How do I tell if Apache is running? - 4th April
The Ubuntu 8.04 LAMP server should have Apache up and running once
the system is booted. To check that your system is working point
your web browser to the IP address of the server by typing in the
address barhttp://192.168.0.100
Hopefully you should see the message below: |
| The default Apache index.html page: It Works! |
Where is the default web directory?
The default Apache web directory for Ubuntu is:/var/www
Now if you are only going to be hosting one website from the server then you can leave things as they are and simply upload your files to the default directory.Uploading files to the web directory
If you are fortunate enough to be running Linux then this task could not be simpler. Use the file manager Nautilus or Konqueror to access the server using sftp which stands for Secure File Transfer Protocol. To do this open a file manager window eg by clicking on your home directrory and then typing in the address bar.sftp://192.168.0.100
Just replace the 192.168.0.100 with the ip address of your server and voila, you should be prompted with a login box asking for your username and password.Hosting multiple domains - 5th April
If you want to host multiple domains on your server, then you will have to set up Apache. This is fairly painlessly achieved using Webmin, although you can also edit the .config fies of Apache using a text editor to achieve the same end.I am assuming that you have already created a user and a directory from which you wish your new domain files to be resident in. Before you do anything else make sure that the file and directory permissions allow others to read the contents, this is best done using the Nautilus or Konqueror file managers, simply click the permissions tab for the directory and set the permissions, it is also a good idea to tick the box that says apply this to all subdirectories and files. If you don't, no one will be able to see your hard work!
Once your permissions are set you are ready to configure a new "Virtual Server". Start by opening up Webmin and clicking on the "Servers" tag. Now choose "Apache". Click on the "Create a New Virtual Server". A window will open which needs the details of the new server.
In the "Document Root" field enter the full file path to the directory which will be something like:
/home/user/www
In the "Server Name" field enter the name for your domain which will be something like:molestranglers.co.uk
I would suggest just leaving everything else at the default settings and it should all workAll you have to do then is click the Create button and you have set up your domain.
However before the outside world can see your server you need to set up the DNS from your ISP to point to your server.
Setting up DNS to point to your server - 6th April
This proceedure is going to have some variations depending on the way your ISP has set things up. However the setup below may point you in the right direction. You can generally find some sort of help / tutorial provided by your ISP, however in my experience all of them have the same basic principle.| Left Field | Type | Pri | Right Field |
| www | a | 82.118.113.139 | |
| mx | 20 | mx.last.isp.com |
Setting up Per User Directories in Apache
This is quite a handy module that you have to install if you wish your domain to host websites on a per user basis. This is quite handy if for example you have one main website but wish to host different sub websites from individual users directories. You can do this by first enabling the UserDir module. It is not enabled as part of the default Apache setup.Open up Webmin, then click on "Servers" and then "Apache Webserver". Choose the "Global Configuration" tab and then click the "Configure Apache Modules" Icon and a window will appear which looks a bit like this.
 |
| The Apache Modules Configuration Page |
Put a tick in the box next to the "Userdir" module and click the "Enable Module" button.
Now click on the virtual server that you wish to setup for per-user websites and click on the "Document Options" Icon and then in the "User WWW directory" option put the name of the standard web directory which you created earlier, which in my case was www. You do not need to give the directory path as Apache will simply select the named directory from within each system users home directory.
Shown below is the way I have set my default server to use users directories.
 |
| The document options screeen to enable Per-User websites |
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