Debian Administration

I have long wished for the ability to install a Debian system specifying both the package list and the exact versions of the packages installed. dpkg --get-selections | ssh newhost dpkg --set-selections is useful but always chooses the latest version, and especially when using testing or unstable, it is sometimes necessary to temporarily downgrade a package from the latest version available.

In an ideal world you'd never need to change the password associated with a user account without using passwd, but there are times when it is helpful to script such things.

Both Debian Lenny and the system I've been running it on are now long in the tooth. So I've just brought up a Debian Squeeze-based system on a new and more capable box. I'd like to keep files in sync across the two hosts and would look for suggestions on doing that.

As Debian Lenny has a really outdated version of Engine X available, I took some time to update the package and compile it and note how it is done here for future references to anybody who needs to update an existing Debian package to use themselves.

For some, the stable biased Debian is too conservative and apparently OpenSSL has a bug that breaks PCI compliance.

Recently, my focus of interest turned to volume management. Since with Linux, LVM2 seems to be the only viable solution (unless you go for cluster filesystems), I started reading about LVM. Somewhere, I read about setting up a loop device as PV and that's where I got intrigued: Couldn't I just use a sparse file with one single large hole and let my ext4 fill that when there's actually something written onto the loop device?

This article documents installing an encrypted openvpn server upon the Lenny release of Debian - read on for the motivation & documentation.

I just enabled HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) markers on a bunch of web servers that offer HTTPS.

So you're afraid of wearing out your SSD. Or you don't want to spin up a sleeping hard disk just to write a line of log. Or maybe you're just looking for some use for the disproportionate amount of RAM you've got. Whatever your case is, what you need is a way to keep the log files in memory as long as the system is up, and write them down to the regular storage just before shutdown.

The Monkeysphere Project aims to put authentication on the web back into the hands of web users through the use of the OpenPGP Web of Trust (WoT). Instead of purchasing certifications from the certificate authority cartel, or offering uncertified keys for services, admins can use the Monkeysphere tools to make OpenPGP certificates for their services, publish the certificates to the WoT, and then certify it themselves.