Automatic Installs Of Turnkey Linux Appliances On Virtual Private Servers

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Or How to set up a fully working Joomla, Drupal, LAMP, LAPP, Zimbra, Torrent server etc., in a couple of minutes)

Turnkey Linux comprises a set of free, Ubuntu-based software appliances that are primarily available for server-type usage scenarios, such as setting up database, web, forum, wiki and photo gallery servers. Each appliance is preconfigured to work out of the box, with ease of use being the primary goal behind the Turnkey Linux project.

This is extremely useful in itself, but if you wanted to experiment with these appliances, potentially to evaluate or otherwise test them, it would be great if you could perform installations with the absolute minimum of effort.

Using Turnkey Linux on Virtual Private Servers

A number of hosting providers, including GigaTux and GPLHost, provide Linux VPS services, which usually enable users to have their own virtual server with automatic provisioning of major Linux distributions, such as Debian, Ubuntu or CentOS. Work has been performed by GigaTux in conjunction with the Turnkey Linux team and has managed to take the automatic installation concept one step further to enable this to work with all Turnkey Linux appliances. This is made possible by using frameworks provided by the excellent server open source control panel, DTC.

Turnkey Linux appliances enable users to easily deploy primarily web-based applications within an entire Linux kernel and Ubuntu-based package set. Once a distribution is chosen within the control panel, the install is fully completed within a few minutes and ready to be customised. This enables a rapid deployment of a tested setup, with full update and security support provided by the Turnkey Linux and Ubuntu package maintainers.

Our efforts are available to all using the DTC control panel, with Debian packages for Lenny being provided. Additionally, scripts have been written such that when new or updated appliances are released, new deployable packages for the DTC control panel are created and made available in our repository automatically.

Technical Script Details

It is not actually too difficult to configure images to work for automatic deployment, but performing this manually for every appliance is a time consuming process. The scripts we have written will automatically perform the following steps for each appliance:

Create a new directory with a name similar to the actual release version, e.g. turnkey-core-2009.02-hardy-x86.

Copy across common template files. These include the following:

custom_os: Customises each appliance by configuring basic networking, spawning gettys on the right devices and setting a customised MOTD with the VPS number and hostname.

install_os: Custom instructions to install this appliance, which essentially involves untaring the provided image into the VPS.

setup_network: Custom instructions called when setting up the network. Because Turnkey Linux uses resolveconf for DNS configuration, this reads information from /etc/resolv.conf from the dom0 (this is designed for use with Xen) and copies it to /etc/network/interfaces in the domU.

debian/*: These are the files changelog, control, compat, copyright, files, install and rules which are required to create a.deb packages. These have substitution variables (e.g. for the package name) which are overwritten by our script.

Copy the preinstalled image (a.tar.bz2 file).

Tailor the template files (as above).

Invoke dpkg-buildpackage in this directory to create the actual.deb file.

Call reprepro, a tool we use to manage Debian repository directory structures, to remove old versions of this appliance and add the new one.

It’s as simple as that. If you are interested, the raw scripts are downloadable. They will need some customisation for your setup as there are hard coded directories in there.

I want to play with one!

If you are happy playing with just one appliance, you can of course just download it from the Turnkey Linux website and install it on your PC (or use a Virtualisation solution like Xen or VMWare).

However, if you want to rapidly try out a variety of appliances using the setup we have made, the quickest way would be to rent a VPS. Alternately, you can install the DTC control panel yourself and add our Debian repository to your /etc/apt/sources.list. This setup requires you to run a fully featured Xen setup and requires significant configuration.

Any questions?

Get in touch with us at if you have any questions.

The Importance Of Linux Server Management In The Current World

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Hosting your website on a Linux sever can be very exciting for several reasons. One of them is the emergence of several Linux server management services. Such services make it simple to manage huge websites since many services are taken care of by the company that is in charge of the server management. The fact that you are backed up by 24×7 server management services gives you the confidence that no website problem will seem too huge for you to handle and hence you can stay in touch with your clients on a regular basis.

The online world is increasing its hold on our lives. Whether it is to know about a restaurant in our neighborhood or a university in another part of the world, we have begun trusting the internet to feed us all information. While all such useful information is present out there, there are also several harmful viruses that make the rounds and hence your website could be vulnerable to threats from such harmful programs. A 24×7 server management system ensures that your website is monitored and all vulnerabilities are checked from time to time to make sure the website is free of threats. The Linux server management system also does its best to strengthen your website so as to reduce the chances of attack by malicious programs.

