Linux
When It’s Not the Network: An RDP Investigation That Led Elsewhere
Author(s): Louis Ouellet
In a recent deployment, I was asked to investigate unstable Remote Desktop (RDP) sessions to a remote server accessed over a site-to-site VPN.
At first, the explanation sounded simple: the VPN was unstable. Users were being disconnected, the target server was remote, and all the symptoms seemed to point in the same direction.
On paper, the environment was straightforward:
- Local network:
192.168.115.0/24 - Remote network:
192.168.201.0/24 - Original VPN: IPsec
- Temporary replacement VPN: WireGuard
- Target server:
192.168.201.100 - Multiple users connecting via RDP
But as is often the case in infrastructure work, the first explanation turned out to be the most convenient one — not the most accurate.
This is one of those cases where everything looks like a network issue — until you start proving what is, and is not, actually failing.
How to Check a Hard Drive Health from the Command-Line
Author(s): Louis Ouellet
Monitoring the health of your hard drive is a crucial aspect of maintaining your system's integrity and performance. On Linux, the smartmontools package includes the smartctl utility, which allows you to inspect your hard drive's SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data to predict drive failure and perform checks.
How to Install DokuWiki on a LAMP Server
Author(s): Louis Ouellet
Today, we'll explore how to set up DokuWiki, a versatile and easy-to-use wiki software, on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server. This guide is ideal for those looking to create a personal or professional wiki without the complexity of larger platforms.