Ansible for Beginners: My First Real Automation

What is Ansible? (In Simple Words) Think of Ansible as a remote control for your servers. Instead of: SSH into server Run commands manually Forget what you changed Repeat the same steps again and again You tell Ansible: “Hey, I want this server to look like this.” And Ansible makes it happen — again and again, without breaking things. The best part? No agent needed Just SSH Simple YAML files Very human-readable My Setup (Real World) This is exactly what I used: ...

January 15, 2026 · 4 min · Saad

Gentoo Install: What I Did on My Laptop

Why I Installed Gentoo Processor: Intel Core i5 4th Gen (4 cores) RAM: 8GB Storage: 256GB SSD I’ll be using the Minimal ISO because I like full control over my system, but if you prefer a GUI installer, that’s totally fine too! Step 1: Grab the Gentoo ISO Head over to Gentoo’s official website and download the ISO. You’ll see two options: GUI Installer (if you want an easier time) Minimal (CLI) Installer (if you want to go full pro mode) For this guide, we’re going Minimal. Let’s get our hands dirty! ...

December 3, 2022 · 3 min · Saad

ProFTPD on Ubuntu: Setting Up FTP

What I Set Up I needed a simple FTP server on Ubuntu for file transfers. ProFTPD did the job. This is my setup — on Arch you’d install with sudo pacman -S proftpd and edit the same config path. Plain FTP is not encrypted. For anything serious, use SFTP over SSH instead. Installing ProFTPD Getting ProFTPD set up is pretty simple. Just run: sudo apt-get install proftpd Configuring ProFTPD Once it’s installed, you’ll need to tweak the config file. Open it up with: ...

August 7, 2022 · 2 min · Saad

SSH: How I Connect to Remote Servers

Why I Use SSH SSH is how I control another machine from my terminal. I use it to manage servers, copy files, and run commands on remote systems without sitting in front of them. For Windows remote desktop you use RDP. For Linux, SSH is the standard. How SSH Works (Short Version) Client — on your laptop (where you type) Server — on the remote machine (what you connect to) You run ssh user@ip, enter your password (or use a key), and you get a shell on the remote box. ...

August 14, 2021 · 2 min · Saad

Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows: What I Did

Why I Dual-Booted I needed Windows for some things and Linux for everything else. Instead of picking one, I installed Ubuntu alongside Windows on the same machine. This is the process I followed. Steps to Dual Boot Ubuntu with Windows Step 1: Prepare a Bootable USB Drive Download the latest Ubuntu ISO from the official Ubuntu website. Download and install Rufus or balenaEtcher to create a bootable USB. Insert a USB drive (at least 8GB) into your computer. Open Rufus or balenaEtcher: Select the Ubuntu ISO file. Choose the USB drive. Click “Start” to create the bootable drive. Step 2: Configure BIOS/UEFI Settings Restart your computer and enter BIOS/UEFI by pressing a specific key (usually F2, F12, Del, or Esc) during startup. Look for Boot Order/Boot Priority and set the USB drive as the first boot device. Disable Secure Boot (if enabled) under the Security tab. Enable UEFI mode (recommended) instead of Legacy mode. Save changes and exit BIOS. Step 3: Boot from the USB Drive Insert the bootable USB drive into your computer. Restart the system and press the Boot Menu key (F12, F9, Esc, or as per your motherboard). Select the bootable USB drive from the list. Press Enter to boot into Ubuntu Live. Step 4: Try or Install Ubuntu Once the Ubuntu installer loads, you will see two options: Try Ubuntu – Runs Ubuntu without installing it. Install Ubuntu – Proceeds with the installation. Click on Install Ubuntu to continue. Step 5: Select Keyboard Layout Choose your preferred keyboard layout and language. Click Continue. Step 6: Connect to Wi-Fi (Optional) Select your Wi-Fi network. Enter the password and click Continue. Step 7: Choose Installation Type Select Normal Installation (recommended). Check the box Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware, Flash, MP3, and other media. Click Continue. Step 8: Choose Installation Method Select Something else (for manual partitioning). Click Continue. Step 9: Create Partitions for Ubuntu Ubuntu requires three main partitions: ...

August 13, 2021 · 3 min · Saad