The second reason Linux server management system can make a huge difference today is that your website is like the backbone for your business. From bringing in new clients to helping themcomplete their transactions online, there are several activities on the website that bridge the gap between you and the client. A downtime or even and small error in the website could prove detrimental to your business.24×7 server management services will help you combat this situation by helping you resolve any problems at the earliest. Most of the services will assure you minimum turnaround time so that your business does not suffer a huge loss at any point in time.

Data is very vital to business and a large amount of data is to be safeguarded on the server. Linux server management services understand the importance of data and hence conduct regular backups and archiving activity so that you have data to fall back on in times of dire situations. This continues access to data and even safeguarding it makes it very convenient to place your trust in the website and you will also earn the trust of customers who bank on your website for quick processing.

It is a fact that Linux server management services have proved to be true blessings to business that aim to catapult to success. Ensure you place you trust in the best 24×7 server management company and you will have nothing stopping you from climbing the stairs of success. You can know more about companies that offer the services and also the prices for each of them through the internet. Compare the quotes and select the services that will benefit your company.

Linux Network Configuration And Troubleshooting Commands

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There are a number of network strategy or media are anxious to form computer network. computer burdened with Linux operating system can as brilliant be a division of network whether it is modest or huge network by its multi tasking and multi user natures. Preserve of system and network up and operation is a task of system network Administrators job.

ifconfig : if con fig command is developed to initialize an interface, assign IP address to interface and facilitate disable interface on command. Among this command you can view IP address and hardware and MAC address allot to the interface and also MTU size. if con fig with edge command only shows correct interface facts like IP address, MAC address etc. With an options will exhibit all accessible interface details if it is disable also.

Assigning IP Address and Gateway: Assigning an IP address and gateway to interface on the fly. The place will be separate in case of a system reboot.
Enable or Disable Specific Interface: To facilitate or disable specific Interface.

We utilize case command as follows.

Enable eth0

Setting MTU Size: By defaulting MTU size is 1500. We can place required MTU size with under command.

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Set Interface in immoral mode: Network interface only straight packet belongs to that exacting NIC. If you put frontier in corrupt mode it will establish all the packets. This is extremely functional to detain packet and examine later.

PING Command: PING command is the most favorable way to make sure connectivity between two nodes. It is local area network or extensive area network . Ping use ICMP Internet control communication protocol to chat to other devices. Ping host name of ip address using lower command.

ping 4.2.2.2

In Linux ping command preserve executing until you cut short. Ping with -c option exit after N number of demands. TRACER OUTE Command: Trace route is a network troubleshooting value which shows number of hops full to arrive at objective also determine packet traveling path. Under we are tracing method to global DNS server IP tackle and able to attain reason also show channel of that pack is traveling.

NET STAT Command: Net stat command exhibit relation info, routing table in order etc. Two displays routing table information use option as -r.

DIG Command : Dig query DNS related information like a record, CNAME, MX record etc. This command frequently uses to troubleshoot DNS related query.
NS LOOK UP Command : ns look up command also exploit to find out DNS related query. The following examples shows A record IP address of

tecmint.com.

nslookup www.tecmint.com

ROUTE Command : Route command as well explain and control IP steering table. Watch evasion routing table in Linux, method the following command
route

HOST Command : Host command to discover name to IP or IP to name in IPv4 or IPv6 and as fine query DNS events.

ARP Command: ARP is helpful to view add the inside of the kernels ARP tables. To see default table use the command as.

ETHTOOL Command: Eth tool is a stand-in of mii-tool. It is to thought setting the speed and duplex of your network interface card. Set duplex lastingly in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 with ETHTOOL_OPTS changeable.

IWCONFIG Command : IW con fig command in Linux is used to configure a wireless network interface. Recognize and set the basic Wi-Fi facts like SSID channel and encryption. Refer man page of iw con fig to classify additional.
HOST NAME Command : Host name is to know in a network. Execute host name command to observe the host name of your box. Set host name lastingly in /etc/sys config/network. Require to reboot box one time set a proper host name.

GUI tool system-con fig-network : Type system config net work in command prompt to configure net work setting and you will get nice graphical user interface (GUI) which can also utilize to configure IP address, gateway, DNS etc.

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Xubuntu Linux

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What is Xubuntu?

Xubuntu is the XFCE version of Ubuntu. This means that it uses the XFCE interface as opposed to Gnome. XFCE is the third most popular interface and uses so little resources that it’s good for older computers. If looking to install a version of Ubuntu onto a computer that’s more than a few years old consider using Xubuntu or an XFCE alternative distribution.

