Explore the world of Linux with clear, approachable guides. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll find something to brew your interest here.
I’ve been using Linux for years, and one thing that’s made a huge difference in my productivity is being able to manage multiple terminal sessions efficiently. For me, tmux has been a game-changer. If you’re not familiar with it, tmux is a terminal multiplexer that lets you create and manage multiple terminal sessions from a single window. In this article, I’ll share some of my favorite tmux config tweaks that have helped me streamline my workflow.
[Read More]I’ve been running my homelab for years, and one thing that still gets me is DNS troubles. Last year, I decided to set up systemd-resolved and dnsmasq to manage my home network’s DNS. The idea was to use systemd-resolved as the primary resolver and dnsmasq as a caching layer to improve performance. Sounds simple, but it didn’t quite work out that way.
To start, I enabled systemd-resolved on my Ubuntu-based server. This involved editing the /etc/systemd/resolved.conf file to set the DNS servers and domains. I opted for Cloudflare’s DNS servers - they’re known for being fast and secure.
I’ve seen this go wrong when a slow system boot time brings your entire workflow to a crawl. Whether you’re running a homelab server or a desktop Linux installation, a slow boot can be frustrating. In this article, we’ll explore how to troubleshoot slow system boot times using systemd-analyze and other practical tools.
The real trick is to use systemd-analyze to get a detailed breakdown of the boot process. This powerful tool provides insights into the time spent on each service and the overall boot time. To use systemd-analyze, simply run:
I’ve seen my fair share of slow-booting Linux systems over the years, and it’s frustrating when you’re waiting for your system to start up. With modern hardware and Linux distributions, boot times should be relatively fast, but misconfigured services, unnecessary dependencies, and inefficient system initialization can still cause issues. That’s where systemd-analyze comes in - it’s an invaluable tool for identifying bottlenecks and optimizing your system’s performance.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve received disk full alerts on my home server. It’s frustrating, especially when it happens at the worst possible moment. Last year, I had a particularly annoying issue that prompted me to take a closer look at my disk usage. I realized I needed to make some changes to prevent these issues in the future. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps I took to resolve disk full alerts on my server by implementing quotas and cleaning up systemd journal logs.
[Read More]I’ve been running Linux for years, and one thing I’ve learned is the importance of managing disk space effectively. btrfs has been a game-changer for me - its snapshotting and automatic pruning features have saved me from more than a few headaches. In this article, I’ll share my experience with using btrfs snapshots to keep my systems running smoothly.
btrfs snapshots are essentially temporary copies of a subvolume, which can be used to roll back changes or recover data if something goes wrong. I’ve seen this go wrong when I’ve accidentally overwritten important files or filled up my disk with unnecessary data. With btrfs snapshots, you can create a snapshot of your system, make changes, and then delete the snapshot if everything works out. The real trick is to use them consistently and make them a part of your workflow.
[Read More]Running a small Linux server at home can be a fun hobby, but it’s easy to let disk space get out of control. I’ve seen this happen to me when I forget to clean up old package versions, logs, or just general clutter. In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of reclaiming disk space from unused package versions on your Linux server. Don’t bother with trying to manually track down every last byte - the real trick is to use the right tools to make the process as painless as possible.
[Read More]I’ve been using Linux for years, and journalctl has become an essential tool in my daily workflow. If you’re like me, you’re probably familiar with the journalctl command, which is used to query and display logs from systemd’s journal. However, with the vast amount of data that’s logged, it can be overwhelming to sift through and find the information you need. In this article, I’ll share some practical tips and tricks for filtering out noise and finding useful error messages in your system logs using journalctl.
I’ve seen this go wrong when you’ve got a bunch of background tasks running on your Linux machine, whether it’s a homelab, self-hosting services, or just your everyday desktop. If you don’t manage these tasks, they can consume way too many resources. That’s where nice and ionice come in - they’re essential tools for taming those resource-hungry background tasks.
The real trick is understanding how nice and ionice work. nice adjusts the scheduling priority of a process, which is useful when you want to control how much CPU time a process gets. By default, Linux uses a dynamic priority scheduling algorithm, but nice lets you override this and set a manual priority. The nice value ranges from -20 (highest priority) to 19 (lowest priority).
I’ve seen log rotation become a major issue on small servers with high IO workloads - it’s a problem that can sneak up on you quickly. Logs can grow at an alarming rate, and if you don’t manage them properly, they can fill up your disk space in no time. The real trick is to stay on top of log rotation, and that’s where tools like logrotate come in.