Category: Blog

The word "cloud" has lost its meaning. It's so misused that I've coined a phrase for it: "cloud bullshit".

The cloud is often synonymous with a proprietary solution that locks you into an all-in-one ecosystem that's extremely difficult to get out of.

When the price of your "cloud solution" goes up by 300%, or a revolting new general condition of use appears, or the service is down: what do you do? Do you suffer like a victim, or are you suitably prepared to switch providers?

Today, your Linux System Administrator specializing in WordPress web hosting gives you all the secrets you need to know to avoid being trapped by cloud bullshit.

The Cloud doesn't exist?

Semantic shift of the word "cloud

Cloud" doesn't really exist any more, because it has lost its meaning. From a delocalized web infrastructure with resources scattered across several machines, a semantic shift has gradually taken place.

Cloud now means more than that: one or more servers in a datacenter hosting services. Basically, any online service belongs in the cloud.

In any case, it's still someone else's computer or computers...

Cloud = marabouage

With the cloud, everything seems to work as if by magic, without anyone understanding a thing. It's like magic!

If you don't understand, you're putting yourself at risk.

Solutions need to be simplified to make them intelligible.

It's by mastering your tools that you can protect yourself.

Linking applications and hosting: the danger of imprisonment

A major danger of the cloud: when hosting and service merge.

You're trapped in this solution. At 100%, you're dependent on the goodwill of an American company that owns your data, your work tools, over which you have no control.

For example, if you use the Office 365 suite, not only are you hosting your data on Microsoft's cloud infrastructure, but the services (calendar, excel editors, etc.) you use are proprietary and don't easily allow you to output your data to an alternative service.

The case of worldwide computer failure in July shows just what the problem is: until the service provider restores the service, you're completely stuck. Your business is held hostage.

The problem is the same with Google Cloud, but also with many service providers who provide you with proprietary solutions for your website or e-mail, which are often difficult to get out of.

Once you've got hundreds of employees on such a system, the organization and cost of getting out of it will turn off more than a few managers, even if it saves money in the long run.

My advice: If you're just starting out, go straight to open-source systems such as standard IMAP e-mail included with all LRob hosting packagesand the Nextcloud collaborative suite. If you are imprisoned, get advice and start adding an open-source solution, taking your time to transition to it, until you've done away with the proprietary solution altogether.

The "good" and the "bad" cloud: the three criteria

What is a "good" cloud?

From my point of view as a system administrator, who therefore directly manages cloud infrastructures, there are three major criteria that characterize a good cloud:

1. It lets you know where your data is stored.
2. It does not exploit your data.
3. It's simple and standard, so you can change it as you like.

The GAFAMs (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) are therefore directly excluded: proprietary solutions, impossibility of localizing data which generally leaves Europe, commercial exploitation of data (statistics, social engineering, etc.) and as a bonus: government partnerships giving the US authorities a free pass to access your data.

You've got it: the chosen solution must be simple, transportable, localizable, free and independent.

We can add that the solution must remain easily reachable and ready to help you unconditionally, even if it's with the aim of getting your data out of their hands.

Finally, an ideal cloud includes additional security features such as application firewalls or anti-bruteforce, anti-robot blocking solutions. And as surprising as it may seem, the biggest cloud providers generally omit this type of security, as it would require additional human support that they don't seem to want to provide.

The perfect cloud exists

Thanks to my expertise in free hosting, I've created the perfect cloud!

So perfect, in fact, that it's my entire business and my entire life. Proof, if proof were needed, of my total confidence in this system and its total viability.

What does it consist of?

Simple management

A simple, intuitive control panel (Plesk) lets you easily manage your domains and sub-domains, emails, databases, FTP access and backups. This access gives you total control over all your data.

The WordPress Toolkit helps you manage your WordPress installations without being intrusive. You save a lot of time and security, without losing your freedom.

If you need a collaborative suite, LRob can provide installation and maintenance of your Nextcloud installation. Here again, the solution is standard, so you are free to migrate to the host of your choice at any time.

And do you know what? With LRob, you're so free that you can even mix free and non-free solutions. If you really want to use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, it's still possible, and I'll even help you if you need it.

What about you? When will the perfect cloud arrive?

Everyone's trying their hand at eco-responsible sites. While this won't save the planet, it does help to raise awareness. It's a step in the right direction.

But the aim is to maximize efforts. And while site optimization from the visitor's point of view ("customer" side) is often emphasized, server-side optimization and choices are all too often neglected.

Yet hosting is the cornerstone of a truly "greener" web, accounting for most of the resource savings you can achieve.

Deciphering. 👇

1 - Customer optimization

This is the best-known and most obvious aspect. It involves reducing the weight of resources sent to visitors, thus improving loading times and reducing the site's carbon footprint.

