About Vivek

nixCraft is a leading Linux blog by Vivek covering open source software and related technologies. Over time, I've learnt a lot about working with Linux / UNIX, and through this blog I hope to share that knowledge with you. It offers Linux tips, hacks, news, tutorials and ideas. nixCraft has been quoted in:

  • Techsite like Slashdot & Digg
  • Linux / UNIX Vendor sites / kb / blog like IBM, Sun Microsystem, Novell, Vmware, Splunk and numerous other technology related forums and mailing lists.

Here are some of the nice things our site visitor say about nixCraft.

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A Word on the Skillz

I am a UNIX Guru UNIX system & security administrator with many years experience. I live and breathe cutting edge open source technology. You can learn more about me here.

I have interests in writing C and shell/perl scripts code, embedded Linux programming, Internet, anti-DDoS technologies, TCP/IP, security, Linux, UNIX and server optimization.

I also hold RHCE and other IT/security certificates :)

My Operating systems/work area

  • Ubuntu Linux desktop
  • Server os - RHEL/FreeBSD Server oses
  • OpenBSD Firewall/DMZ
  • Windows XP SP2 (for games only ;) )/Server 2000/2003
  • Programming/scripting Languages - Perl, PHP, Shell, C
  • Database Admin - MySQL and basic Oracle
  • Softwares - Pound, Wackamole, Spread, NFS, Postfix, Qmail, OpenLDAP, MyDNS, BIND, Apache, Lighttpd etc
  • Load Sharing and Balancing Software- Keepalived, Alinka Oranges, Linux Virtual Server, Red Hat Cluster Suite, Ultra Monkey
  • Others cool tools - cfengine, isconf, puppet, radmind, nagios, munin, monit

My job profile involves

  • Setup a stand-alone Linux box or an Internet server such as Proxy, Mail, Web, Database etc
  • Set up small to medium size email services with LDAP and other authentication
  • Build, secure and optimize LAMP from scratch
  • Setup a load-balanced web server cluster using Linux virtual server (LVS) or using RedHat cluster suite
  • Install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot a various server and services
  • Setup Linux virtualization with VMWare and XEN
  • Write a perl and shell scripts
  • Build disaster recovery plan and use tool such as Amanda, rsync, tar to make backups and restores
  • Setup Linux and OpenBSD based firewall, VPN and tight Linux server security

My Home Lab

As a consultant I need to play with various oses and configuration. My home lab has total 4 computers:

  • Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz Whitebox PC - Ubuntu Linux 64 bit version with 24" LCD monitor
  • Dell Inspiron 6400 Notebook PC Ubuntu Linux
  • Sony VAIO VGN-AR28 Notebook PC Dual boot - XP SP2/Ubuntu Linux
  • Intel 1.7Ghz Whitebox PC - FreeBSD and Ubuntu Linux with 19" Viewsonic monitor. Now act as software NAS
  • Dual CPU Dual Core - AMD Opteron 2212+4 GB ECC RAM+2x73GB SA-SCSI (15k) Whitebox server - Debian + VMWARE Server - moved to local data center
  • Embedded Linux kits and few tiny devices

Feedback

Please give me your feedback. I am in no way an expert in either writing technical articles and/or English is not my first Language. Whatever you see here, is based upon my own hard-earned experience. I have taught myself both through trial and error (read as my R & D).

Hope you will enjoy this site! What you like, do not like or anything you feel I should improve on OR If you see my mistake or know of a better way to accomplish same task, please let me know

I'd really appreciate your feedback :) It will help increase my knowledge of UNIX and Linux as well as to anyone else who reads this site.

/etc

Sites I Run

Disclaimer and Industry Affiliations

  • Please note that the opinions expressed here are my personal opinions. My current or past employers (and my professional consulting firm) are not responsible for what I write here or the comments left by site visitors. I do reserve the right to remove comments left by spammers or off-topic comments.
  • I do not own stocks or other investments in any technology company.
  • Buying something from Amazon or from my wishlist does not mean I will fix your Linux computer that's been bugging you (do I look that cheap? ;) ) . If you need help use our excellent Linux support forum.