Configure HTTPD (Apache) for PAM Authentication for Backuppc

Recall that the reason for doing this Linux-Windows integration was to get the users of my Linux-based backup server to have web-based access to their files, from their Windows XP desktops.

I will not go into the details of configuring the BackupPC web interface. That’s extensively covered in the BackupPC documentation here.

Apache has an almost-annoyingly huge number of authentication mechanisms, but most people use password authentication based on an .htpasswd or .htaccess file. However, since all the users of my Linux-based backup system already had acounts on the ADS server, it seemed to make no sense to have to create a parallel authentication database for them. Not to think of the nightmare of synchronising the two databases when either or both change.

I’ll start by getting Apache to grant access only to users who authenticate on its host Linux box. Keep in mind though, that those users will actually be authenticating against an ADS database. This is made possible by PAM, and to make Apache authenticate using PAM, we must download and install the Apache mod_auth_pam module.

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Inside the SFLC’s guide to legal management of FOSS projects

From the concept of copyleft to the status of community projects, free and open source software (FOSS) raises endless legal issues, many of which are subject to rumors and misconceptions floating around the community. To help reduce the confusion for those managing software projects, the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has released a freely distributable guide entitled “A Legal Issues Primer for Open Source and Free Software Projects.” Although only 45 pages long — shorter if you don’t count the front matter — the primer still manages to provide a highly structured introduction to these issues that carefully outlines options and is full of practical advice.

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Installing Zabbix (Server And Agent) On Debian Etch

Version 1.0
Author: Falko Timme <ft [at] falkotimme [dot] com>
Last edited 06/29/2007

Zabbix is a solution for monitoring applications, networks, and servers. With Zabbix, you can monitor multiple servers at a time, using a Zabbix server that comes with a web interface (that is used to configure Zabbix and holds the graphs of your systems) and Zabbix agents that are installed on the systems to be monitored. The Zabbix agents deliver the desired data to the Zabbix server. This tutorial shows how you can install the Zabbix server and agent on a Debian Etch system.

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Stiff asks, great programmers answer

At some hot, boring afternoon I got an _Idea_. With the help of public accessible e-mail adresses I asked 10 questions to a bunch of programmers that I consider very interesting people and I respect them for variuos things they created. Coming out with question was a 5 minute job for me – these are things I would ask about if I could speak with them personally for, let’s say, 10 minutes, and I didn’t have time for thinking too much. The last two question don’t have anything to do with programming, this is simply something I like to know about everyone I talk to, lets say that’s my hobby. Not everyone wanted to answer them, and that’s fine. It was the first “interview” I ever made, so I also made some mistakes, which went out as people started answering… But despite of this, I learnt a lot of interesting stuff, so it was definietly a valuable experience.

Not everyone responded to my e-mail, not everyone agreed to answer the questions, maybe I will also get some answers after I published this, I didn’t have the patience to wait longer, so new things may appear here over time

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