This focuses on two main points:

• Design: choose optimized themes and plugins to avoid sending massive amounts of fonts and useless JavaScript or CSS code.
• Image optimization: use suitable image formats, compressed to modern standards such as webp, to minimize bandwidth consumption.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's move on to the really decisive aspect! 👇

2. Hosting and server resource optimization

This point is often underestimated, yet in my opinion it represents 90% of the impact!

Choice of host 🏭

Hosting companies have a lot of room for maneuver when it comes to going green.

Green electricity, geographical location, heat recovery, type of cooling, choice of sustainable, low-energy machines.

For example, my server provider Hetzner uses 100% of green energy and caseless servers, scalable and durable. 🌱

Fighting robots 🤖

Removing up to 99% of unwanted traffic generated by hacker bots reduces machine power consumption by more than 50%. However, hardly any web hosts apply these filters, as it requires additional support to deal with false positives (and, in concrete terms, to unblock customers who repeatedly enter the wrong password, or use plugins making suspicious requests).

This has the added benefit of drastically boosting performance for real users.

I achieve this with attack detection and blocking techniques such as ModSecurity and Fail2ban, which are standard for those most familiar with web hosting system administration.

CPU optimization 🧮

Developers need to write light, fast code, and use high-performance caches like Redis (available on my hosting services), to maximize server efficiency.

What we're talking about here is a factor of 2 to 10 reduction in server CPU usage thanks to a good cache.

It's worth noting that traditional caches that write temporary files to servers are less optimal than Redis, which stores everything in RAM, thus avoiding unnecessary consumption of space and I/O (disk read/write) resources.

Efficient pooling 🫂

Optimized management of servers and sites, based on the above points, avoids wasting physical machines (each server can hold more sites) while ensuring maximum performance for all.

This approach also relies on a close relationship with customers to ensure customized management. For example, if a site is consuming more resources than expected, it may be due to an attack that needs to be blocked, or a concern about site optimization that needs to be brought to the customer's attention, with personalized advice.

Hopefully, you've learned something. In any case, from now on you won't be able to say you didn't know. 🌟👍

A project? Contact me at. 🤝
Or order the perfect accommodation directly from https://portail.lrob.fr/ 🚀

Are you wasting time maintaining your WordPress sites? 🥵

Here are 10 key points for managing hundreds of them super efficiently! 😎👇

1. Centralize your sites

Group your sites together on just one or a few servers, but make sure that each site remains system-isolated for security. This will be much easier to manage and more economical than hosting each site individually.

2. Manage DNS via the host server

Manage DNS of your domains directly via the hosting server. The creation of sub-domains will be simplified, your e-mails will be pre-configured for good deliverability, and you'll be able to benefit from a free WildCard certificate to protect all your domains with SSL/TLS encrypted connections. You'll also be able to centralize your email management, for even greater efficiency.

3. Choose high-performance hosting

Don't waste your time with a slow back-office. Choose high-performance hosting like LRob's to be sure that if your site is slow, the problem isn't with the server but with site optimization.

4. Use the WordPress Toolkit

Choose hosting with the WordPress Toolkit. You'll be able to log in to each site with a single click, receive security alerts, add additional protection with a few clicks, benefit from automatic updates and deactivate a problematic plugin even if the site has a problem.

5. Make sure you have a good daily backup

A good backup should be managed on the server side, not by the site itself. For peace of mind, have a copy at home in addition to the one at your host. Problems with a site? Restore a backup. And test your backups before you need them, so you won't be caught short in the event of a problem.

6. Easy access to server logs

In the event of a bug on your site, which is bound to happen one day, access to server logs is essential to find and correct the error quickly.

7. Choose a service provider who has your back

Choose a reliable provider for backup, support and monitoring. When the going gets tough, you'll know the difference between a good provider and a bad one.

8. Enable automatic site updates

With a good backup and a good provider, activate automatic updates for your sites, as enabled by the WordPress Toolkit. This eliminates the need for manual updates, increases security and saves you a lot of time. You'd be surprised how few problems occur when updates are made regularly.

9. Use additional server-level security

Choose a server with additional security features such as an application firewall, anti-bruteforce and automatic banning of attacking IPs. This, combined with the above measures, reduces the risk of hacking by 99 %, while drastically reducing unnecessary load on the server, for optimum performance.

10. Add value to your hosting and maintenance

Communicate your safety and maintenance measures. Invoice your customers for this added value, and secure your business with high value-added subscriptions. And be proud of the service you offer, so you can grow your business.

Do you have between 5 and 128 WordPress sites to host while respecting all these criteria? My offers Web Agency are made for you! Contact me at for more info.

