How To Migrate Production MySQL Database Servers

Migrating database servers in production, whether they are large or small, is a surprisingly simple process but a delicate one. There are fewer methods available as the size goes up. This is something I have been asked about by several colleagues so I decided to document my processes and best practices. The File Method (BEST) This… Continue reading How To Migrate Production MySQL Database Servers

Setting Up PHP Apache2 MySQL MSSQL Server on Azure

First, update the packages; sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade Set up initial applications; sudo apt-get -y install unzip fail2ban apache2 mysql-server php5 php5-curl php-pear php5-mysql php5-mcrypt screenfetch htop nload curl git ntp freetds-common freetds-bin unixodbc php5-sybase && sudo php5enmod mcrypt && sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo service apache2 restart && sudo mysql_secure_installation Set Up SMTP… Continue reading Setting Up PHP Apache2 MySQL MSSQL Server on Azure

Implementing the Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection API in PHP

At Tech 2U, we sell Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection as our antivirus product. This is typically used for managed enterprise endpoints. Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection is managed through a web console which must be accessed each time a new endpoint is created; dozens of times every day for us. This web console is… Continue reading Implementing the Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection API in PHP

Building a Debian Application Server with PHP 7 + MySQL 5.7 + MS SQL

One of the applications I am building integrates with a legacy software platform including MS SQL Server. In past versions of PHP, there was a simple and free tool called FreeTDS which enabled PHP to connect to MS SQL Server, but this has been deprecated as of PHP 7. In order to get all the new… Continue reading Building a Debian Application Server with PHP 7 + MySQL 5.7 + MS SQL

Setting Up a Debian Server with PHP 7 and MySQL 5.7

First, I created a droplet with Digital Ocean (Referral Link) and give it 1GB RAM. Now, the default apt list needs to be expanded; nano /etc/apt/sources.list Add these sources… deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib non-free deb-src http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib non-free deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie-updates main contrib non-free deb-src http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie-updates main contrib non-free deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian… Continue reading Setting Up a Debian Server with PHP 7 and MySQL 5.7

Updated Comprehensive VPS Setup Documentation

Building a VPS requires lots of complex steps, and these steps change over time. The time has come to create comprehensive, consolidated documentation for how I setup these machines. Many of these steps are optional. Deploy A New VPS With Digital Ocean FQDN DNS Setup With Godaddy Recommended Initial Installations Setup Email Server Create a VirtualHost Setup… Continue reading Updated Comprehensive VPS Setup Documentation

VPS Setup: Automated Database Backups

This is a subpost of the larger post Updated Comprehensive VPS Setup Documentation.   Create a new directory for the backups; mkdir /var/backups/mysql   I added the following line to /etc/crontab in order to facilitate automatic database backups; 0 22 * * * root /usr/bin/mysqldump -uroot -i[MySQL Root Password] [MySQL Database Name] | gzip > /var/backups/mysql/mysql-backup-$(… Continue reading VPS Setup: Automated Database Backups

VPS Setup: Install Free SSL From LetsEncrypt

This is a subpost of the larger post Updated Comprehensive VPS Setup Documentation.   LetsEncypt allows us to setup free SSL certificates for our virtualhosts. First, make sure you are in your root home directory “/~” and then clone the LetsEncrypt git repository; git clone https://github.com/letsencrypt/letsencrypt Enter the directory cd letsencrypt And run the automatic… Continue reading VPS Setup: Install Free SSL From LetsEncrypt