Highly skilled Linux Server Administrator

Handled hundreds of servers with complex setups, handled services delivery and managed server security.

Extensive knowledge of Linux Distros & Services

I managed a wide range of services, from web & application servers, database, email to file, network and routing.

Monthly subscription for Linux Server Administration

I offer monthly subscriptions in different SLA levels for server management - all major distributions and infrastructure providers.

Turn-key Linux Servers, with enhanced SLA

I can provide you with turn-key servers, for various roles - from web hosting, mail servers to private cloud and file server.

About Me

Hello there, I’m Colin, and I’ve been managing Linux servers for the past 20 years.

I know the line above sounds like it’s the beginning of a therapy session, but, believe me, I love it!

I’ve began using Linux in 1999, and, at that time, it was all about compiling, resolving dependencies and getting packages to work together. I went from a enthusiastic self-taught searching mailing lists and asking for info on user groups and forums, to managing high traffic services on public servers.

I witnessed the evolution of technology, from single standalone servers, to clustering, virtualization and the current micro-services architecture based on containers, pods and serverless cloud services.

  • 20 years of a healthy daily dose of Linux Server Management
  • Experience handling major incidents, DDOS attacks, hacking attempts and various security issues
  • Bare metal installations, VM conversions, VPS, VDS, cloud instances, embedded systems - i've seen most of them

I have extensive experience managing various services and Linux-based servers, for companies operating in sectors such as: automotive, advertising, publishing, manufacturing, ecommerce, financial, accounting and law services.

Check out my technology page for further details on the solutions I can manage for you.

Feel free to reach out to me, I’ll be happy to have a chat.

Learn More

Some gibberish about Technology

I listed below some of the technologies, packages, services and distributions I have experience with. It's not complete, and it will probably sound alien to you. Don't worry, translation of these terms to plain english is part of my Linux Administration Services :)

  • Linux Distributions: Slackware, Redhat, Suse, Debian, Ubuntu, CentOs, AlmaLinux, Rocky
  • VM Hosts / Container Systems: KVM, Xenserver, Vmware, Virtualizor, Proxmox Docker, Kubernetes
  • Web stuff: Apache, Nginx, Litespeed, Tomcat, Squid, Java/Javascript, PHP, Python, Node, Perl, CGI
  • Databases: MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, pgCluster, MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra, and, of course, CDB :))
  • Mail & related: Postfix, Exim, Qmail, Sendmail, Dovecot, Courier, Spamassassin, ClamAV, RoundCube
  • File & Network servers: Samba, OpenLDAP, Cups, NextCloud, ownCloud, webDAV, NFS, openVPN
  • Monitoring: Cacti, Nagios, Grafata, Prometheus, mrtg

A 360-degree approach to professional Linux Server Management

You can find below some key points of my approach. Contact me if you need more details, and I'll be happy to discuss further details.

  • 01 Outsourced Linux Server Administration

    You can benefit from my expertise as Senior Linux Systems Engineer as a contractor. I can provide multiple options, depending on your particular needs, server setup and required SLA. Check out below some more details about my approach and use cases.

  • My experience allows me to have a comprehensive approach to Linux Server Administration. It is based on hands-on administration, via shell console, OS and packages maintenance, updates & roll-out. It is complemented by monitoring & optimization of hardware and software resources. The security layer covers all system endpoins and services, and it is constantly updated, in order to prevent incidents.

  • Depending on server role, and agreed SLA, you can rely on a fast response time, ensuring a quick turn-around for any problem or incident. My approach is centered on services continuity, and I achieve this with Linux security, service security, system optimization, updates and paches based on advisories such as CVE.

