Tag Archives: linux

Checking Whether a Process Exists

Posted on December 31, 2016 by

On Linux/Unix systems, there’s occasionally the need to check whether a process is running. Some people use it for simple status checks or when building their own lifecycle scripts for startup and shutdown. I don’t think it’s a particularly good practice … Continue reading →

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Detecting Security Upgrades on Ubuntu

Posted on October 22, 2016 by

In my article on unattended upgrades I described how to set up an Ubuntu system to install security upgrades automatically. This is convenient for small setups, but in an enterprise environment you typically want to perform some QA before applying the … Continue reading →

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Vim File Type Configuration

Posted on April 11, 2015 by

Vim has been my primary text editor for more than 15 years, but even though I use it on a daily basis, my configuration hasn’t changed much over time. When I set up a new workstation, I stumbled upon the … Continue reading →

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Keeping Your Server Secure With Unattended Upgrades

Posted on February 26, 2015 by

When operating servers, you’re responsible for keeping them up to date with the latest security fixes. Ubuntu comes with a mechanism that installs updates automatically so you don’t have to worry about it. Obviously, this is meant for personal servers … Continue reading →

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Living in the Future with IPv6

Posted on January 18, 2015 by

It’s not quite flying cars, but since yesterday I’m living in the future. IPv6 has arrived at my home network after I switched to a new VDSL contract. I had to activate it manually in my FritzBox home router though, … Continue reading →

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Installing Oracle’s JDK on Debian/Ubuntu

Posted on November 9, 2014 by

Due to licensing issues, Linux distributions don’t ship Oracle Java packages anymore. In many cases, that doesn’t matter since you can just use OpenJDK. But if you do need Oracle’s JDK, Debian packages are a bit more convenient than handling … Continue reading →

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Managing Docker Container Updates

Posted on October 20, 2014 by

When running a Debian/Ubuntu-based server, it’s relatively easy to figure out whether updates need to be installed. Tools based on apt work very well in this regard and even offer advanced features like unattended updates. Not so with services running … Continue reading →

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