ZFS Property Inheritance: The Surprise That Changes Child Datasets
Understand ZFS property inheritance, why child datasets change unexpectedly, and how to diagnose, audit, and prevent production-impacting surprises.
ZFS ashift: The Silent Misalignment That Cuts Performance in Half
A production-focused guide to ZFS ashift: what it really means, how to detect misalignment, and how to fix it without wrecking reliability.
Debian 13: NTP Works but Drift Persists β Hardware Clock and Chrony Tweaks (Case #79)
NTP looks synced on Debian 13, yet time still drifts. Diagnose hardware clock issues, chrony settings, and VM pitfalls with command-driven fixes.
Office VPN access control: allow only whatβs needed (not full LAN-to-LAN)
Design office VPN access control that permits only necessary apps and routes, avoids LAN-to-LAN sprawl, and stays debuggable under pressure.
Ubuntu 24.04: SSH hardening that wonβt lock you out β a pragmatic checklist
A pragmatic Ubuntu 24.04 SSH hardening checklist: safe changes, verification commands, rollback paths, and diagnostics so you donβt lock yourself out.
Debian 13: NFS is slower than expected β prove itβs sync/rsize/wsize and fix it (case #23)
Diagnose slow NFS on Debian 13 by proving sync and rsize/wsize limits. Use traceable tests, then fix mounts, exports, and server IO safely.
AI on GPUs: how your graphics card became a home supercomputer
GPUs turned from game hardware into practical AI engines. Learn why, how to diagnose bottlenecks, and how to run models safely on a single PC.
WireGuard vs IPsec for Offices: Whatβs Easier to Maintain and Common Traps
A pragmatic SRE guide to WireGuard vs IPsec for office VPNs: maintenance reality, failure modes, debugging commands, traps, and a sane rollout plan.
Dockerfile βfailed to solveβ: the errors you can fix instantly
A practical SRE playbook for Dockerfile βfailed to solveβ errors: fast triage, common root causes, commands, and fixes that work in real CI.
Form Styling That Survives Production: Inputs, Selects, Checkboxes, Radios, Switches
Battle-tested form styling for production UIs: resilient inputs, selects, checkboxes, radios, and switches with accessibility, QA, and ops-grade diagnosis.
NotPetya: when βmalwareβ behaved like a sledgehammer
A practical, ops-first deep dive into NotPetya: how it spread, why it wiped disks, and what to monitor, harden, and test to survive it.
ESXi to Proxmox V2V Conversion: Best Methods and Pitfalls
Practical ESXi to Proxmox V2V migration guide: OVF/OVA, qemu-img, Clonezilla, virtio drivers, storage choices, and failure-mode troubleshooting.
Callout Blocks with Icons: Inline SVG + CSS Variables (No Icon Fonts)
Build accessible callout blocks using inline SVG and CSS variables. Avoid icon fonts, tame theming, and diagnose performance and rendering issues fast.
ZFS zpool events: The Log You Ignore Until It Saves You
Learn how to read ZFS zpool events, correlate faults with real symptoms, and build fast triage habits that prevent silent data loss and outages.
Ports with Missing Features: When βItβs Thereβ Doesnβt Mean It Works
How βportedβ features fail in production: missing flags, stubbed code paths, and silent fallbacks. Diagnose fast, test reality, and ship safely.
ESXi to Proxmox Storage Migration: Moving VMFS Datastores to ZFS, NFS, or iSCSI with Minimal Downtime
Practical, low-downtime playbook for migrating ESXi VMFS datastores to Proxmox using ZFS, NFS, or iSCSI, with checks, commands, and fixes.
Debian 13: βFilesystem fullβ broke your DB β the recovery steps that actually work (case #59)
A production-grade Debian 13 runbook for when βfilesystem fullβ breaks your database: fast diagnosis, safe recovery, and what not to do.
VPN Connected but No Internet on Windows: Routes and Metrics Checklist
Fix Windows VPN βconnected but no internetβ fast by inspecting routes, metrics, DNS, and split tunneling. A pragmatic checklist with commands and fixes.
Frame generation: free frames or a latency trap?
Frame generation can boost FPS, but it can also add latency, jitter, and weird failure modes. Hereβs how to measure, diagnose, and deploy it safely.
Fix WordPress MySQL βServer Has Gone Awayβ and βToo Many Connectionsβ
Diagnose and fix WordPress MySQL βserver has gone awayβ and βtoo many connectionsβ with fast checks, commands, tuning, and safe ops playbooks.
Email SMTP 4xx Temporary Failures: Top Causes and Fixes That Actually Work
Diagnose SMTP 4xx temporary failures fast: queue backlogs, DNS, rate limits, greylisting, TLS, reputation, and resource issuesβplus commands and fixes.
WordPress Search Is Slow: Speed It Up Without Expensive Services
Fix slow WordPress search with practical database, caching, and indexing tacticsβno costly SaaS. Diagnose bottlenecks fast and ship safer speed wins.
Debian 13: SSH is slow to log in β DNS and GSSAPI fixes that speed it up instantly (case #5)
Fix slow SSH logins on Debian 13 by pinpointing DNS reverse lookups and GSSAPI delays, then applying safe sshd_config changes and tests.
Vulkan vs DirectX: Is a New API War Coming?
A production-minded look at Vulkan vs DirectX: driver reality, tooling, perf traps, and a fast diagnosis playbook for modern rendering pipelines.
Debian 13: ZRAM/Zswap β when it saves your box and when it backfires
A production-minded guide to zram and zswap on Debian 13: how they work, when they help, when they hurt, and how to diagnose failures fast.
