips, and tricks
- HTTP Caching and Site Speedups
- Authentication on Apache
- htaccess Security Tricks and Tips
- SSL tips and examples
- Variable Fun (mod_env) Section
- .htaccess Security with MOD_SECURITY
- SetEnvIf and SetEnvIfNoCase Examples
Website Speed Tips Series
- Turn On Compression
- Add Future Expires Header
- Add Cache-Control Headers
- Turn Off ETags
- Remove Last-Modified Header
- Use Multiple SubDomains
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