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Installing Debian/Ubuntu on an Existing RAID/LVM

I like to test all the possible scenarios before putting a server into production. One of these tests was whether I could reinstall linux without disturbing the RAID arrays. Unfortunately the Debian and Ubuntu installers do not make this easy. When you reach the partitioning stage it will just show you the physical drives with the linux raid partitions and not the md devices. Here are the steps that worked for me. Read the rest of this entry »

Patching Apache’s Suexec Module

Apache’s suexec module is useful for running CGI and SSI scripts as a defined user. However all scripts must be located under the compiled in docroot and the uid/gid of the user running the script must match the script’s uid/gid.

This can be a problem if you have a shared CGI app like awstats as unless you make each user a copy the uid/gid will not match. Not to mention that the docroot on Fedora is /var/www so if you want to store your virtual hosts elsewhere your out of luck. Not to worry recompiling apache isn’t as hard as you might think. Read the rest of this entry »

Virtual Web Site Hosting

A common practice is to use one apache server to host websites for multiple domain names. Apache supports virtual servers out of the box making this easy to setup. This tutorial is based on Fedora Core 5, but should apply to most other linux distros. Read the rest of this entry »

vsFTPd Connection Banner

Sending a banner is a good way to let system users know what the expectations are. Configuring the banner for vsFTPd is an easy process involving two files. The file containing the banner must have the same name as the daemon. In this tutorial I store the banner in /etc/banners, but feel free to store it elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Reverse Proxy Apache 2

There is a good amount of information on setting up a reverse proxy with apache. One of the better articles I came across was on Apache Week. The downfall to these articles is that most reference ProxyHTMLURLMap, part of the mod_proxy_html module, which is not included in the httpd rpm with Fedora Core. Read the rest of this entry »

Rolling Out pfSense Embedded

Since the 1.0 relase is hot on the mirrors now is the perfect time to discuss this. As most of you know each time a new version is released you have to backup your config, flash the new image, setup the minimal amount to bring up the webgui so you can restore your config. Well with the help of a few scripts I wrote you can put all that in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

Setting up SSL with Apache 2

I’m going to assume you have a working install of Apache 2. I’ve based this off Fedora Core 5, however it should apply to most distros. Lets get started installing the ssl module. Read the rest of this entry »