ZFS SSD-Only Pool Tuning: Avoiding Garbage Collection Collapse
Practical ZFS tuning for SSD-only pools to prevent garbage collection collapse: diagnose latency, tune recordsize, sync, TRIM, and write behavior safely.
Docker βNo route to hostβ from containers: routing and iptables fixes that stick
Diagnose and fix Docker container βNo route to hostβ with persistent routing, iptables, rp_filter, and bridge settings that survive reboots.
ZFS Module Versions: Keeping Kernel and ZFS From Fighting
Learn how ZFS kernel modules and userland tools match (or donβt), how to diagnose version conflicts fast, and how to upgrade safely in production.
Debian 13: Swap Is Growing and Performance Tanks β Memory Pressure Fixes That Actually Help
Fix Debian 13 swap growth and slowdowns with fast diagnosis, concrete commands, and memory tuning that works in production without guesswork.
VRAM Myths: When 8/12/16GB Matters and When Itβs Just a Number
A practical guide to VRAM: what actually fills it, when 8/12/16GB changes outcomes, and how to diagnose real GPU bottlenecks in production.
Ubuntu 24.04: Hostname/hosts mismatch breaks sudo/ssh β the boring fix that saves hours
On Ubuntu 24.04, a hostname and /etc/hosts mismatch can stall sudo and SSH with DNS timeouts. Diagnose fast, fix safely, and prevent repeats.
Proxmox βNot a Bootable Diskβ: BIOS/UEFI Boot Order, Disk Flags, and a Fast Recovery Path
Fix Proxmox βnot a bootable diskβ fast: verify BIOS/UEFI mode, EFI/GRUB install, disk flags, ZFS mirrors, and restore bootability safely.
ZFS redundant_metadata: When More Metadata Copies Actually Matter
How ZFS redundant_metadata changes reliability, space, and performance. Practical commands, incident stories, diagnosis steps, and safe defaults.
Docker Read-only Containers: Harden Without Breaking Your App
Run Docker containers read-only without breaking apps: practical patterns for writable paths, tmpfs, logs, updates, and fast troubleshooting in prod.
Ryzenβs comeback story: why it felt sudden (but wasnβt)
Ryzenβs rise looked overnight, but it was years of architecture, manufacturing, and ops discipline. Learn how to diagnose CPU bottlenecks fast.
Ubuntu 24.04 ext4 vs XFS Recovery: Which Tool to Run First (and Why)
A production-minded recovery guide for Ubuntu 24.04: choose the right first tool for ext4 or XFS, avoid data loss, and diagnose failures fast.
Debian 13 filesystem check takes forever: whatβs normal, red flags, and fixes (case #31)
When fsck on Debian 13 feels stuck, learn what βnormalβ looks like, spot real red flags, and apply fixes with fast, practical diagnostics.
One phishing click: how companies become headlines
A single phishing click can trigger credential theft, lateral movement, and data leaks. Learn fast triage, real commands, and hardening tasks that work.
Ubuntu 24.04 Memory Ballooning Surprises: Set Sane Limits and Stop Swap Storms (Case #16)
Diagnose and fix Ubuntu 24.04 memory ballooning and swap storms in VMs: set hard limits, tune swappiness, and verify with repeatable commands.
Docker host networking risks: when itβs worth it and how to limit damage
Host networking can remove Docker NAT overhead and simplify ports, but it bypasses isolation. Learn when to use it, and how to contain fallout.
MariaDB vs PostgreSQL for Multi-Tenant Hosting: Stop One Client Site from Killing Everyone
How to keep noisy tenants from taking down shared databases: isolation, limits, observability, and practical MariaDB vs PostgreSQL tactics.
ZFS vdev width planning: Why More Disks per VDEV Has a Cost
Wider ZFS vdevs can boost capacity and sequential speed, but they raise rebuild time, failure blast radius, and IOPS cost. Plan width with math.
Ubuntu 24.04: Apache vs Nginx confusion β fix port binding and proxy loops cleanly
Stop Apache/Nginx fighting for port 80/443 on Ubuntu 24.04. Diagnose bindings, fix reverse-proxy loops, and ship a clean, testable web stack.
Proxmox Ceph βmon down/out of quorumβ: restoring monitors and quorum without panic
A practical SRE playbook to recover Proxmox Ceph monitors stuck down/out of quorum: diagnose, repair monmap, fix time/network, and restore quorum safely.
IPsec NAT-T: why VPN wonβt come up behind NAT and how to fix it
Debug IPsec NAT-T failures behind NAT: IKE vs ESP, UDP 4500, MTU traps, and firewall rules. Includes fast playbook, commands, and fixes.
MySQL vs PostgreSQL: why the same query is fast in one and brutal in the other
A practical SRE guide to why identical SQL behaves differently in MySQL and PostgreSQL, with fast diagnosis, commands, pitfalls, and fixes.
Open vs Closed Ecosystems: Is There a Real Anti-CUDA Push?
A production-minded look at CUDA lock-in, open alternatives, and what actually breaks in real fleetsβplus commands, playbooks, and decision rules.
ZFS Boot Pool Recovery: Getting a System Back After a Bad Update
A practical, battle-tested playbook for recovering a ZFS boot pool after a bad update: fast diagnosis, commands, fixes, and prevention.
Ubuntu 24.04: SSH Sessions Drop Randomly β Keepalive Settings That Actually Help
Stop Ubuntu 24.04 SSH sessions from dropping: diagnose idle timeouts, NAT/firewalls, and pick keepalive settings that survive real networks.
Debian/Ubuntu βConnected, but no internetβ: Routing, Gateway, and Policy Routing Fixes
Fix βconnected but no internetβ on Debian/Ubuntu by diagnosing routing, default gateways, DNS, and policy routing with fast commands and real-world fixes.