Archive for March, 2009

Novell boss in semi-apology over Microsoft pact

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

“I know the deal we did with Microsoft caused a lot of noise and flack in the market,” Hovsepian told OSBC on Tuesday. “And I wish I’d done a better job of communicating that. But the thing that caught in my head was the customer.

“Ninety eight per cent of customers said they would have Windows in their environment. My view was embrace it. I still want to put everything on JEE [Java Enterprise Edition] and a full open-source stack, but at the end of the day we have to listen to the customer.”

via The Register.

Linux Performance: Different Distributions, Very Different Results

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

When I write reviews of various Linux distributions and describe differences in performance I almost invariably get a comment to the effect that all Linux distros are essentially the same: running the same kernel, the same libraries, the same filesystems. Performance should be essentially the same, right? The answer is a resounding no. The performance results of different distributions, even ones running the same kernel version, the same core libraries, and the same filesystem can be very, very different.

via O’Reilly Broadcast.

Tips To Protect Linux Servers Physical Console Access

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Linux computer console is a physical device to operate a computer / server. Here are few steps which, if taken, make it more difficult for an attacker to quickly modify a system from its console.

via cyberciti.biz.

Use DRBD to Provide Rock-Solid MySQL Redundancy

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Last week we explained various options for clustering and providing HA-MySQL. In the failover category, we mentioned DRBD as the premiere way with which to accomplish a rock-solid redundant MySQL setup. This is how you can implement DRBD with Heartbeat for MySQL.

via enterprisenetworkingplanet.com

Multi-security mechanisms with multifactor authentications

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Authentication is a the key component of security-based solutions. In client-server models designed over UNIX® systems, distributed network security is of significant importance. In order to meet the stringent security requirements necessary in client-server models, either multi-layer authentication or multifactor authentication or combinations of both are being used by existing systems. This article discusses the risk associated with the use of the same security mechanism in multifactor authentication systems and proposes the use of GSS-API Generic Security Service available with most of the UNIX systems as a suitable option for achieving the multi-security mechanism clubbed with multi-factor authentication for enhanced security for solutions designed over UNIX.

via Multi-security mechanisms with multifactor authentications.