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Practical, hands-on guides from our database, cloud and software teams — the same kind of write-ups we lean on internally, shared for anyone running these platforms themselves.

Database

Install WordPress on Ubuntu 24.04 With Free SSL (Let’s Encrypt)

· 4 min read

Install WordPress on Ubuntu 24.04 With Free SSL (Let’s Encrypt) This guide shows how to install WordPress on Ubuntu 24.04 using Apache, PHP, and MySQL — then secure it with a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt. It also includes two common production needs: blocking search engines until launch and increasing WordPress upload size. What

Database

Monitoring SQL Server Restore Progress with sys.dm_exec_requests

· 5 min read

Monitoring SQL Server Restore Progress with sys.dm_exec_requests When restoring a large database in SQL Server, one of the most common questions from administrators, project teams, and business users is: “How much longer will it take?” SQL Server does not always give clear progress feedback in the standard restore window, especially when you are managing restores

Database

End-to-End Guide to Expanding Linux Volumes and Mount Points

· 3 min read

Overview If your Azure Portal shows a larger disk size (e.g., 128GB) but Linux reports smaller sizes in df -h or lsblk, the issue is almost always one of these: This guide covers: Symptoms You’ll See Example: Why df -h Doesn’t Show Your Disk df -h reports filesystems that are mounted (like /, /opt, /home).It

Azure Cloud

How to Change the Hostname on a Linux Server (Safely, the Right Way)

· 3 min read

Changing a Linux server hostname sounds simple—and it is—but doing it properly matters. A hostname touches everything from SSH prompts, monitoring, logging, certificates, internal DNS, and even some application configs. In this guide, I’ll show you the safest and most common methods to change a Linux hostname without breaking anything. What is a hostname (and

Artificial Intelligence

Which AI Model Fits Your Business? A Practical Guide to Cohere, Gemini, Llama, GPT-OSS, and Grok

· 3 min read

Generative AI is no longer experimental—it’s powering real-world enterprise, research, and consumer use cases. Five models stand out in 2025: Cohere Command R, Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, Meta Llama 4 Maverick, OpenAI gpt-oss-120B, and xAI Grok 4. Below we compare their strengths, limitations, and practical applications. Cohere Command R OverviewA 32-billion-parameter text-only model with retrieval-aug

Database

Application Modernisation: Breaking Free from Legacy Systems

· 3 min read

For decades, businesses have relied on applications that once solved critical problems and became the backbone of operations. These legacy applications were designed for their time—built to automate manual tasks, improve efficiency, and enable business growth. Many organisations still depend on them daily, even though the technology landscape has shifted dramatically. Why Organisations Still Use

Database

Installing Docker and Portainer on Windows Server (Azure VM)

· 2 min read

Installing docker and Portainer on windows server on Azure VM This guide walks through the tested and verified process for installing Docker and Portainer on a Windows Server virtual machine hosted on Microsoft Azure. These instructions are intended for production-grade setups using Windows-native Docker. To install Docker on an Azure Windows VM (for production workloads),

Software Development

Download and install IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition

· 2 min read

1. Download IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2. Install IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition For Windows For macOS For Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) 3. Activate IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition The Community Edition is free and does not require activation.When you first open IntelliJ IDEA: 4. Set Up IntelliJ IDEA for First Use Configure the UI Install Plugins (Optional) 5.

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