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Admin Tasks and Processes
Various system admin tasks and processes related to web application hosting
Updating Domains and Domain Name Servers
Registered domain names must point to a Domain Name Server (DNS), which subsequently points to the IP address of the MUSPH webserver. The DNS can be hosted by an instutution, but there are also free global DNS hosting services. The advantage of using a free global DNS is that updates and the addition of subdomains etc are in the hands of MUSPH system administration.
Steps to set up a new domain hosted on the web server:
- Register domain name and add the DNS entries associated with your DNS of choice
- Log into the DNS and add the domain and all subdomains.
- Add a virtual hosting account to the webserver using virtualmin with the same domain name.
- Add subdomains to the virtual domain where appropriate
- If you are pointing the domain to a plone site you will also need to update the namedvirtualhost.conf file to override virtualmin
Current Use of No-Cost DNS:
- EveryDNS (hallince.org, liphea.org)
- DynDNS (musph.ac.ug)
Adding Virtual Hosting Accounts to the Web Server
- Ensure that domain name has been registered and DNS is appropriately configured.
- Log in to Virtualmin here: https://halliance.org:10000
- Click on the Virtualmin tab if not already open
- Select Add a new virtual host from the dropdown box
Backing Up
Backups of indivdual domain and subdomain directories on can be scheduled using Virtualmin https://halliance.org:10000/
Zope instances are NOT currently backed up by Virtualmin. Instead, the zope_backup.sh script is run periodically. See here for more details.
More sophisticated backup schemes (i.e. to/from remote servers and drives) can also be scripted using rsync and scheduled using cron. For example, the following script was run on a local Tulane server to retrieve and archive the remotely hosted liphea site from webfaction.com:
#!/bin/bash /usr/bin/rsync --delete --rsync-path='nice -n 19 rsync' -avz -e ssh liphea@liphea.webfactional.com:/home/liphea/webapps /mnt/seagate1tb/backup/webfaction_liphea tar czvf "/mnt/seagate1tb/backup/webfaction_liphea_BACKUP-$(date +%F).tar.gz" /mnt/seagate1tb/backup/webfaction_liphea
Monitoring System Health and Performance
TBD
Scheduling scripts and tasks with cron
TBD
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