Latest Article:

Apache Virtual Hosts on CentOS - part 2

With the base apache virtual host configs in place on your CentOS server, let's look at other settings you may want to apply to them.

CentOS Setup:

CentOS 5.5 setup - part 1: Your CentOS 5.5 Slice will be a bare-bones install when it's created. We need to connect via SSH and secure it as soon as possible.

CentOS 5.5 setup - part 2: Now that we've secured access to our CentOS 5.5 slice we can update it and get it ready for the rest of the server install.

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CentOS 5.4 setup - part 1: Your CentOS 5.4 Slice will be a bare-bones install when it's created. We need to connect via SSH and secure it as soon as possible.

CentOS 5.4 setup - part 2: Now that we've secured access to our CentOS 5.4 slice we can update it and get it ready for the rest of the server install.

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CentOS 5.3 setup - part 1: Your CentOS 5.3 Slice will be a bare-bones install when it's created. We need to connect via SSH and secure it as soon as possible.

CentOS 5.3 setup - part 2: Now that we've secured access to our CentOS 5.3 slice we can update it and get it ready for the rest of the server install.

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CentOS 5.1 setup - page 1: Your CentOS 5.1 Slice will be a bare-bones install. We need to connect via SSH and secure it as soon as possible.

CentOS 5.1 setup - page 2: Now we have configured the Slice to be more secure with SSH keys and a basic iptables firewall, we can carry on and update the Slice, ready for the rest of the server install.

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CentOS and MySQL:

MySQL with Rails and PHP options: Installing MySQL with Ruby on Rails and PHP integration is a simple process using the yum package manager.

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CentOS and Ruby on Rails:

Ruby on Rails: Our CentOS Slice is now ready for a Ruby on Rails stack with subversion and Postfix support.

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mod_rails Installation: Passenger (mod_rails) is an exciting and very easy to use method of serving your Ruby on Rails application.

Using mod_rails to serve your application: Now passenger is installed, let's see how to serve our Ruby on Rails application.

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Thin web server for Ruby: Thin is a well established method of serving Ruby on Rails applications. Let's look at the installation and configuration of thin.

Apache, Rails, and thin: Now we've installed and looked at configuring the thin web server, let's create an Apache vhost to proxy our requests.

Nginx, Rails, and thin: Creating a virtual host to proxy requests to the thin web server is very simple. Even easier then using mongrels.

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Mongrel and mongrel_cluster installation: Mongrels are one of the original ways of serving a Ruby on Rails application using a 3rd party server. Let's look at the installation.

Apache, Rails, and mongrels: Now we have mongrels and mongrel_clusters installed, we can move onto create an Apache vhost for our rails application.

Nginx, Rails, and mongrels: Creating a virtual host to proxy requests to our rails application is very simple. Using a mongrel cluster has never been easier.

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CentOS and Apache:

Installing apache on CentOS: Installing the apache web server on an CentOS server is as simple using the "yum" package manager.

Installing PHP on CentOS: Now that apache is running on your CentOS server you might want to add PHP support to it. Here's how.

Apache configuration files on CentOS: Let's take a look at where apache's config files wind up when installed with the CentOS package manager.

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Configuring the Apache MPM on CentOS: Now that you know where the files are, let's look at how to tell apache to stay within the memory available to your CentOS server.

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Apache configuration on CentOS - part 1: Your CentOS web server continues to take shape as we delve into the depths of apache's configuration options.

Apache configuration on CentOS - part 2: We continue to look at apache configuration options for your CentOS server.

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Apache Virtual Hosts on CentOS - part 1: Now that apache is running and configured on your CentOS server we can add virtual hosts to let it serve more than one domain.

Apache Virtual Hosts on CentOS - part 2: With the base apache virtual host configs in place on your CentOS server, let's look at other settings you may want to apply to them.

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Apache and PHP install: Installing Apache 2.2 and PHP 5.1 on a CentOS Slice is simple using 'yum'. Let's go ahead and install the basics.

