Command Line SSL Connections

As part of troubleshooting a system, testing network connectivity and working communication channels is pretty important.

For example, to test an HTTP server, use these commands:

telnet www.google.com 80
GET / HTTP/1.0


with 2 enters after the GET line. Then you will get to see exactly how the server responds.

Sometimes it would be nice to test an SSL connection, to see what the server is saying. Thanks to Tony Copping for showing me this.

openssl s_client -showcerts -connect www.google.com:443

Command Line LDAP Access

ldapsearch -x -h 192.168.0.1 -b "o=CoName,c=US"
ldapsearch -x -h 192.168.0.1 -b "o=CoName,c=US" "cn=Jaye WhatsHisName"

Linux Hard Limits for Open Files

Found in:

/etc/security/limits.conf

Sticky Directories

When the sticky bit is set on a directory, firles i that directory may be unlinked or renamed only by root or their owner. Without the sticky bit, anyone able to write to the directory can delete or rename files. The sticky bit is commonly found on directories such as /tmp, that are world-writable.

Chinese New Year - Calgary Chinese Cultural Center

Another Chinese New Year celebration, though I don't think it is quite Chinese New Year yet. A few more days to go.

This celebration was at the Chinese Cultural Center in downtown Calgary. Val and I wandered down there to take a look. There was quite a few people there, mostly ringed around the central area watching the performances. I was there long enough to see the Calgary Tai Chi and Martial Arts College give a very pretty wushu demonstration. Then I skipped the Chinese dancing demo and wandered through the booths to find some sweet red bean soup with rice balls. That is good stuff. Can't get enough of that red bean soup.

Chinese New Year - Pacific Place

So, there was a Chinese New Year celebration at Pacific Place mall, near the Marlbourgh C-Train stop here in Calgary, AB, Canada. It was a fairly small presentation in the food court. A lot of kareoke.