vps
85 posts
Linux Load Average Explained: What the 3 VPS Numbers Mean
You SSH into your VPS to check on something unrelated, run uptime out of habit, and see load average: 4.32, 3.98, 3.15. Is that bad? Is your server about to fa…
How to Create and Use a WHM API Token Safely
If you've ever automated a backup check, a bulk account creation, or a DNS update with a script that logs into WHM using your root password in plain text, you'…
No Space Left on Device But df -h Shows Free? Fix Inodes
Here's a confusing one: your VPS won't let you write a file, PHP throws a fatal error trying to create a session, or apt refuses to install anything — and the …
Fix 'caching_sha2_password' MySQL Authentication Errors
You migrated a WordPress site or a PHP app to a new server, pointed it at MySQL 8, and now every page throws a database connection error. Locally it works fine…
Fix Cloudflare Error 520: Web Server Returned an Unknown Error
Cloudflare's dashboard shows your site as active, DNS is proxied, SSL says "Full" or "Full (strict)" — and visitors still land on an orange error page re…
Fix ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH: Server or Browser?
Someone emails you a screenshot: Chrome is showing "This site can't provide a secure connection" with the code ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH underneath. N…
Fix MySQL Error 2002: Can't Connect Through Socket
You run a WordPress deploy script, try to log into phpMyAdmin, or just type mysql -u root -p on your VPS, and instead of a password prompt you get: ERROR 2002 …
Change Your VPS Hostname in WHM Without Breaking SSL or Mail
Changing a server's hostname sounds like a two-minute job — type a new name into WHM, hit save, done. In practice it's one of the few VPS changes that ca…
Fix Nginx "Upstream Sent Too Big Header" Errors
You log into wp-admin and instead of the dashboard, you get a blank page, a 502, or a connection reset — but only after logging in. The front end of the …
VPS Lost Network Connectivity After Reboot? Fix Netplan
You rebooted the VPS — maybe after a kernel update, maybe just routine maintenance — and now SSH won't connect. No timeout after a long wait, just an immediate…