Questions tagged [best-practices]
Questions asking for best practices in a given field. Be aware, that sometimes there might be no generally accepted best practices, in which case the question is likely to be closed for being subjective.
352
questions
2
votes
1
answer
133
views
Puppet: How to use a set of common packages but allow exceptions?
I have about 200 more or less identical Linux VMs. There is a class for all common configuration:
class my_packages {
class { "::ntp":
servers => [ "de.pool.ntp.org" ],
}
....
24
votes
1
answer
11k
views
Usermod -aG vs gpasswd -a as a best practice
I am aware that usermod -g is not best practice from many posts like this however they normally explain the usermod should not be used as it changes the primary group of a user. These posts don't seem ...
0
votes
1
answer
88
views
Process separation on an OpenBSD server
I fear this may be a somewhat open-ended question that gets closed: Apologies in advance, but I'll give it a shot!
I'm considering operating an OpenBSD VM with a number of services running on the ...
0
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Best practices for secondary DNS in case of a single Active Directory
I have a setup with only one Active Directory (not redundant).
What should be configured on the client pc's to ensure the best DNS resolution ?
Currently somebody configured the IP address of the AD ...
-1
votes
1
answer
309
views
Setting affinity for virus protection on workstations - best practice?
Despite the modern virus protection is based on prevention by scanning network traffic and by real-time protection, many companies still have policies, that full scans must be performed regularly. ...
0
votes
2
answers
200
views
Active Directory Multi Domain Enviornment
I work for a small organization which will be starting another branch of business here shortly. We have an existing active directory infrastructure and are looking to add another domain to the forest....
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How to have automatic file system checks for Linux Software Raid?
In a Linux Software raid, what is the best practice for periodically having the filesystems checked? With single drive or hardware raid, tune2fs -c 5 -i 1w /dev/sda1 means check the filesystem every ...
0
votes
1
answer
140
views
Creating enterprise init script (to support all Linux distros)
I'd like to create my own init script to make my program start at boot and be controlled via "service" utility in most popular Linux distributions.
Requirements:
it should be portable across ...
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
Where should the DB server be and its updates scripts should run from where?
I currently have a web application and database on the same server. I am moving the database to a new server that is spec'd for being a database. Now i have nightly scripts that run on the web ...
34
votes
3
answers
98k
views
How to get php-fpm to log to stdout / stderr when running in a docker container
I have php-fpm in a docker container and in the Dockerfile I edit the fpm config file (/etc/php5/fpm/pool.d/www.conf) to set up access logs to go to /var/log/fpm-access.log and error logs to go to /...
4
votes
0
answers
326
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What is the best practise to autostart unprivileged lxc containers on Ubuntu 14.04 64bit? [duplicate]
The current implementation of the LXC technology deals nicely with an issue of starting the privileged containers upon system start.. Users of the unprivileged containers (which arguably promise ...
31
votes
6
answers
5k
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How can I prevent accidentally jacking with a production database?
Just recently, I had a developer accidentally try to restore a database to production, when he should have been restoring to a staging copy. It's easy to do, given that the db names are similar, i.e., ...
-2
votes
1
answer
176
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How do you "prevent powerful accounts from being used on unauthorized systems"? [closed]
I was browsing through Microsoft's Best Practices for Securing Active Directory and saw the chart linked which includes some of the best practices included in the document, rated by importance.
At ...
11
votes
3
answers
15k
views
The impact of Apache graceful restarts and user experience
Is it safe to perform a graceful restart of Apache on a production server? What effects will a graceful restart cause and what would be the impact (if any)? Will there be any detrimental impacts (e.g. ...
27
votes
5
answers
30k
views
Where do companies typically store SSL certificates for future use?
We recently bought a wildcard SSL cert for our domain. We converted all of the certs to a Java keystore, but now we are asking ourselves where we should store these for later use.
Do people use ...
-1
votes
1
answer
62
views
IP Network Best Practice [closed]
On my On Premise network we use IP Span 172.17.101.0-172.17.103.254
I should now connect our Windows Azure network to the On Premise network using VPN. Is it okay to use IP Span 172.16.1.0 in the ...
14
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Best practices for file layout in a Hyper-V server?
