Marc
31st October 2003, 02:07 AM
Ok, folks, here goes...
I have a server up but this is quite a bit different than what I have to this point gone through. As I recently wrote Steelman:When I first logged in, I was amazed that MySQL and the latest php was pre-installed. My perception of a dedicated, unmanaged server was you basically got Apache installed, secure ftp and telnet access as root and from there on out it was up to me to install‚ via cpan on the BSD server php and mysql. Scripts and such were things I installed as well.
All I really was looking for was a plain vanilla server with Apache, and figured I would need php and mysql installed - which is why I was seeking someone to set the basic server up the way I wanted it, and with the basic mail program set up. No sub-accounts or other frills. Like with the virtual servers I have had, I wanted a way to ftp in to root so if I need to change permissions on a file it's not an extended command line trip. And I want to be able to see every file in every directory. Right now there are several FTP accounts which show me different things unless I go in and change directory permissions for the directory, and in many cases the contained files, through ssh telnet by changing to su.
The WHM and control panel are way more than I need. It's really intended for a reseller.
My perception has changed significantly, but I'm trying to figure out how to address it. As I explained, I have been on FreeBSD since 1997-8 and have always had a virtual server‚ of the Vario brand either directly or through a reseller. That said, it was always very simple. I had root ftp and telnet access, the basic mail system was set up so everything - all mail - went through to my one mailbox. I could control mail access through editing /etc/mail/access and the simple control panel‚ was iManager which did everything I needed - actually I only used 3 of the functions it has. I manually edited the Apache conf file and other conf files as needed - like the old‚ days of coding html pages by hand with no WYSIWYG. If I wanted custom error pages, I amended the apache conf file and made sure the files were in the place I defined them to be. If I wanted custom icons in directory listings, I added the icons and amended the apache conf file.
On my Mac, on my Windows PC and on my BSD server I have stuck to the base server structure - /usr/local/apache/. As such, there's only me so there has not been a need to set up an account in a sub-directory as you have done. For testing, I set everything up in the standard‚ fashion - I needed the IP number to test stuff - I haven't played much with the elsmarc directory. I transferred a copy of most of the files there but am not sure how to address the cgi-bin issue. I'm sure it's not hard but at this point I don't really understand know to set up cgi's there. I'm guessing you put them in the cgi directory in public_html. You know how it is - one does something one way for years and change arrives.
All this said, I am still playing a bit and trying to figure out many of the WHM and control panel options. It's overwhelming right now.
Like for mail - all I want is a pop account which everything goes to, and then to relay mail to my spamcop account. It may be I can avoid that, but I‚m paid up for another 6 plus months so I'm not in a hurry to change. I'm more interested in how to selectively reject mail from certain domains (not simply IPs or IP blocks) and specific users at the server level as I currently do on my BSD server.
Right now I'm still assessing the server and whether I want to go this way. I definitely won't switch to this server for another week. I want to understand everything that is going on as well as possible before I decide. As for Serverbeach, they have at least a month's rent either way.
Don't get me wrong, the control panels - all of them - are very nice and I can see their value to many people, but to me they're extensive overkill and confusing to a new person.
I'll get back with you in a few days or so when I have a better feeling as to which way I want to go with this.
This may give you some idea of what I'm experiencing right now.
So - I'm paying for a couple of servers right now and doing what I can to make the switch, when I trigger it, as 'seamless' as possible. I want to avoid the June double server switch fiasco.
But beyond that, I didn't really much look at log files for a couple of years. About 2 years ago about 1000 people stopped by each day and attachments were not a part of the forums software. Now, traffic has substantially increased as has my time to keep things going, and post attachments are significantly increasing the disk space required. See the attachments for an idea of the current daily traffic. This said, the forums database is significantly increasing almost exponentially and additionaly there is the attachments disk space issue (see attachment Database031020.jpg). Currently I have a 'virtual server' with only about 2.4 gigs of space:
Disk status:
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/da0e 2688000 1765063 794937 69% /
That isn't much space. The 'new' server has about 40 gigs which should suffice for a couple of years - or so I hope.
I hope this gives you a brief understanding of the situation.
I'll keep you informed of the progress. Right now I look at another week, but it may be two.
I cannot explain how difficult this is for me to do all this not being a professional in the field which is why I am heavily relying on Steelman's recommendations. I'm not happy with a number of aspects with Verio. However, they have 24/7/365 phone support, automatic backups and many other features. On the other hand they are dramatically more expensive. There are also the 'pipe size' and multiple backbone connection issues I have to consider. The 'new' server is with a small company called Server Beach http://serverbeach.com - I do have some fears of small companies and they have been 'bare bones' in their communications which is what caused me to switch from GSP.com directly to Verio last June (the 'second' server switch).
I do believe the switch will be good - a positive. If I have any concern for user experience, it will be ServerBeach's backbone connection (response).
