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Why use a CDN?

By Bob on June 7, 2021

What does CDN mean?

CDN is an acronym for Content Delivery Network. It is a network of data centers, and proxy servers spread in several and strategic points around the world.

The networks’ servers at every location are named as a point of presence (Pop). Each one of them has its cache memory data for users of the specific area. This is a service that you can have besides your primary web hosting. It is a bonus to cache multiple copies of data and arrange them in a way that users’ access is ensured.

CDN was created in the late 90s.’ The purpose is to solve traffic jams on the Internet. It is also improving availability and the overall performance of the Internet.

In present days the need for delivery content has grown progressively, and the use of CDN too. Just think about all the possible content that is circulating over the Internet. For example like, documents, media files, text, software, social media, and many more.

How does it work?

The concept is simple. On the way are DNS resolvers that analyze the DNS request. Depending on the request’s source, they will provide the IP address of the closest cache server. They are called delivery nodes by some service providers. Those DNS servers are placed strategically in different locations. Based on your DNS provider, you can have multiple, and you can be able to put even more in your most significant area.

You can use a service called GeoDNS, depending on your provider, of using regular DNS. With it, you can set different IP addresses for the different regions.

In such a way, you won’t send the whole traffic to the same origin. You can manage to have the needed number of web hosting located in the crucial areas for you.

Those servers you will use as cache servers, and you will set their IP addresses for the closest DNS server. Thus, the DNS request will perform very fast to the DNS resolver that can present an answer. Then it will redirect to the cache server, and it will save a lot of time.

For whom is CDN intended?

For everybody! Yes, everyone could use CDN. Like for example, a media company. If you have one, CDN could be the one thing to help you to distribute content to some more locations. It could be very beneficial for e-commerce sites, too. Primarily if they operate on various markets like many states – The US. Or maybe different countries like the European Union is your target market, it could be a perfect fit.

Blog sites, news sites, online services, and a lot more are not an exception. It all depends on your needs.

The truth is that some of the CDN prices are very affordable. Even for a small company or a start-up, it won’t be a problem implementing CDN and paying a monthly subscription. And that is amazing!

5 Steps To Make My Website Better

By Bob on May 18, 2021

Owning a website is challenging. To be recognized in the Internet’s ocean, to be really competitive, to keep the website bulletproof and running smoothly is a lot but a must to succeed.

Here you have 5 steps to make your website better, no matter the stage your business is. They are always helpful.

1. Analyze customer’s feedback and make a plan

Besides the regular checking of metrics and statistics you surely do, look into customers’ feedback. If you don’t yet have a way to receive such feedback, it’s time to enable it. Comments from clients about your site are useful guidance to adjust stuff. From design, quality of content, navigation experience, errors or obstacles they found, etc.

Users’ experience is a factor considered by search engines to rank your site, so don’t ignore it. Once you analyze and verify that data, define priorities, make a plan with clear steps to follow for fixing.

2. Optimize navigation

Design is a vital component of websites, and it involves different elements. Navigation is critical. It’s the map for visitors to explore your website. If the routes to find everything are not well designed or takes several clicks to satisfy a single search, you could lose clients. Time and growth of businesses can add big loads of content, products, etc. Navigation can get more complicated instead of easier. Take time enhancing it.

Optimize navigation bar, make hypertext obvious, avoid confusion through the different elements on pages (menu, sidebars, content, footer, navigation signs…), make it 100% responsive on mobiles, etc. Navigation must be connected with your business’ goals. This is a gold tool to direct visitors to the pages that mean profits for you.

3. Upgrade security

The immune system of your website must be maintained and upgrade regularly. Security is never to underestimate. Attacks happen worldwide daily. Lack of maintenance or update can open vulnerabilities for your business site. Catch up on new tech to protect your business, keep SSL certificate, software and plugins up to date, manage passwords strictly, prefer two-factor authentication to log in, control accesses, and train every member of your team about security policies. Humans making errors are the main cause of data breaches.