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Apache Configuration #1: Let's look at the main CentOS httpd.conf file and see what the settings mean and what effect they have.

Apache Configuration #2: Continuing from the first configuration article, this one looks at some further settings in the main httpd.conf file..

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Apache Virtual Hosts #1: Now Apache is installed and has been optimised we can configure it to host multiple sites by creating virtual hosts.

Apache Virtual Hosts #2: Continuing from the first vhosts article, we now look in detail at the available settings in the vhosts file.

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Barebones apache install for CentOS: How to set up a basic, no-frills apache server. Recommended for experienced admins only.

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Enabling and using apache's mod_status on CentOS: Apache's mod_status module allows it to display a web page containing statistics about the web server's current state, including worker processes and active connections.

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CentOS and Nginx:

Installing nginx via yum: Installing nginx on a CentOS Slice via the 'yum' package manager can be easily done by enabling extra repositories. Let's take a look.

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Installing nginx from source: Installing nginx on a CentOS Slice from source ensure you have the most up to date release to use.

Adding an Nginx init script: Installing Nginx from source does not create an init file. Let's rectify that so Nginx automatically starts on a reboot.

Nginx from source layout: Adjusting the default layout created when installing Nginx from source allows for much easier administration of the vhosts.

Nginx Configuration: Whether installed from the package manager or from source, we can take a look at the default nginx.conf file and see what can be improved.

Nginx Virtual Hosts #1: Now Nginx is installed and running we can configure it to host multiple sites by creating virtual hosts.

Nginx Virtual Host Settings: Continuing from the previous article, we can now look in detail at more of the settings available to us when creating a vhost.

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CentOS and Email:

Email - Preparing the Slice: It is vital that the Slice has the basics such as the hostname and Reverse DNS correctly set before we configure any sort of mail service.

Email - Setting a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record: Setting the correct SPF records for your domain's mail server can help in reducing spammers from using your domain for nefarious purposes!

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Mail Server - Installation: Now that we've setup the Slice basics, we can move onto installing Postfix. This MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) is the base package for all of our mail needs.

Mail Server - Basic Settings in Main.cf: Let's move on and see what the main.cf file contains and how we can change some of the settings for easier administration.

Mail Server - Secure Connection, Configuring Saslauthd: Now we need to setup and configure saslauthd to allow us to utilize a secure connection to our mail server.

Mail Server - Secure Connection, Creating the SSL Certificate: Let's create a self-signed certificate for our Postfix connections.

Mail Server - Secure Connection, Configuring Postfix: Now that more security aspects are in please, we can move onto configuring Postfix to use them.

Mail Server - Dovecot Installation: To enable POP and IMAP (along with secure POP and IMAP) we need to install and configure Dovecot.

Mail Server - Opening Ports in the Firewall: The base Slice setup had minimal ports open - let's open the relevant ports in our iptables configuration for our mail server.

Mail Server - Adding Domains and Users: Now that we have the basic mail server setup, we need to add our domains and users..

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Barebones Postfix install for CentOS: A barebones set of instructions for installing Postfix. Aimed at experienced admins who just want to set up a basic postfix install to send email from a slice.

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CentOS and Munin:

Installing munin on CentOS: Anticipating problems and resource shortages on a slice can be more valuable than fixing them after they've happened. A monitoring tool like munin lets you watch your slice's resource use over time. The graphs will highlight issues before they cause downtime or bandwidth quota overages.

Munin configuration and testing on CentOS: This article continues the installation and setup of munin on a single slice. It explains how to determine or change the URL used to access munin's reports and then check to make sure those reports are viewable and being updated.

Installing additional munin nodes on CentOS: Following up on the article about installing a munin master slice, if you want to monitor additional slices you'll need to install a munin node service on each.

Enabling munin node plug-ins on CentOS: Munin uses plug-ins to determine what data is gathered and reported. It includes several plug-ins for the types of data most people would be interested in, but not all of those plug-ins are enabled on a fresh installation.