How do I compile mod_wgsi for Python 2.7

Recently I found myself in a situation where I needed to recompile mod_wgsi against a newer version of Python. This involves recompiling Python with the correct flags, then recompiling mod_wsgi using the newly compiled Python. Below shows the steps, Check Version First of all check what version of Python mod_wsgi was compiled with. [root@server]# ldd … Read more

Cisco ASA 8.4/8.6 – Proxy ARP Gotcha

Issue You may observe the ASA incorrectly proxy ARPing for an IP address resulting in connectivity issues . Background Within 8.4(2) and 8.6(1) the following NAT changes were introduced.This basically states that Proxy ARP is enabled by default on both static and identity based NAT statements. Reference : http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa84/configuration/guide/intro_intro.html Identity NAT configurable proxy ARP and … Read more

What is the difference between a Soft and Hard SA timeout ?

The are 2 main types of SA (Security Association) lifetimes ; soft and hard. Soft lifetime – The soft lifetime defines the number of seconds until the IKE process is informed that the SA is about to expire. This is to provide enough time for the creation of a new SA before the hard lifetime … Read more

Optimize Throughput of a VPN across a WAN-based Link

How can I optimize the throughput of a VPN across a WAN based link ? I was recently asked this question the other day by a client, after seeing the results (in which the transfer speeds were nearly tripled) I thought it would make an interesting article. Background My client had a VPN (Site to … Read more

Juniper SRX – High Availability (Active / Passive Simple)

The Juniper SRX offers 4 types of High Availability (HA) deployment, Active/Passive Simple Active/Passive Full Mesh Active/Active Deployment Active/Passive Transparent Mode Within this article we will look at Active/Passive Simple upon a SRX 240 series device. Summary Active/Passive is the most common type of HA deployment and consists of 2 firewall members. Whilst one node … Read more

Create a Multiline Cell Based CSV File Within Python

Within this short tutorial we will show you the steps required to create a csv file that includes multi-line cells within Python. In order to create a mutliline cell within Excel (2010/2013) the following is required: newlines are represented with a carriage return/newline, the string should be wrapped in quotes. One of the great things … Read more

Django 1.5 – ‘url’ requires a non-empty first argument.

Issue When running Django 1.5.1 you may observe the following error, NoReverseMatch at /‘url’ requires a non-empty first argument. The syntax changed in Django 1.5, see the docs. Solution This issue can occur due to changes in the url tag syntax. More information on this can be found at  https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/releases/1.5/. The correct syntax for url … Read more

Django – How do I create a custom login page ?

Within this article we will look at how to permit only authenticated users to a view via the use of a custom login form. SETTINGS First of all a few changes need to be made to the settings.py file. Such as + ‘django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware’ to MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES + ‘django.contrib.auth’ and ‘django.contrib.contenttypes’to INSTALLED_APPS Once done update your database by … Read more

Connect to a serial device using a USB-to-Serial Convertor in Linux

For years, I had ran my Prolific USB to Serial cable from my Windows 32bit laptop without any issues. Unfortunately, life when running Windows is never easy. After upgrading Windows 7 to 64bit I tried to install the drivers from CNET downloads. This was a HUGE mistake. Even though the CNET downloader told me it … Read more