1. Introduction PPPoE stands for Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet. It is an OSI Layer Two protocol which uses the PPP (Point to Point) protocol to connect a client system to a server system in a one to one network link. All traffic for a PPPoE connected client must go thru the PPPoE server […]

Each distribution has some specific tools to build a custom kernel from the sources. This article is about compiling a kernel on CentOS systems. It describes how to build a custom kernel using the latest unmodified kernel sources from www.kernel.org (vanilla kernel) so that you are independent from the kernels supplied by your distribution. It […]

ntop is a network traffic tools that shows network usage in a real time. One of the good things about this tool is that you can use a web browser to manage and navigate through ntop traffic information to better understand network status. Also Ntop monitors and reports hosts traffic and supports these protocols: TCP/UDP/ICMP […]

A common task for System Administrators is to monitor and care for a server. That’s fairly easy to do at a moment’s notice, but how to keep a record of this information over time?  One way to monitor your server is to use the Sysstat package. Sysstat is actually a collection of utilities designed to […]

Securing the CentOS Perfect Setup with Bastille This article shows how to secure a CentOS server using psad, Bastille, and some other tweaks. psad is a tool that helps detect port scans and other suspicious traffic, and the Bastille hardening program locks down an operating system, proactively configuring the system for increased security and decreasing […]