Would you like to share your own method? Any points to add? Comment below! 👇

With these tips, you'll optimize the management of your WordPress sites, save time and improve their security and performance. Don't hesitate to contact me to find out how we can work with you to achieve your goals.

Every web player needs to master these points!

By mastering DNS, you can FREE with your websites and domain names! 👇

Learn the essentials in 2 intense, effective minutes instead of a boring 3-hour course. 🤯

What is the DNS system?

📄 The Domain Name System is the digital highway that makes a domain name (e.g. lrob.fr or google.com) accessible. Basically, the domain is "pointed" to a destination.

Examples:

• If you visit a domain like lrob.fr, your web browser makes a DNS resolution request in the background to find out the IP address of the server hosting the site.
• When you send an e-mail, further requests are made to find the destination mail server and authenticate the sender.

How does the DNS system work?

1 - Registrar 🏢

Domain names such as lrob.fr are registered with a "registrar" such as HaiSoft, Gandi, NameCheap, OVH and others.

Each registrar must go through a "registry" that is the authority for domain name extensions. For example :

• .en AFNIC
• .com / .net Verisign
• .org Public Interest Registry (PIR)

2 - NS (Name Servers) 🌍

To make a domain "resolvable" (accessible), it must have "name servers" or NS (Name Servers).

NSs contain the domain's pointing information and are said to be "authoritative". Always define at least two NS for redundancy. The registrar sends this information to the registry.

ℹ️ The domain owner ("registrant") is free to use the NS of his choice, or even to create his own, using values called Glue Records.

Various providers exist and you can create your own directly with a little knowledge. This is the case, for example, with lrob.net, my infrastructure domain with a complete autonomous DNS system supplied to all hosted customers to centralize their DNS management independently of the registrar used. How convenient!

More info

3 - DNS zone 🌐

⚠️ This is what you absolutely must master!

NS servers contain the domain's DNS zone. It is this DNS zone that contains the actual pointing values.

For example:

• the IP of the server hosting the site
• IP or host name of mail server
• Meta-information such as the list of servers authorized to send mail for a domain.

Click here to discover all possible DNS values and how to manage your DNS zone via LRob.

What do we do with all this?

You're now free to register a domain name with any registrar, to manage your NS (and therefore your DNS zone) wherever you like. And your sites and e-mails can be placed with as many different providers as you like, with complete freedom thanks to DNS zone settings!

To never go wrong with your DNS, choose a Hosting LRob ! 💪
I can help you with all your web challenges! 🤝

You have 1 site: Choose one WordPress Hosting.
You have between 8 and 128 sites: Choose one Web Agency Hosting.

Do you know where your data is physically located? In which datacenter? Who has access to it?

If only one of these answers is "no", it's more serious than you might think.

Regain control in 3 steps.

1 - Becoming aware of the problem

Using a Google or Microsoft service can be a source of pride and even joy, at first...

This is where marketing really comes into its own: customers who are happy to pay premium rates, i.e. several hundred or even thousands of euros a month in the case of large teams.

But who really wants to hand over their most precious data to the American giants? Who wants to get caught up in a retention mechanism that's hard to get out of? Who doesn't want to know where their data is, who has access to it, and what is done with it? And pay premium for it...

Without even needing to talk about "Big Brother" (which is a reality, these companies know you better than you know yourself, enabling mass surveillance and subtle manipulation of your search and other results that you can't even notice), such an operation can only be worrying, whether for an individual (even if they have nothing to hide), or for a company, whose business depends in particular on its documents and emails.

If you're able to say "I don't have a choice, everyone else is using it", you're wrong. Other independent solutions do the same job, or even better, for less money, while allowing you to retain full control over your data! Their development is solid, and these tools are being used by more and more people who value control over their data.

2 - Control your emails

Mails are an extremely standard service, and many service providers offer them.

But how do you choose?

A mailbox is not a calendar, a document-editing suite, a coffee machine, or anything else. If you have a problem with one of these services tomorrow, it doesn't have to be linked up in such a way as to complicate the changeover.

Choose a simple provider: a mailbox is a mailbox and should be nothing more than that.

Also, choose a secure provider: any web host or email service provider must comply with email sending standards (rDNS/HELO/SPF/DKIM/DMARC) and actively combat spamming from its network, which is of course the case with LRob, which comes with these security features without any additional configuration on your part.

To connect to the mailboxes, the service provider must supply a standard webmail like Roundcube (free and open-source, perfectly optimized, standard and simple), as well as a POP/IMAP/SMTP connection. For the connection, you'll use either the webmail provided, or the software of your choice (Thunderbird, Outlook, or email apps on smartphones). Need I remind you that LRob also provides Roundcube and POP/IMAP/SMTP connection as standard on all web hosting packages with email included?

