Latest Articles
Upgrading 3750X can take longer than you think
Many years ago I upgraded a Cisco 3750X stack to a newer version of IOS. Since the production system I was planning to upgrade had some critical systems on it, I tested the process on a stack in the lab first. At the outset I figured “no problem, this will take a few minutes to […]
SecureCRT Chat Window Feature
If you are a SecureCRT user, you might find a certain feature useful when configuring multiple devices via CLI. The feature is called Chat Window and it’s not what it appears at first glance. When I first saw the Chat Window feature listed in the View menu, I assumed it was some sort of remote […]
How to Re-Enable Backspace Key in Firefox
The Firefox web browser has enabled the backspace key to double as back button for many versions. However Mozilla recently decided to remove this functionality. If you are looking for the quickest way to re-enable the backspace key functionality in Firefox, then all you need to do is set the browser.backspace_action to zero in the […]
How to fix bind9 unexpected rcode (SERVFAIL) error
If you are running a bind server, you may have come across this error message: named[2465]: zone tekopolis.com/IN: refresh: unexpected rcode (SERVFAIL) from master 10.1.2.3#53 This happens when the master is not responding to a zone transfer request from one of the slave DNS servers. A quick check of the logs on the master DNS […]
How to Page Up and Page Down on a Mac
If you are used to using a Microsoft keyboard then you may have become accustomed to being able to quickly scroll up and down a page using the Page Up and Page down buttons. However, if you are using a Mac keyboard you may have realized there are no dedicated Page Up and Page down […]
How to Empty the Trash Securely in MacOS 10.11 El Capitan and Newer
If you have upgraded your Mac to OS X El Capitan or newer (Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, etc), you may have noticed the Secure Empty Trash option is missing. When you are in the recycle bin, the only option that seems to be available is Empty Trash. This is annoying because it’s nice to have […]
Configuring NTP on a Linux client in 5 simple steps
Time is one of the most critical components of a computer system. Keeping time manually synchronized has been a thing of the past for years. If you want your system time to sync with other systems on the network, then configuring a Network Time Protocol (NTP) client will automate the task. The following steps will […]
Best method to pass any certification exam
Before we dig into the meat of the subject, lets discuss why we are here: Motivation. Why spend all that time studying for a certification exam? If you aren’t already passionate about the subject you are studying, then you might be searching for other reasons to pass a certification exam. Perhaps you already have a […]
How to Force Quit an application in MacOS
If you have used MacOS for a long enough time you might find yourself in a situation where an application simply won’t close. Going to the application menu and selecting quit (or using the keyboard shortcut command + Q) not always work when applications get stuck. There is hope though and it shouldn’t involve rebooting. […]
How to Configure a Static IP Address and IPv6 Address on Ubuntu Server
If you have a new installation of Ubuntu Server, you may want to configure a static IP address on it instead of relying on DHCP for a server. It’s not as simple as some platforms, but here’s the quick and dirty instructions on setting static IPs in Ubuntu Server: 1. Login with the admin user […]