Linux Server Administration use cases

Main distros: Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware, CentOs, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux

Server Roles: web hosting, DB / SQL server, web/HTTP server, mail server, file/cloud server, backup server

Network / company office servers: Linux based routers, file servers, VPN, firewall, SMB / domain controller

VPS / VDS Linux Administration

Recommended for VPS/VDS environments, cloud-hosted applications & virtualized infrastructure

  • Specialized VPS/VDS configuration and performance tuning
  • Scheduled Linux distro & package updates optimized for virtualized environments
  • Hypervisor-aware resource allocation and optimization
  • VM snapshot management and restoration procedures
  • Storage optimization for virtualized disk systems
  • Virtual environment migration and scaling support
  • Operating System Security hardening for cloud/VPS environments
  • Service containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
  • Critical vulnerability patching based on CVE Advisories
  • Backup:Automated cloud-compatible backup solutions with configurable retention policies
  • Monitoring: 24x7x365 real-time monitoring & alerting for services, load and traffic
Custom

On-premise servers and network

Recommended for dedicated hosted / on-premise physical servers, local infrastructure & internal networks

  • Hardware monitoring, diagnostics and performance optimization
  • Scheduled Linux distro & package updates for bare-metal / dedicated environments
  • Physical server resource allocation and load balancing
  • Site/rack-based network configuration, security, and traffic management
  • RAID array management and disk health monitoring
  • Local infrastructure scaling and hardware lifecycle management
  • Server room environmental and chassis/IPMI monitoring integration
  • Local service redundancy and failover configuration
  • Paches and fixes for critical & major bugs/vulnerabilities found, based on CVE Advisories
  • Backup: daily remote backups for essential and critical OS files and settings
  • Monitoring: 24x7x365 real-time monitoring & alerting for traffic, load, critical services & OS behaviour

All major providers available, for new server setups

I can provide you with my Server Administration services through all major infrastructure providers. You can choose your infrastructure provider of choice, and I can incorporate my fees over their service offering, in a completely transparent manner. You’re paying a single bill, and I also manage the relationship with that provider. Contact me for details.

Turn-key Linux Servers

Looking for turn-key managed servers? You can find some examples below.

Private Cloud Server

Looking for alternatives to Google Drive, Onedrive or other collab platforms?

Have a turn-key managed server, based on OwnCloud or NextCloud, with transparent pricing, based on your requirements – disk space, memory, traffic, location.

Contact me for details.

Dedicated mail server

You can have your own personal mail server, running on Linux, based Postfix, Exim or Qmail.

Host as many domains as you want, and allocate resources for your users' email accounts.

Contact me for details

Custom Database Server

Handling large amounts of data, using a custom setup, or having sensitive data?

You can have a SQL server (MySQL or PostgreSQL), or nosql (MongoDB, Cassandra), with full control over resources, traffic and usage.

Contact me for details

Private Web server

Host your websites, apps or services on your own Web server, sing WHM/Cpanel, Plesk or custom Linux/Apache or Nginx.

Benefit from dedicated server resources, allocated as needed between your sites, to enhance content delivery to your clients and visitors.

Contact me for details

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do you access the managed server?

    I'm using a fixed IP connection, and I will add a specific firewall rule to connect from this IP. I normally use SSH, and log in with a user account on that system, using a text password. I never use password managers or other online storage for credentials.

  • When setting up your Linux Server Administration subscription, you will receive my full contact data - cell number, messenger, skype. Feel free to use any of these in order to reach out to me. Please note that the maximum expected response time depends on the agreed SLA.

  • I'm normally on GMT or GMT+2. However, my daily schedule covers both Europe's and North America's working hours.

  • I generally use Stripe as a payment processor, and, with client's confirmation, a new recurring monthly subscription is set up. All the payments are billed automatically by Stripe from the credit card entered by the client. I do not have access to credit card or bank account information, and I cannot modify the agreed payment structure (interval, value or payment method). The client has access to cancel the subscription, by contacting me or via Stripe.

  • There isn't a fixed period, and the minimal duration is one month. However, it is designed for longer timeframes - years even - this allows me to better understand your business expectations, and to adjust to patterns in usage & requirements. You can cancel your subscription at your request, and it will enter into effect at the end of the billed period.

  • It's a matter of case-by-case. If you're an old client, it's generally included in the existing subscription, as it's normal for me to handle server and configuration replacements. If you're a new client, first I will need to understand your requirements and expectations regarding data migration, server & clients configuration. Depending on the amount of time required from me, it can have a distinct fee or be included in the new subscription.

  • Yes, of course. In fact, most of the servers I currently manage are virtual machines or VPS/VDS configurations. I've worked with all major infrastructure providers, and I can accomodate almost any request regarding specific provider, region or VPS architecture.

Contact Me

Location:

online, European Union

Direct contact information:

available to clients

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