4. Boost your website’s speed

Speed is a critical factor that totally impacts the whole website’s performance. With the minor signs of sluggishness, take action and fix it. Faster response when your site is requested, quick loading time is so appreciated by users and search engines. Evaluate the speed your hosting provider is supplying you, use a content distribution network, check a plugin to add speed, optimize images, etc. There are many good practices that can boost your website’s speed. Implement the best for your business needs.

5. Enhance your SEO

Nowadays, no business can neglect to have a SEO strategy. Rules to manage content change constantly, so you have to catch up and update such a strategy. Well-managed SEO improves visibility on the Internet, brand awareness, increases your organic traffic, and raises your position on search engine results.

Practices to enhance SEO are many. It is not just about developing your content and posts based on convenient keywords for your business. Not disregarding basics like body content format, page title, meta descriptions, links, etc. Or offering relevant content. It involves much more metrics, analytics, refreshing of low-performing pages, optimization of images, use of snippets… So work on it!

Conclusion

Businesses’ websites have to be constantly tested and enhanced. For sure, you are doing great in some things, but others require to be adjusted. Success in online businesses is a process of continuous learning and improvement. Don’t think about the effort, but the result!

What happened with IPv5?

By Bob on May 11, 2021

Like the normal world, the Internet also has its happy moments, scandals, and mysteries. Daily, computers on the whole planet use IPv4, IPv6 protocols to do their job. But have you thought, where is the IPv5? It’s not a rule, but usually, versions of different things are used consecutively. You can also use previous versions of software instead of recent ones. But here, there is a miss between 4 and 6. What happened with IPv5?

What is an Internet protocol (IP)?

IP is a suite of rules through which connection between devices and the Internet is possible. Those rules determine the routes for data to travel around (host-destination-host). In this process, IP addresses play a key role in identifying every device connected.

Let’s dive a bit into history. At the end of the 1960s, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) began linking computers across U.S. buildings. Such a network was ambitious and required some tech to be developed, software and hardware. An Internet protocol was part of those needs. So the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) was created for data to travel safely and much more. It was a host-level, end-to-end packaging and routing protocol. Too much to be handled. The developers realized it, so those functions were split, and IP got only packaging and routing tasks.

Three versions of TCP had been created. The fourth was called IPv4. You should know how it looks like a string of numbers between 0 and 254, grouped in 4 teams. Example, 230.114.10.32. IPv4 utilized 32-bit address space, what provided 4,294,967,296 (2³²) unique addresses.

Officially, the IPv4 standard was created in 1982. Its available addresses (over four billion) were over in 2011. It’s not hard to believe. IP addresses can be finished, but daily, connected devices to the Internet are more. Every user on the planet connects more than just one device. When even after reusing IPs, they are not enough to identify more devices, a new standard arrives on the scene.

IPv5 creation

Originally, IPv5 was called Internet Stream Protocol or ST. It was planned as an ambitious experiment for streaming audio and video. An attractive capability for the transfer of data packets on determined frequencies while keeping communication.

Each address’s structure was four groups of numbers between 0 and 255 this time.

Unfortunately, problems showed up. The design of IPv5 focused on the development of new features, but the 32-bit limitation was not overcome. IPv5 provided the same 4,294,967,296 (2³²) unique addresses supplied before by IPv4. Considering the daily growth of connected devices, this was a big problem. There was not evolution between versions.

The successful launching of IPv5 fall apart. It was not accepted as the next Internet protocol. IPv6 inherited the promising features of IPv5, and it gave the base for the voice-over IP tech that currently all the world use for communicating.

This happened late in the 1970’s decade. IPv6 would be created more than twenty years later. In 1998, IPv6 was born with 128-bit to provide around 340 trillion trillion trillion unique IP addresses (2¹²⁸). IPs were built not in four groups of numbers but eight groups four hexadecimal digits. Every group, separated by colons, represented 16 bits. Example:

2002:0db6:85a2:0000:0000:5e2a:7003:4351.

