Back in May 2015 we updated our server setup and started to use a bunch of new tools to avoid server administration headaches. We mostly rely on Node.js apps (Ghost, our homepage is built on hapi, Strider) and wanted a reliable process manager to keep started servers alive. We …

Within the previous post on how to use nginx load balancing, we showed you the required nginx configuration to pass traffic to a group of available servers. This week, we dive into the advanced nginx configuration like load balancing methods, setting server weights, and health checks. {{outline}} Load Balancing Mechanisms …

Load balancing a great method to reduce latency, improve resource utilization and ultimately increase fault-tolerance. If you already use nginx as a reverse proxy, you can easily update your configuration to enable load balancing functionality for your application. This guide shows you how to configure nginx to forward requests to …

We recently updated our SSL certificate for futurestud.io. We decided to use AES256 for the new SSL certificate which requires a password for the .key file. At this point, we didn’t think of any problems with nginx. The nerve-racking part was waiting in secret! {{outline}} Problem: Nginx Asking …

A week ago we migrated our Future Studio homepage and blog to a new server. Besides, we reconfigured our apps to run with SSL on HTTPS. We use a Gandi Standard SSL certificate which has the problem that an intermediate certificate is required to omit certificate errors on every browser …

Using SSL certificates may cause problems with the certificate chain on older or mobile browsers. The steps below show you how to create a complete certificate from your existing one and how to configure nginx. {{outline}} Gather SSL Certificate Files You need the following three SSL certificate files. You can …

Managing remote servers requires either a very good memory to remember connection options like usernames, remote addresses, ports and further details or a good way to document all the details for each server. The SSH config file should be your helping hand to control and simplify SSH connections. If you …

Dock is a shell script which helps you to bootstrap databases and other tools in seconds. You don't install the tools natively on your computer! Instead, Dock runs a Docker container on your machine and exposes required ports and IP addresses to your host machine. Your benefit: concentrate on development …