We've got a Hyper-V server set up, and the layout of the files is inconsistent because it was set up by several people. Here are the two different "templates" that were used:
Template 1
D:\Hyper-V\...
7
votes
2
answers
574
views
Transition away from Domain Admin only account
In our Windows environment, our Domain Admins only have one user account. This single user account is used across the board including running on a day to day workstation. In our transition away from ...
4
votes
2
answers
428
views
Adding an Active Directory to a computer-local group - which scope to choose?
I am aware of the "AGDLP" rule of thumb when it comes to group nesting inside an AD strcture. But now I am wondering if there are any best practises when it comes to adding Active Directory groups to "...
3
votes
1
answer
245
views
AD IT Helper Permissions
My apologies if this has been asked before. If I knew the proper search terms then google would be more effective.
I would like to add a user that can join computers to the domain, Install software ...
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Managing puppet modules with git
I have a puppet/foreman server running on Debian 7 for managing my systems. I use the community version 3.7 of puppet and foreman 1.6.0. I use directory environments.
At the moment I use a rather ...
5
votes
3
answers
482
views
What is the name for sorting a directory with lots of files into subdirectories? [closed]
One way to make manageable a directory with a huge number of files into it is to sort the files into subdirectories named after progressive characters in the files' names.
E.g.:
- ...
0
votes
0
answers
86
views
Manage User Specific PowerShell Functions in Active Directory Domain
Given: Windows Server 2012 R2 / PowerShell 4
Do need: a way to manage user/role specific PowerShell functions in an Active Directory domain.
Do NOT need: help with coding these scripts. This ...
2
votes
1
answer
834
views
Performing root mysql operations in bash scripts
What is a good practice to execute root operations on mysql databases in bash scripts?
For example, I want to create new database and grant privileges, I have to use:
mysql -u $ROOT -p"$ROOTPASS" -e ...
-3
votes
2
answers
924
views
Scheduled Task Naming Conventions? [closed]
I would like to hear of examples of a naming convention for Scheduled Tasks in Windows, along with rationale.
Thanks.
2
votes
2
answers
716
views
Apache2.2 vhosts - disadvantages of using one file with many vhosts
As i am working with Apache2.2 more and more lately this thought crossed my mind (apologies if this seems a 'silly' question, still learning alot)
Are there any blatant disadvantages if you use just ...
0
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Regarding AD Domain controllers and remote branch offices
We have central HQ building and a lot of small branch offices connecting via VPN and want to implement AD (If you can believe we still haven't). We want everyone to log in using domain accounts and be ...
2
votes
1
answer
5k
views
HPC Cluster (SLURM): recommended ways to set up a secure and stable system
I'm working with a SLURM driven HPC Cluster, containing of 1 control node and 34 computation nodes and since the current system is not exactly very stable I'm looking for guidelines or best practices ...
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Importance of ha.cf file in a heartbeat/pacemaker environment?
I'm having a few issues trying to understand ha.cf and how the cluster picks up on updates.
For example, when creating a new cluster, I usually:
Set some default options in ha.cf on node 1 - node x
...
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Reusable piece of code in Chef to be used several times in recipe(s)
I need to reuse some scenario in my cookbooks - create several users on a single machine and install same software for each of them. Installing the software is a repeating operation which I'd like to ...
1
vote
2
answers
432
views
How to go about rotating logs which are arbitrary named and placed in deeply nested directories?
I have a couple of hosts which are basically a playground for developers. On these hosts, each of them has a directory under /tmp where he is free to do all he wants - store files, write logs etc.
Of ...
6
votes
4
answers
3k
views
powershell vs GPO for installation, configuration, maintenance
My question is about using powershell scripts to install, configure, update and maintain Windows 7 Pro/Ent workstations in a 2008R2 domain, versus using GPO/ADMX/msi.
Here's the situation:
Because ...
5
votes
1
answer
858
views
BPA for AD Server 2008 and 2008 R2 DCs W32Time setting complaint
I have been going through some of the warnings raised by BPA against our DCs to make sure everything is as it should be.
Everything has been going well until I got to the following warnings:
The ...