Conclusion

IPv5’s mystery solved! Now you know what happened.

IP addresses won’t stop being required. Users’ demand for the Internet is bigger every single day. A connection is reaching even the most isolated locations, therefore more humans. And the amount of devices every person owns and connects is hard to calculate already. There is still a lot to see in the future when it is about IP.

What is SaaS, and how does it work?

By Bob on April 14, 2021

How many times per day, you hear clients or colleagues mentioning “the cloud”? And still, there’s no proper comprehension of the scale and scope of it.

There are diverse cloud choices for running your business: PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS. Do you know about them? Let’s give it a look at SaaS.

What is SaaS?

SaaS stands for Software as a Service, and it is a business model of software licensing. The software is supplied by providers through subscription. This means the software is held on external servers instead of being on client servers, employees’ computers, or hardware in general.

SaaS supplies plenty of different business apps: email, auditing, file sharing, human resources, management (contacts, clients info, sales, purchases, etc.), document collaboration, calendars, databases, and the list can go so long.

Most important Cloud Computing trends you should know!

A bit of SaaS history

The basis for making SaaS real was set around the 1960s. Decades of constant development passed and for SaaS to get matured. 1999 was finally the year when Salesforce released the first SaaS solution. A platform called Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Originally, due to the sluggishness and instability the Internet still experienced, it was thought SaaS solutions were suitable just for small businesses or startups. But with time, Internet improvements, like fewer bandwidth limitations, higher speed, more affordable hosting rates, etc., totally boosted SaaS possibilities. These type of solutions proved their benefits for all kinds of businesses, big ventures included. Easy use, cost-efficiency, and functionality pushed their growth exponentially.

How does it work?

SaaS works really easily. Users need a device connected to the Internet, a browser, a username, and a password to log in to the system for accessing the software. No matter their location, service is available and users’ accounts accessible due to the web connection. This fits perfectly with the useful and popular home-office trend.

A big advantage for clients is, they are not in charge of updating software to new versions, enhancing security, or maintaining servers. SaaS providers do that for you.

SaaS helps companies acquire software without disks, downloads, and extra time for installing or updating it on all business computers. Software is accessible via the Internet. You get a subscription paying a regular fee, and that’s it.

*some SaaS requires a client application to be installed and update on client devices

What to consider while picking a SaaS provider?

Hiring such a service is a way to open access to your company. External people will manage a key chunk of your IT systems. Don’t hire risks!

High-security level – Employees will exchange info daily. A lot of sensitive data from your company and clients will be transferred. High-security standards and modern tech are a must. SaaS providers can’t guarantee 100% security. But reliable ones take responsibility in case of an outage, breach, etc.
Flexibility – Businesses change. New needs appear, employees get hired, others fired, etc. You need a flexible platform to remove or to add users, more features, etc., fast and easily.
Scalability – To have extra room for your business’ growth matters. Don’t be stopped by the tech limits of your provider.
The highest uptime – It must be accessible at any moment for you and your employees. The closest to 100% uptime, the better.
Customer support – Check availability and conditions.
Service and payments – Usually, providers charge based on the company’s number of users, the set of apps required, but be sure about everything. What does the regular fee include? How frequently does it increase? What if you need to scale the service or cancel it, etc.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) – This can be complex but analyze every detail of service, provider’s responsibilities, fees, legal protection, data security, penalties, and many more relevant policies. Don’t sign blindly.

Conclusion

SaaS solutions are out-of-the-box tools’ sets to efficient your daily business operation. It is an easy and helpful choice of cloud tech.

Error 404 – how to fix it?

By Bob on April 5, 2021

Servers have a way to communicate for informing about queries’ status. They do that through different HTTP response status codes, like the error 404.

Once servers receive a query, they start a process to answer the client with the required website. Using different codes, they indicate if it was successfully completed or not, if there was an error and its type, etc. There are five categories of responses.

1, informational responses.
2, successful responses.
3, redirects.
4, client errors.
5, server errors.

