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Scattered IT Notes - by Stefano Marinelli

The Day GlusterFS Tried to Kill My Career - Featured image

The Day GlusterFS Tried to Kill My Career

21/05/2025 12:55:00 by Stefano Marinelli

server, horrorstories, ownyourdata, data

server, horrorstories, ownyourdata, data

A GlusterFS failure during a critical client upgrade turned into a nightmare of false accusations and politics, revealing a deeper story of corruption.

The Server That Wasn't Meant to Exist - Featured image

The Server That Wasn't Meant to Exist

NetBSD

13/05/2025 16:13:36 by Stefano Marinelli

server, horrorstories, ownyourdata, data, netbsd

server, horrorstories, ownyourdata, data, netbsd

A story from 16 years ago - trust, tech, and a server that had to disappear. They offered me a blank check. I said no.

Make Your Own Internet Presence with NetBSD and a 1 euro VPS – Part 1: Your Blog - Featured image

Make Your Own Internet Presence with NetBSD and a 1 euro VPS – Part 1: Your Blog

NetBSD

22/04/2025 07:30:36 by Stefano Marinelli

netbsd, bssg, ssg, ownyourdata, server, web, blogging, tutorial, series

netbsd, bssg, ssg, ownyourdata, server, web, blogging, tutorial, series

Create a personal blog with NetBSD on a 1€ VPS - efficient, secure, and completely under your control. Minimal cost, maximum performance. Because your thoughts don't need to float in someone else's cloud.

Launching BSSG - My Journey from Dynamic CMS to Bash Static Site Generator - Featured image

Launching BSSG - My Journey from Dynamic CMS to Bash Static Site Generator

FreeBSDOpenBSDNetBSD

07/04/2025 08:11:36 by Stefano Marinelli

bssg, ssg, ownyourdata, freebsd, openbsd, netbsd, linux, server, web, blogging

bssg, ssg, ownyourdata, freebsd, openbsd, netbsd, linux, server, web, blogging

Announcing the public release of BSSG, a Bash Static Site Generator born from a personal journey away from complex dynamic CMS. Discover a simple, portable alternative for your blog.

OSDay 2025 - Why Choose to Use the BSDs in 2025 - Featured image

OSDay 2025 - Why Choose to Use the BSDs in 2025

FreeBSDNetBSDOpenBSD

23/03/2025 10:30:00 by Stefano Marinelli

osday, freebsd, netbsd, openbsd, zfs, server, ownyourdata

osday, freebsd, netbsd, openbsd, zfs, server, ownyourdata

The slides, the notes, and the text behind my presentation at OSDay 2025 in Florence, Italy - 'Why Choose to Use the BSDs in 2025.

FediMeteo: How a Tiny €4 FreeBSD VPS Became a Global Weather Service for Thousands - Featured image

FediMeteo: How a Tiny €4 FreeBSD VPS Became a Global Weather Service for Thousands

FreeBSD

26/02/2025 07:00:00 by Stefano Marinelli

fediverse, snac, snac2, hosting, server, freebsd, networking, web, social, fedimeteo

fediverse, snac, snac2, hosting, server, freebsd, networking, web, social, fedimeteo

How a simple idea turned into an international weather service on the Fediverse.

Caching snac Proxied Media with Nginx - Featured image

Caching snac Proxied Media with Nginx

08/02/2025 16:00:00 by Stefano Marinelli

snac, snac2, fediverse, nginx, data, hosting, server, tutorial, ownyourdata, networking, web, tipsandtricks, social

snac, snac2, fediverse, nginx, data, hosting, server, tutorial, ownyourdata, networking, web, tipsandtricks, social

Using nginx to cache proxied media in snac to improve performance and privacy

Improving snac Performance with Nginx Proxy Cache - Featured image

Improving snac Performance with Nginx Proxy Cache

FreeBSD

29/01/2025 09:00:00 by Stefano Marinelli

snac, snac2, fediverse, nginx, data, hosting, server, freebsd, tutorial, ownyourdata, networking, web, tipsandtricks, social

snac, snac2, fediverse, nginx, data, hosting, server, freebsd, tutorial, ownyourdata, networking, web, tipsandtricks, social

Using nginx to cache snac multimedia files to boost performance

I Almost Died for a Full Sentry Database - Featured image

I Almost Died for a Full Sentry Database

28/12/2024 09:00:00 by Stefano Marinelli

horrorstories, stories, data, recovery, sentry

horrorstories, stories, data, recovery, sentry

A tale of bad logging practices, overengineering, and a near-death experience.

Managing ZFS Full Pool Issues with Reserved Space - Featured image

Managing ZFS Full Pool Issues with Reserved Space

FreeBSD

28/11/2024 20:25:00 by Stefano Marinelli

zfs, freebsd, linux, data, filesystems, recovery, tipsandtricks, tutorial, series

zfs, freebsd, linux, data, filesystems, recovery, tipsandtricks, tutorial, series

A simple approach to prevent ZFS pools from getting stuck due to a lack of free space.

/* Ensure navigation works without JS */ .main-nav .menu { display: flex !important; flex-wrap: wrap !important; gap: 0.5rem !important; justify-content: center !important; } .menu-toggle { display: none !important; } .search-form { display: block !important; position: static !important; } .dark-mode-toggle { display: none !important; } .scroll-to-top { display: none !important; } /* Hide JS-dependent elements */ [id*="template"], template { display: none !important; } .js-only { display: none !important; } /* CSS-only dark mode support when JS is disabled */ @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { :root { --color-text: #f9fafb !important; --color-text-light: #d1d5db !important; --color-text-lighter: #9ca3af !important; --color-border: #374151 !important; --color-background: #0F192A !important; --color-background-light: #1f2937 !important; --color-background-dark: #111827 !important; } .site-header { background-color: var(--color-background) !important; } pre, code { background-color: #1e293b !important; color: #e2e8f0 !important; } blockquote { background-color: var(--color-background-light) !important; } } /* Graceful degradation for images */ img { max-width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; } img::after { content: "[Image: " attr(alt) "]" !important; display: block !important; padding: 1rem !important; background: #f5f5f5 !important; border: 1px solid #ddd !important; color: #666 !important; font-style: italic !important; text-align: center !important; } /* Ensure SVG icons have text alternatives */ svg + .sr-only { position: static !important; width: auto !important; height: auto !important; margin: 0 !important; overflow: visible !important; clip: auto !important; white-space: normal !important; font-size: 0.9rem !important; } /* Compact header for no-JS */ .site-header { padding: 0.5rem 0 !important; margin-bottom: 1rem !important; background-color: var(--color-background) !important; } .site-header-inner { min-height: 40px !important; gap: 0.5rem !important; } .menu-item a { padding: 0.5rem 0.75rem !important; font-size: 0.85rem !important; white-space: nowrap !important; } /* Responsive adjustments for no-JS */ @media (max-width: 767px) { .main-nav .menu { justify-content: flex-start !important; gap: 0.25rem !important; } .menu-item a { padding: 0.4rem 0.6rem !important; font-size: 0.8rem !important; } .site-header-inner { flex-wrap: wrap !important; gap: 0.25rem !important; } .main-nav { order: 3; flex-basis: 100% !important; margin: 0.25rem 0 0 0 !important; } }