An unresolved problem with your service provider? Migration can be as simple as copying mailboxes to IMAP and making clever DNS changes to avoid service interruption. If you need to migrate, even from a Microsoft cloud, contact me!

Host your website and e-mail efficiently, securely and freely with LRob.

3 - The collaborative suite

To work as a team, many use a collaborative suite like those integrated with Microsoft Office 365 or Gmail mailboxes.

But as we've seen, this has nothing to do with a mailbox and should be a separate service.

For this, a free, open-source solution exists: it's called Nextcloud.

More and more data-sensitive professionals are using it. The reason is simple: it's a website like any other, admittedly a little heavier than average, but it can be hosted by any powerful host like LRob!

Well managed with the addition of a document-editing suite like Collabora Online, Nextcloud enables collaborative editing, file sharing with teams or customers, calendar sharing, task management, chat, and much more.

Compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS, Nextcloud lets you access your files from anywhere!

For contacts and calendars, Nextcloud uses the CardDAV and CalDAV standards. On Android, for example, you can use the DAVx5 app to dispense with the Google calendar and contacts altogether, and store everything on Nextcloud. Ideal for business environments.

Host your Nextcloud instance via LRob, with backup and maintenance included.

Any comments or questions? Feel free to comment on this post or to contact me directly.

In the world of web hosting, ecological and privacy concerns are paramount. Certain preconceived ideas can hinder the choice of a web hosting provider, particularly in Germany. This article aims to dispel these prejudices, highlighting the excellence of Hetzner, my German hosting partner, in terms of eco-responsibility, interconnection and confidentiality.

Ecoresponsibility: Beyond Greenwashing

🌿 Hetzner, a key player in the German and European hosting industry, is actively committed to preserving the environment. Contrary to the accusations of greenwashing often levelled at companies in this sector, Hetzner proves its eco-responsible commitment by using exclusively green energy, supplied by Energiedienst AG, a company specializing in renewable energies such as wind and hydroelectric power. But that's not all.

Innovative Server Architecture

📉 Hetzner is also revolutionizing its server architecture. By opting for a customized chassis-less design, the company saves raw materials, improves ventilation (outperforming traditional servers such as those from Dell), and reduces overall costs. This innovation translates into greater energy efficiency, the ability to operate at higher temperatures (reducing the need for air conditioning), and the ease with which components can be upgraded and reused.

By optimizing its design, Hetzner offers better prices while preserving our beloved planet as much as possible.

Reliability and Performance in Practice

⏩⏩ The efficiency of Hetzner custom servers is not limited to their design. When the going gets tough, you need to be able to rely on your hosting provider. Hetzner succeeds in this too, and can, for example, replace a faulty hard disk in its datacenter in just 15 minutes - a speed unmatched by other providers.

Exemplary customer support

🤝 Customer support at Hetzner is not only competent but also efficient, reflecting the overall reliability of their services. This operational excellence translates into minimal demand for support intervention.

Optimal Interconnection

🌍 Hetzner ensures impeccable interconnection with France, thanks to direct peering with France-IX Paris, which handles peaks of 2.5TBit/s. Hetzner's peering is 100Gbit/s on France-IX Paris, which has an impressive 99.9997% reachability rate over the past year.

There is a 5 to 10ms latency, however, due to distance. In practice, with HTTP/2 (and 3) the impact is of the order of the margin of error, and the superior performance of the machines more than compensates for this micro-loss, with loading speeds between 2 and 4x faster than many French servers.

Network performance in practice

In practice, the major French ISPs such as Orange, SFR and OVH can saturate a gigabit link with Hetzner without a hitch. Free, the worst pupil of interconnection in my general experience with them, still reaches Gigabit in burst then oscillates between 100 and 250Mbit/s) because of its very conservative (not to say stingy) QoS rules. As for Bouygues, I know that you can saturate a 5G link without any problem, but I haven't yet had a chance to test the fiber link; as their interconnection is generally among the best, I imagine that you can saturate a gigabit link too.

Security and Confidentiality at the European Level

⚖️ Germany, like France, is subject to strict European privacy regulations. Hetzner complies with the DIN ISO/IEC 27001 standard, guaranteeing a high level of data security and confidentiality. With the Hetzner cloud on a dedicated server, customers can be sure of knowing where their data is stored.

An Advantageous and Reliable Choice

✅ Hetzner stands out not only for its commitment to eco-responsibility, reliability and security, but also for its competitive pricing. It represents a cost-effective hosting choice, surpassing many French offerings in terms of quality and performance.

To take advantage

Take advantage of hosting on one of my 24/7 managed and monitored Hetzner servers.