About the Racker Hacker

Who is behind this blog? Why do you do it?
My name is Major Hayden, and yes, Major is my first name. I’ve been a Linux system administrator for about 6 years, and along the way, there have been many influential people who have taught me best practices, problem solving skills, and patience. I feel that this blog is a way to give back to those who have helped me, and to those who are still learning.

Why do you call yourself RackerHacker?
First off, no one calls me that, because it would be silly. However, I thought it would be a good name for the site.

I work at Rackspace, and all Rackspace employees are known as Rackers. I felt like hacker rhymed well with Racker, so I stuck them together, bought a domain, and began writing posts. The word hack has many negative connotations, but I consider myself to hack away at problems on Linux servers when I’m at work. So, to me, hack has a very positive connotation.

What’s your background in technology?
Technology has always been something which captivates me. When I was very young, my parents bought a Tandy 386SX and within a few months, I knew more about it than they did. Many years later, I began designing websites and writing HTML without knowing what was going on behind the scenes.

A good friend came to me and asked me if I’d ever tried Gentoo. I scoffed at Gentoo and went back to my point-and-click Mandriva installation. He was persistent, and we spent all night installing Gentoo on an old machine (if you’ve never used Gentoo, you won’t understand why it took all night). After that, I was hooked. I’ve been managing Linux and Windows environments in small and large configurations since 2002.


What technologies interest you the most?
The basics of the LAMP stack are what keep me going: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. While I believe that certifications don’t mean all that much, I am a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and a Certified MySQL Database Administrator (CMDBA) (#6520) in case you’re interested.

I’ve worked at an SSL Certificate Authority before, and security intrigues me as well. During that employment, I created scripts and applications to deliver SSL certificates and I was part of a team which created a standalone IDS/IPS system which was remotely monitored.

What are you doing now?
Currently, I’m a Senior Systems Engineer at Rackspace in Texas. It is by far the best job I’ve ever had. I work in an environment where the customer always takes the highest priority, but my personal development is also a priority. I lead a team of talented Linux technicians who are as dedicated as I am to providing the best experience possible for our customers.

If there’s anything else you want to know, or if you have comments, I’m all ears.