1
vote
1
answer
822
views
Video hosting: Host files on web server, storage server, NAS? [duplicate]
I inherited responsibility for the back-end of a growing distance education program. They have a Proliant DL160 Gen8 web server which serves video from a ReadyNAS Pro 6. We currently share the ...
2
votes
1
answer
334
views
Structuring an OU to properly model an Organizational Hierarchy
I'm experimenting with using OUs in my network's Active Directory and group policy. However, I'm having a little trouble figuring out the right way to structure my OUs so that I can have individual ...
2
votes
0
answers
70
views
Domain Controller's DNS NIC configuration [duplicate]
I've seen conflicting information on this online, but say you have an environment with two domain controllers: one Forest, one Site, one Domain; simple as it gets.
How should each domain controller's ...
2
votes
1
answer
234
views
Seeking alternative to storing binaries in git for devops
I'm not sure how to ask this best practices question since I know many StackExchange users evidently think best practices are a bad thing ...
We've got Salt and Vagrant configured to stand up servers ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Synchronizing RODCs to NTP servers?
I've read this nice article from Gareth Hooper regarding Domain Controller syncing to external time sources. In essence, he wrote that although Microsoft don't actually condone the practice, it's a ...
0
votes
1
answer
145
views
Best practice to migrate Server 2003 x64 to Server 2008 x64
We have 2 Domain Controllers running Windows Server 2003 R2 x64. DC1 has the FSMO roles and DC2 acts as a 'secondary' DC. Both are Global Catalog servers.
DC1 has these roles installed: Domain ...
2
votes
1
answer
156
views
What should I do if an necessary client application has to run on an older (vulnerable) framework?
A client needs to have .NET Framework 4 installed and not patched so their software running on their Windows 2008 R2 Server functions properly.
This sparks the questions:
When is it okay to ...
12
votes
2
answers
24k
views
What Are The Best Practices For Business Folder Structure?
We've tended in the past towards having departmental folders (Sales, Marketing, etc) on a single share and then adding folders below these ad-hoc as and when they're needed.
It's gotten a bit messy - ...
6
votes
1
answer
118
views
When should an org invest in a private infrastructure as opposed to a partially or fully hosted solution? [duplicate]
Not referring to militaries or governments, but for other organizations or shops that needs an IT infrastructure (who doesn't nowadays). Similar to this question, but purely in regard to hardware and/...
35
votes
8
answers
34k
views
Is it best practices to have separate login for a domain for domain admins?
I typically like to set up separate logins for myself, one with regular user permissions, and a separate one for administrative tasks. For example, if the domain was XXXX, I'd set up a XXXX\bpeikes ...
3
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How much failover redundancy is enough? [closed]
I'm working on a client-server system where all clients currently submit their transactions to essentially a single west-coast IP address to reach what is called the "gateway" application. The ...
49
votes
8
answers
73k
views
Should I expose my Active Directory to the public Internet for remote users?
I have a client whose workforce is comprised entirely of remote employees using a mix of Apple and Windows 7 PCs/laptops.
The users don't authenticate against a domain at the moment, but the ...
1
vote
5
answers
379
views
Windows network shares organization
I would like to have some feedback about the best practices you use to publish your network share.
Now, we have on our file server :
one named directory for each of our user, which is backed up ...
23
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Naming a new Active Directory forest - why is split-horizon DNS not recommended?
Hopefully, we all know what the recommendations for naming an Active Directory forest are, and they're pretty simple. Namely, it can be summed up in a single sentence.
Use a subdomain of an existing,...
10
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Nagios server best practices?
I run a medium-sized Nagios server. It monitors roughly 40 servers with 180 services currently and is only growing by the day.
I migrated from an old Nagios setup that was configured in a very ...
2
votes
3
answers
394
views
Is a dashed hostname preferrable to creating subdomains for an application and its environments?
I am working to standardize our DNS names for our various applications, and I proposed the following scheme:
webappname.environment.system.company.tld
So, my application named BackOffice in my ...
0
votes
1
answer
4k
views
IIS 7.5 webfarm setup best practices
I am looking to rebuild the current webfarm setup where I work. Currently we have 4 regions. Each region has 3 WFE's on a ViP. Each of the three has a separate implementation of IIS 7.5 and ...