First of all, I read the documentation for the tools I'm trying to configure. I know this is very 20th century, but it helps a lot to understand how everything

First of all, I read the documentation for the tools I'm trying to configure. I know this is very 20th century, but it helps a lot to understand how everything fits together and to remember what each tool does in a complex stack. Documentation is not always perfect or complete, but it makes it much easier to find parameters in config files and know which ones to tweak. And when the documentation falls short, the old adage applies: "Use the source, Luke."