Colors do more than make your business or product look pretty. They actually have a real impact on consumers’ perceptions of your business, which can in turn have an impact on your sales and revenue. I [...]]]> Importance of Color in Business

Posted by Megan Dorn under Random thoughts, Small Business

Colors do more than make your business or product look pretty. They actually have a real impact on consumers’ perceptions of your business, which can in turn have an impact on your sales and revenue. I read in a post on the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur recently that “research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing, and between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color.”

Basically what it comes down to is that color is probably much more important to your business than you think, and it pays to know what you’re doing in that department. You don’t have to be a color strategist (yeah, that’s an actual job) to be effective in your use of color, but you should probably know the basics regarding what different colors convey. So here they are:

• Red=Love and Passion
• Orange=Enthusiasm and Creativity
• Yellow=Cheerfulness and Optimism
• Green=Natural and Refreshing
• Blue=Peace and Tranquility
• Purple=Luxury and Sophistication
• Pink=Romance and Femininity
• White=Innocence and Purity
• Black=Authority and Power
• Brown=Reliability and Masculinity

Color should be taken into consideration in all sorts of aspects of business. Look at your logo, marketing collateral, office paint colors, and even what you wear to meetings. It all conveys a certain message. So is your color scheme conveying the image you’re trying to project?

Best Source for Meaning of Colors:

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-schemes.html
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-theory-basics.html

If you have chosen a certain color it would be useful to know all of the complementary colors as you rarely will use just one color. Check out the following sites to get an idea of colors.

http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html

I also found this site that gives an example of what a blog may look like using the main color you have chosen.
http://colorschemedesigner.com/

I assume that you already have [...]]]> Apache Tomcat SSL keys created with keytool are, by default, in der format. These keys cannot be used in Apache httpd since httpd, be default, expects the keys in pem(X509) format. Using the below steps you can export the tomcat’s keys to Apache httpd format and use it for Apache.

I assume that you already have a working copy of tomcat with SSL.

If Not follow Verisign’s instructions on requesting an SSL certificate, then:

• Create a keystore:   $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA
• Import the Intermediate CA Certificate:   keytool -import -alias root -keystore <your_keystore_filename> -trustcacerts -file <filename_of_the_chain_certificate>
• Import your SSL Certificate:  keytool -import -alias <your_alias> -keystore <your_keystore_filename> -trustcacerts -file <your_certificate_filename>

You will need a copy of the tomcat’s keystore file and the keystore password.

Let us start….

First copy the existing tomcat’s keystore file to a new directory so that we don’t break anything that is working.

List the key and verify you know the passphrase.
# keytool -list -keystore your.key

Now we will export the key in DER format
# keytool -export -alias tomcat -keystore tomcat.keystore -file exported-der.crt
Enter keystore password:
Output will be: Certificate stored in file

The certificate will be stored in the file called exported-der.crt

Verify the certificate with this command:
# openssl x509 -noout -text -in exported-der.crt -inform der
Output will be: The whole certificate saying – who issued it  and other info like your company name etc.

Now Convert the key to PEM format so that apache can understand it:
# openssl x509 -out exported-pem.crt -outform pem -in exported-der.crt -inform der

The exported key will be in the file exported-pem.crt.

We have exported the public key and now are going to export the private key.

Download a  file called (ExportPrivateKey.zip) from Anandsekar.com

Extract the key
# java -jar ExportPrivateKey.zip {keystore_path} JKS {keystore_password} {alias} exported-pkcs8.key

The key is in PKCS #8 PEM format. Now run openssl to convert it to the format apache modssl expects the file.
Use a cygwin shell to get a good version of OpenSSL without having to install another application.
# openssl pkcs8 -inform PEM -nocrypt -in exported-pkcs8.key -out exported.key

The Private key is now exported to the file exported.key.

Edit the httpd.conf/httpd-ssl.conf file
SSLCertificateFile /root/SSL_export/exported-pem.crt  -> I used the cert from Verisign instead.
SSLCertificateKeyFile /root/SSL_export/exported.key
SSLCertificateChainFile /root/SSL_export/<intermediate>

Example:
#Verisign Certificate
SSLCertificateFile “C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache2.2/conf/cmmssl/cert/cert.crt”
# Our new key
SSLCertificateKeyFile “C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache2.2/conf/cmmssl/private/exported.key”
# The Verisign Intermediary cert file.
SSLCertificateChainFile “C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache2.2/conf/cmmssl/intermediate/intermediate.crt”

Restart Apache, with fingers crossed, pixie dust in the air, while the rooster crows, on a full moon, and a live sacrificial chicken waiting on standby.