HTTP 404 vs Soft 404

What does error 404 means?

Error 404 is an HTTP response status code that belongs to the category of “client errors”. It means “not found”.

The server can not find the resource that was requested.
When it’s about the browser, the meaning is URL is not found.
In Application programming interfaces (APIs), the endpoint is valid, but the resource does not exist.

Error 404 very frequently appears online. The web holds plenty of dead or broken links and exactly those that obtain such response status code when clicked.

This code does not give the user information to know if the resource is missing permanently or temporarily.

Error 404 format

It commonly appears like:

Status 404 Not Found
404 Not Found Error
The requested URL was not found on this server
404 File or Directory Not Found
404 Page Not Found
HTTP 404 Not Found

How to fix error 404?

Redirect. Use the response code 301 to redirect browsers. Through this code, you point that content requested is available now with another URL.

Track broken links (internal and external) on your website and fix them. There are tools to find them, or you can do it manually, but it will take longer.

Fix internally broken links by correcting typos. Mistakes while writing URLs’ lead to broken links. Moving links to their right places also helps. If you put an article in the wrong category, you can produce a broken link.

If you include links from different websites (external) and re-located or deleted, this generates broken links on the other site. Delete them or replace them with another site (link) that offers similar info.

Restore cleared pages. People can keep looking for a page you already deleted. If it is possible and it has a sense for your business, restore it. Whenever you delete pages from your site, redirect users to similar content pages to avoid broken links.

Customize Error 404 for being less annoying. Besides website’s owners, we are Internet users. So we all know how disappointing it is to request a page and not to receive it. If the “Error 404” appears after long waiting, the bad feeling gets worse. For users, not to leave your website definitely, better give the 404 page a nicer look and make it helpful for them. You can explain on it the steps to follow for reaching you later. You can apologize and offer a nice and concerned ‘face’.

For sure, you have seen designs including cute animals with the popular “oops”. A cute doggie saying, “Oops, I may chewed up the power cord,” can be forgiven easily, don’t you think so? Others prefer fun messages, meme style. Shit happens, and we know that, but a bit of humor can make the difference with your clients not to be so angry.

Be free and creative to design your own custom 404 page.

Other errors from the 4 category

Client’s error category (4) also includes the following codes.

400 Bad Request Status Code.
401 Status Code — Unauthorized Request
402 Status Code –Payment Required
403 Status Code
405 Status Code — Method Not Allowed Code
406 Not Acceptable
407 Proxy authentication required
408 Request timeout
409 Conflict
410 Gone
411 Length Required
412 Precondition Failed
413 Request Entry Too Large
414 Request URL Too Long
415 Unsupported Media Type
416 Requested Range Not Satisfiable
417 Expectation Failed
422 Unprocessable Entity Status Code

Suggested article: Error 502 Bad Gateway – 5 quick fixes

Conclusion

Error 404 is common but fixable. Digging into the error causes is vital because SEO, bounce rating, and client satisfaction can be affected by such a response. Be prepared to create a friendly and useful 404 page, just in case.

rDNS (Reverse DNS) explained

By Bob on March 24, 2021

So you have set up your Forward DNS. You are happy that you added all the needed DNS records, and you think you are done. Guess again! What are you missing? Just try to send an email from the domain, and immediately you will notice a problem. Your emails are going missing or to the SPAM folder because you haven’t set up a rDNS (Reverse DNS)! Luckily, now you will learn all about it.

What does rDNS mean?

The Reverse DNS is a service, a part of your typical managed DNS plan, and it allows reverse lookups. It lets you create a Reverse DNS zone, where you can add PTR records and use them as proof that the IP addresses and the domain name matches.

The Reverse DNS works with both IPv4 addresses and IPv6 addresses. You can use it with one or the other or both at the same time.

You will need proof that the PTR records provide so servers of other companies can backtrack the IP address to the domain name, and that way, to be sure that it is not a scam.