Which version of Xubuntu should you use?

Many times you see a version number after the name like Xubuntu 7.04 or Xubuntu 9.10. The first number is the year it came out like 2007 or 2009. The second number is the month of the year. Generally speaking go with the latest version since it has the most updates and security features.

What type of hardware will Xubuntu run on?

It’s made for i386 like your Pentium II, III, IV as well as your AMD type hardware. For the most part it works on most machines. There are some 64 bit versions as well although this might not be necessary for most people.

Some prefer using this distribution on their netbook because it uses less resources than Gnome and KDE.

What are some alternative XFCE distributions?

If you load up Xubuntu and don’t like it, there are other versions of Linux that use the XFCE interface. Linux Mint XFCE community edition is one to take a look at. It’s like Xubuntu but there are differences. If you are currently using Linux, you can always download XFCE and select that as your default session if you wish to switch to it.

Linux History And Introduction

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Competing with Windows, Linux has managed to earn a fair amount of popularity owing to its unique
features like being a free software and supporting open source development. Here is an introduction to Linux and an overview of the history of its development. Linux is one of the popularly used operating systems and is a free software supporting open source development. Originally designed for Intel 80386 microprocessors, Linux now runs on a wide variety of computer architectures and has spread far and wide.

History of Linux

Unix was the third operating system to CTSS, the first one followed by MULTICS. A team of programmers led by Prof. Fernando J. Corbato at the MIT Computation Center, wrote the CTSS, the first operating system supporting the concept of time-sharing. AT&T started working on the MULTICS operating system but had to leave the project as they were failing to meet deadlines. Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan at Bell Labs, used the ideas on the MULTICS project to develop the first version of Unix

MINIX was a Unix-like system released by Andrew Tenenbaum. The source code was made available to the users but there were restrictions on the modification and distribution of the software. On August 25, 1991, Linus Torvalds, a second year computer engineering student studying in the University of Helsinki made an announcement that he was going to write an operating system. With an intent to replace MINIX, Torvalds started writing the Linux kernel. With this announcement of Torvalds, a success story had begun! Linux was previously dependent on the MINIX user space but with the introduction of the GNU GPL, the GNU developers worked towards the integration of Linux and the GNU components.

An Introduction to the Linux Operating System

The Unix-like operating system that uses the Linux kernel is known as the Linux operating system. In 1991, Linus Torvalds came up with the Linux kernel. He started writing the Linux kernel after which, around 250 programmers contributed to the kernel code. Richard Stallman, an American software
developer, who was a part of the GNU project, created the General Public License, under which Linux is distributed. The utilities and libraries of Linux come from the GNU operating system. By the term ‘free software’, we mean that Linux can be copied and redistributed in the altered or unaltered form without many restrictions. Each recipient of the Linux software is entitled to obtain the human readable form of the software and a notice granting the person the permissions to modify its source code. In other words, the distribution of the Linux software implies the distribution of a free software license to its recipients. Linux supports open source development by which we mean that all its underlying source code can be freely modified, used and distributed. The open source method of
development enables the users of the software to access its source code.

A Linux distribution is a project that manages the collection of Linux software and the installation of the OS. It includes the system software and the application software in the form of packages and the initial installation and configuration details. There are around 300 different Linux distributions. The most prominent of the Linux distributions include Red Hat, Fedora and Mandrake. Fedora Core came up after the ninth version of Red Hat Linux. Fedora Core is a rapidly updated Linux distribution. Most of the Linux distributions support a diverse range of programming languages. Most of them include Perl, Python, Ruby and other dynamic languages. Linux supports a number of Java virtual machines and development kits as also the C++ compilers.

Linux is a freely available OS based on the Linux kernel. It is an inexpensive and effective alternative to the UNIX programs and utilities. Its open source implementation enables any programmer to modify its code. Linux supports a multi-tasking and multi-user environment as also the copy-on-write functionality. The monolithic Linux kernel handles the process control, networking and the file system. Device drivers are integrated in the kernel. The Linux operating system is equipped with libraries, compilers, text editors, a Unix shell and a windowing system. Linux supports both the command line as well and the graphical user interfaces. Linux is popularly used in servers and also with desktop computers, supercomputers, video games and embedded systems. I have always enjoyed working on the Linux platform, have you?

Company: Toronto pcs

Address:

222 Spadina Avenue, Unit # 116 A Toronto, ON – M5T3B3

Zip code: M5T3B3

Contact person: Fedrick Patrick

Phone: 647-693-5036

Email: fed.

More information can be found online at: http://www.torontopcs.com