It would be nice to know what happened with the script when it runs early in the morning.

I found  that if you call the script from the Windows Task Scheduler that you can give [...]]]> I needed to have a script list and kill processes and I needed that script to run out of a scheduled task.

It would be nice to know what happened with the script when it runs early in the morning.

I found  that if you call the script from the Windows Task Scheduler that you can give the job a few more options.

Change the scheduled tasks to read as
cmd /C NightlyBatchJob.bat > NightlyBatchJob.output.txt 2>&1

The output should be placed in the same directory as the script.

I also should include the script that stops all of the java processes for Wallstreet systems CMM/TRM application.

REM Win 2003 systems have the sleep command
REM sleep 40
REM XP systems don't.
REM The ping command times out at 20 seconds, goofy way to create a wait.
REM Comment out either the ping or the sleep depending on which works
cd \<install_path>\pmm\bin
REM force PMAD/PMSD to start, in case they are not running

net start "Wallstreet Suite - pmad"

net start "Wallstreet Suite - pmsd"
.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop SDM@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop ACM@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop websuite_appserver@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop WebSuite@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop cmm_tcmd_appserver@test1
REM sleep 40

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL
.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop TRM@test1
ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL
.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop messaging@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop active_mq@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop trm_mdsd@test1

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 stop omninames@test1
REM Only stop  pmad/pmsd if really necessary

REM net stop "Wallstreet Suite - pmsd"

REM net stop "Wallstreet Suite - pmad"
REM sleep 20

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL
REM Display processes status if needed

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 proc
REM sleep 40

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL
REM Make sure everything is down by killing any hung processes.

.\pm_cmd admin_account/password@localhost:8887 kill WALLSTREET_SUITE@test1
REM sleep 40

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL

ping 10.10.10.254 > NUL

REM List out the remaining running tasks owned by SYSTEM

tasklist /S localhost /U SYSTEM

REM Kill any left over java processes. NOTE: will kill ALL JAVA processes on the system

taskkill /F /FI "IMAGENAME eq java*"

http://www.flashgames247.com/

http://www.playfuls.com

http://www.kongragate.com (My personal favorite)

http://www.miniclip.com/

http://play-free-online-games.com

1. Change Tomcat’s server.xml. (<application>/tomcat/conf/server.xml) Edit the non-SSL <Connector> entry listening on port 80 and add or edit the redirectPort atribute to point to the port on which the SSL <Connector> is listening. By default, the redirectPort was pointing to port [...]]]> Need to have http redirect to https within Tomcat.
Here is a good page on setting up SSL for Tomcat tomcat-6.0-doc/ssl-howto.html

1. Change Tomcat’s server.xml.
(<application>/tomcat/conf/server.xml)
Edit the non-SSL <Connector> entry listening on port 80 and add or
edit the redirectPort atribute to point to the port on which the SSL
<Connector> is listening. By default, the redirectPort was pointing
to port 443.  Note: if you have an internal system running SSL on port 21101, for example, and your site uses a global load balancer, then you need to redirect to port 443.  Otherwise, the URL would be rewritten as https://your.site.com:21101 which would fail at the loadbalancer.

Was:
Connector port=”80″
enableLookups=”false”
redirectPort=”8443″
maxThreads=”100″
minSpareThreads=”100″
maxSpareThreads=”100″

Changed to:
Connector port=”80″
enableLookups=”false”
redirectPort=”443″
maxThreads=”100″
minSpareThreads=”100″
maxSpareThreads=”100″

2. Setup a security constraint in the Tomcat web.xml file.
In the Tomcat web.xml file the following <security> has
to be added within the <web> element. This new element must be
added after the <servlet> element: Note: The Tomcat documentation states that https will only be redirected to the Port listed if there is a <security> listed for some path.  I found the best location to add the info is just prior to the last line in the web.xml

Place the following code just above the last line (</web>) in the web.xml file
(<application>/tomcat/conf/web.xml)

<pre><security>
<web>
<web>Application Name</web>
<url>/*</url>
</web>
<user>
<transport>CONFIDENTIAL</transport>
</user>
</security>

 
<security>
    <web>
        <web>Application Name</web>
        <url>/*</url>
    </web>
    <user>
        <transport>CONFIDENTIAL</transport>
    </user>
</security>

In Apache 2, shared modules must be compiled with the directive: –enable-mods-shared=’rewrite’

Multiple modules can be configured that way like so: –enable-mods-shared=’rewrite dav dav-fs’

A simple config string would look like this: ./configure –prefix=/usr/local/apache –enable-mods-shared=’rewrite’

# EVEN if you screwed up and failed [...]]]> I seem to need this information often enough so I thought I would post it here for safe keeping.