You will need the combination of A (IPv4), or AAAA (IPv6) records that map domain names and IP addresses and PTR records that have the opposite purpose, IP addresses to a domain name.

Why should we care about rDNS?

You should care about rDNS if:

You want your emails to arrive at their destination and check of the incoming mail server to finish successfully. You will most probably need a few more records than the PTR, like SPF, DMARC, and DKIM records.
If you are an IP network owner, you will need it to be able to do reverse lookups.

How to start using Reverse DNS?

Get a DNS plan with Reverse DNS. The rDNS is a service that is usually missing from the free DNS plans. So, first, you will need to get a paid plan with Reverse DNS included and other parameters that you will need for your Forward DNS.

Create a Primary Forward DNS zone. You will need to add the A or AAAA record that links your domain name to the IP addresses first.
Create a Primary Reverse DNS zone. You can do it from the control panel of your provider. There you find the add Reverse DNS zone. Pay attention to the instruction. Usually, you will need to add a range of IP addresses in reverse.
Add the PTR records. They must link the IP addresses to A or AAAA records in the Froward DNS zone. If they don’t make a match, it won’t function.

Can you check your Reverse DNS?

Yes, you can check your Reverse DNS by probing the IP addresses and see if they lead to the hostname. The easiest way to do it on most of the OSes (Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.) is to use the Nslookup command:

nslookup 192.169.1.2

Just change the IP address, in this case, is 192.169.1.2, with the one you want to verify. This one is an IPv4 address, but you can put an IPv6 address too.

If you need more information I recommend you this article: What is Reverse DNS?

Conclusion:

The Reverse DNS is a must-have when we are talking about sending emails. If you don’t set it up correctly, you might have emails that don’t arrive at the destination. That can cause missing opportunities, problems, and extra costs. You don’t want to lose money just because you didn’t set up your rDNS, do you?

What is the MTR command, and how to use it?

By Bob on March 17, 2021

What is the MTR command?

MTR command is a type of traceroute command developed by Matt Kimball in 1997 that allows both traceroute and ping in the same software. Originally the name MTR was an abbreviation of Matt’s traceroute, but in 1998, his colleague Roger Wolff worked on it too and changed the name to My traceroute.

Why is the MTR command better than the traditional Traceroute or Tracert?

The MTR command is better because it combines the Ping and the Traceroute command and gives additional information (statistics about time, packet loss, and round-trip time, too) about each hop on the way from the computer to the host.

MTR will send ICMP ECHOs (pings) and wait for them to return.

How can you get the MTR command?

To get it, you will need a few commands to download it and install it. You can do it on Ubuntu, other Linux distros, macOS, or BSD and its derivates. Sorry, but the command is not available on Windows.

Ubuntu

Log in to your server, or start the Terminal application
Write the command:

sudo apt update

this will update the list of all packages available

Install with the following command:

sudo apt -y install mtr

macOS

Open the Terminal app
Install first the Homebrew with the following command:

/bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)”

Now, you can install the MTR command with:

brew install mtr

BSD

Log into your server, or start the Terminal application
Use the following command

pkg install mtr

You can install the MTR command on most Linux distros like Arch Linux, CentOS, Fedora, RedHat, Debian, and more.

Suggested article: What is Traceroute command and how to use it?

How to use the MTR command?

You can use it through the Terminal application. You have two basic ways to use the MTR command:

mtr + hostname – This one will show you the route to a particular hostname / domain name.

mtr +IP address – This will trace the route to a particular IP address. It could be IPv4 or IPv6 address.

The MTR syntax

mtr [-hvrctglspni46] [–help] [–version] [–report] [–report-cycles COUNT] [–curses] [–split] [–raw] [–no-dns] [–gtk] [–address IP.ADD.RE.SS [–interval SECONDS] [–psize BYTES | -s BYTES] HOSTNAME [PACKETSIZE]

But to see it more clearly, imagine it like this:

mtr OPTION OPTION’S VALUE hostname / IP address

mtr – my traceroute command.
OPTION – additional option for more precise probes. You can see the table below.
OPTION’S VALUE – sets the time or repetition. It depends on the option you have chosen.
Hostname / IP address – You can put one of the two to trace the route to it.