We shall see.
I have a server up but this is quite a bit different than what I have to this point gone through. As I recently wrote Steelman:When I first logged in, I was amazed that MySQL and the latest php was pre-installed. My perception of a dedicated, unmanaged server was you basically got Apache installed, secure ftp and telnet access as root and from there on out it was up to me to install‚ via cpan on the BSD server php and mysql. Scripts and such were things I installed as well.
All I really was looking for was a plain vanilla server with Apache, and figured I would need php and mysql installed - which is why I was seeking someone to set the basic server up the way I wanted it, and with the basic mail program set up. No sub-accounts or other frills. Like with the virtual servers I have had, I wanted a way to ftp in to root so if I need to change permissions on a file it's not an extended command line trip. And I want to be able to see every file in every directory. Right now there are several FTP accounts which show me different things unless I go in and change directory permissions for the directory, and in many cases the contained files, through ssh telnet by changing to su.
The WHM and control panel are way more than I need. It's really intended for a reseller.
My perception has changed significantly, but I'm trying to figure out how to address it. As I explained, I have been on FreeBSD since 1997-8 and have always had a virtual server‚ of the Vario brand either directly or through a reseller. That said, it was always very simple. I had root ftp and telnet access, the basic mail system was set up so everything - all mail - went through to my one mailbox. I could control mail access through editing /etc/mail/access and the simple control panel‚ was iManager which did everything I needed - actually I only used 3 of the functions it has. I manually edited the Apache conf file and other conf files as needed - like the old‚ days of coding html pages by hand with no WYSIWYG. If I wanted custom error pages, I amended the apache conf file and made sure the files were in the place I defined them to be. If I wanted custom icons in directory listings, I added the icons and amended the apache conf file.
On my Mac, on my Windows PC and on my BSD server I have stuck to the base server structure - /usr/local/apache/. As such, there's only me so there has not been a need to set up an account in a sub-directory as you have done. For testing, I set everything up in the standard‚ fashion - I needed the IP number to test stuff - I haven't played much with the elsmarc directory. I transferred a copy of most of the files there but am not sure how to address the cgi-bin issue. I'm sure it's not hard but at this point I don't really understand know to set up cgi's there. I'm guessing you put them in the cgi directory in public_html. You know how it is - one does something one way for years and change arrives.
All this said, I am still playing a bit and trying to figure out many of the WHM and control panel options. It's overwhelming right now.
Like for mail - all I want is a pop account which everything goes to, and then to relay mail to my spamcop account. It may be I can avoid that, but I‚m paid up for another 6 plus months so I'm not in a hurry to change. I'm more interested in how to selectively reject mail from certain domains (not simply IPs or IP blocks) and specific users at the server level as I currently do on my BSD server.
Right now I'm still assessing the server and whether I want to go this way. I definitely won't switch to this server for another week. I want to understand everything that is going on as well as possible before I decide. As for Serverbeach, they have at least a month's rent either way.
Don't get me wrong, the control panels - all of them - are very nice and I can see their value to many people, but to me they're extensive overkill and confusing to a new person.
I'll get back with you in a few days or so when I have a better feeling as to which way I want to go with this.
This may give you some idea of what I'm experiencing right now.
So - I'm paying for a couple of servers right now and doing what I can to make the switch, when I trigger it, as 'seamless' as possible. I want to avoid the June double server switch fiasco.
But beyond that, I didn't really much look at log files for a couple of years. About 2 years ago about 1000 people stopped by each day and attachments were not a part of the forums software. Now, traffic has substantially increased as has my time to keep things going, and post attachments are significantly increasing the disk space required. See the attachments for an idea of the current daily traffic. This said, the forums database is significantly increasing almost exponentially and additionaly there is the attachments disk space issue (see attachment Database031020.jpg). Currently I have a 'virtual server' with only about 2.4 gigs of space:
Disk status:
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/da0e 2688000 1765063 794937 69% /
That isn't much space. The 'new' server has about 40 gigs which should suffice for a couple of years - or so I hope.
I hope this gives you a brief understanding of the situation.
I'll keep you informed of the progress. Right now I look at another week, but it may be two.
I cannot explain how difficult this is for me to do all this not being a professional in the field which is why I am heavily relying on Steelman's recommendations. I'm not happy with a number of aspects with Verio. However, they have 24/7/365 phone support, automatic backups and many other features. On the other hand they are dramatically more expensive. There are also the 'pipe size' and multiple backbone connection issues I have to consider. The 'new' server is with a small company called Server Beach http://serverbeach.com - I do have some fears of small companies and they have been 'bare bones' in their communications which is what caused me to switch from GSP.com directly to Verio last June (the 'second' server switch).
I do believe the switch will be good - a positive. If I have any concern for user experience, it will be ServerBeach's backbone connection (response).
We shall see.