In Apache 2, shared modules must be compiled with the directive:
–enable-mods-shared=’rewrite’

Multiple modules can be configured that way like so:
–enable-mods-shared=’rewrite dav dav-fs’

A simple config string would look like this:
./configure –prefix=/usr/local/apache –enable-mods-shared=’rewrite’

# EVEN if you screwed up and failed to compile it, by using the horribly broken and often incorrectly documented ‘–enable-rewrite’ switch (which DOES NOT WORK: even ./configure –help and the apache install docs includes this BS compile directive that DOES NOT WORK), ALL IS NOT LOST. You can still compile any modules by changing to the apache source dir and then the sub directories /modules/mappers (for example: /path/to/your/httpd-source/modules/mappers ) and executing the following command:

/usr/local/apache/bin/apxs -cia mod_rewrite.c

# This will compile the modules as a “so” or “shared object”, and add the proper enabling string to your httpd.conf file: LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

The apxs method of compiling in a module should work for most of the modules you may need.  For instance mod_speling is very useful in dealing with mod_rewrite as it is used to ignore case.

I also just thought that I could download the latest XAMPP version from www.apachefriends.org and get the modules I need from there.  It may or may not work.

The script works by pulling the latest data and database backup from the production server.  The script can be placed in a cron. The DR server user should be [...]]]> Here is a script I wrote to keep 2 or more web sites in sync.  The data files can be anything under the data tree.
The database is MySQL.

The script works by pulling the latest data and database backup from the production server.  The script can be placed in a cron.
The DR server user should be able to ssh without a password to the production server.  This is accomplished using RSA keys under SSH.

Once both the web site and database are setup, this script pulls the newest files, and latest mysql database backup via rsync.

Change the First set of VARIABLES, and <usernames> and <pathing> where needed.

I should probably have more information on the script here, but I wanted to save a copy somewhere before I forgot about it.

Anyway, my thought is if I setup a primary web server somewhere and want n+1 backend systems I might be able to use this poor-man’s approach.  If the backed systems need to have database updates then you are looking at database replication.  But, the rsync file copy and all of the rest could be used to make web server production updates to a cluster of systems.  You just update the main instance and all of the slave servers pull the latest information, including a database update script if needed., unix, script

#!/bin/ksh -x

#######################################
#
# Script to sync Prod web with DR server.
# The script is designed to pull from the
# production server.
#
# 12/2008:  Initial setup.
#        :  Mike Byers
#######################################

PRIME_HOST=’prod.edmz.com’                  #Production host
DR_HOST=’dr-orprod2.edmz.com’              #DR server
DATABASES=”mysql DB1 DB2″                  #database to transfer space sepa
rated
#MYSQLUSER=backup                               #User for database backup
MYSQLUSER=restore                                  #User for database restore
#MYSQLPWD=’ABC123′                             #Backup user Password
MYSQLPWD=’ABC123′                               #Restore user Password (Restore user needs more DB permissions)
DB_PATH=’/opt/mysql5/backups’                 #Path to database backup files
#YESTERDAY=`date +%Y%m%d -d”1 day ago”`         #Linux Version
YESTERDAY=`TZ=GMT+24 date +%Y%m%d`              #Solaris Version
TODAY=`date +%Y%m%d`
PATH=$PATH:/opt/mysql5/bin/;export PATH  #Path to mysql binaries

/usr/bin/rsync –exclude ‘configuration.*’ \
–exclude ‘**/logs’ \
–exclude ‘**/modules’ \
–exclude ‘**/conf’ \
–exclude ‘**/bin’ \
-vaue ’ssh -x -C -l <username>’ $PRIME_HOST:apache/htdocs/* /<path>/apache/htdocs/

for DB in $DATABASES
do
/usr/bin/rsync -vaue ’ssh -x -C -l <username>’ $PRIME_HOST:$DB_PATH/$DB-$TODAY.sql.
gz $DB_PATH
#Compare sizes of database backup files to see if anything changed
S1=`du -sk $DB_PATH/$DB-$YESTERDAY.sql.gz | awk ‘{ print $1 }’`
S2=`du -sk $DB_PATH/$DB-$TODAY.sql.gz | awk ‘{ print $1 }’`
if [[ S1 -eq S2 ]]; then
echo “No update for database $DB needed”
else
/bin/gunzip < $DB_PATH/$DB-$TODAY.sql.gz | mysql -u $MYSQLUSER -p$MYSQLPWD
$DB
fi
done