We recommend you to read also about NSlookup command and DIg command

MTR command’s options

-h-help	Help
-v-version	MTR’s version
-r-report	Report mode needs -c to specific the cycles before showing statistics at the end.
-w-report-wide	Extended report mode.
-c COUNT–report-cycles COUNT	The number of pings that must be sent.
-s BYTES–psize BYTES PACKETSIZE	Choose the size of packets. If you chose a negative value, they would have a random size.
-t–curses	Curses-based terminal interface
-n–no-dns	Show IP address, don’t resolve the hostname.
-g–gtk	GTK+ interface.
-p–split	Split-user interface.
-l–raw	Raw output format.
-a IP.ADD.RE.SS–address IP.ADD.RE.SS	Link packets’ sockets to a specific interface
-i SECONDS–interval SECONDS	Seconds between pings.
-u	Use UDP.
-4	IPv4 address only.
-6	IPv6 address only.

The MTR command is a nifty tool for network diagnostic. Try it out!

Secondary DNS (Slave DNS) explained

By Bob on March 11, 2021

You probably came to this article because you want to improve your DNS’s reliability, and you heard about Secondary DNS. Yes, Secondary DNS definitely useful to provide redundancy, and peace of mind, especially in this world, constantly full of DDoS attacks and other DNS problems.

Secondary DNS explained?

Secondary DNS, also known as Slave DNS or Backup DNS, is a service that provides a network of DNS servers that are secondary to the Primary DNS server. They can automatically copy the Primary DNS zone file and provide more points in the world where your DNS records are available even in case of downtime with your Primary DNS.

Your DNS is managed inside the Primary DNS. There you can add, remove or edit DNS records. The Secondary DNS could be a service that the same DNS provider offers, or it could be with another DNS provider. Even multiple Secondary providers, if you really want to back up that Primary DNS.

There is a mechanism for copying the zone data, usually through an API.

That way, the Secondary DNS receives the changes that happen in the Primary DNS.

Why should you consider a Secondary DNS service?

The main point why you would like a Secondary DNS service is redundancy. If, or most likely when your Primary DNS goes down, your Secondary DNS will continue to answer queries. No problems! It will reduce the risk of downtime significantly. Your customers will be able to reach your site or use your app undisturbed.
Lower the weight of your Primary DNS. You can use the Secondary to reduce the stress on the Primary. It can load balance and answer queries, too, so not all queries must be answers straight from the Primary DNS. It will reduce the stress and lower the chance of single-point failure.
Hide the Primary DNS. You can also completely hide the Primary and make it look like your Secondary DNS is your primary. This way, the most valuable for you server will be hidden from the eyes of your attackers. You can bullet-prove your Primary DNS with a firewall too.
Have a backup. If something bad happens to your Primary DNS, you still will have a complete backup of the zone file. All your DNS records will be available, and you can save them and later use them again for the Primary. It is not often that you lose all your data from the Primary, but it is nice to be relaxed knowing you have a complete backup.
It is easy to use. You won’t need to tweak many settings. Just find the mechanism for the zone transfer, probably through an API, and set it up. It usually takes very little time, and little to no knowledge is needed to connect the Secondary.
Easy migration. If you are going from one DNS provider to another, the Secondary DNS could be a good first step. You can see how well the new provider’s service works and how to use their control panel. When your DNS records are there already, it will be an easy step to go to any of their other plans.

Conclusion

The Secondary DNS is an easy way of backing up your Primary DNS and provide redundancy. It is easy to set up and deploy. It has one big flaw. It can’t work with DNSSEC. If the fast and easy way it works attracts you more than the problem, go for it. If no, don’t worry. There are other methods to provide excellent DNS, like Anycast or GeoDNS loading balance.