photograph of Jan Reilink

Sysadmins be welcome

Sysadmins of the North is just a technical blog, like so many others out there. Here I write about IT stuff that I find interesting, problems I encountered and solved. Topics include computers, servers, web, sysadmin, database, virtualization, optimization and security.

For the most part, I write as it comes; posts may seem incoherently written sometimes (my apologies :-) ). Drop me a comment somewhere to say hi, or discuss about any of the topics. I always love the interaction!

Latest posts on Sysadmins of the North

  • Install Windows Updates using PowerShell
    In this post I showed you how you can use PowerShell to install Windows Updates. Quickly and silently. This makes the use of PSWindowsUpdate module perfect for your day to day automation. The module even supports scheduling (on remote computers too!), it has the ability to search WSUS and Windows Update for updates, scheduling and performing the download and installation of updates.
  • Send email with PowerShell
    In this post I provide you with a small PowerShell function you can use to send email over a TLS secured SMTP connection with SMTP authentication. As a framework you can use in your own scripting and extend it. You can even create a PowerShell module of it.
  • Are you in my blocklist?
    Is your IP address in my WordPress .htaccess block list? Here are IP addresses I block manually because of comment spamming.
  • Create an additional SQL Server Login
    Here is a small T-SQL snippet that creates an additional (extra) SQL Server Login (User) for contained databases in SQL Server. It sets memberships too.
  • Monitor SQL Server and databases in depth using Zabbix
    SQL Server performance monitoring in Zabbix: Keeping your SQL Server and databases in top shape is key for a good performing SQL Server database server and its databases. A good performing SQL Server makes happy customers, and that’s what puts bread on the plank, right? In this post I’ll show you how you can use Windows Performance counters, PowerShell / WMI and Zabbix for in depth monitoring of your SQL Server server and databases.
  • Query all WordPress posts in MySQL not having a Yoast SEO meta description
    Here is a query you can use to query all posts in WordPress not having a Yoast SEO meta description yet. You can run this on your MySQL prompt or in phpMyAdmin.
  • Configure Windows Debugging Symbols in WinDbg
    Before you can properly debug crash and memory dumps in Windows (Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows Server), you need to install WinDbg -Windows Debugger- and its debugging symbols. In this article I explain how to set up these debugging symbols for WinDbg in Windows. Debug BSOD like a boss!
  • Extract files from an MSI package
    To extract all files from a .msi file, use the following msiexec command and arguments. Windows has the ability to allow the MSI package (.msi file) contents to be extracted using the command line or via a script.
  • Connect to a KVM host through an ssh tunnel and arbitrary port in Windows 11 and WSL 2
    If you need to connect virt-manager to a KVM host over ssh in Windows, then Windows 11 and WSL 2 made things a whole lot easier for you. Even if you need to connect virt-manager through an ssh tunnel and arbitrary port because your network is reachable only through a bastion host and ssh key authentication. Here is how.

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About Jan Reilink – the author

Currently I work as an application manager/administrator at Embrace – the Human Cloud in Groningen. At Embrace we develop and manage software to automate processes and unlock knowledge, social intranets, and so forth. Smart technology helps your organization move forward.

Before /i was over 20 years at Vevida.com as a systems- and applications manager/administrator.

My experience and specialties include Windows Server, IIS, WSL & Linux (CentOS, Debian), PHP, WordPress, websites, MySQL, optimization and security. Vevida is now part of TWS, Total Webhosting Solutions, and incorporated into Yourhosting.nl. My SysOps department went to the company cldin.eu, Cldin.eu’s mission is to build the best-in-class digital infrastructures that scale.