VPS Media! Article Library

lighthttpd and PHP - Debian Etch

This article will explain how to install and configure lighthttpd with PHP5 and MySQL. lighthttd is a web server designed to be fast, secure, flexible and standards-complient while being optimized for speed-critical environments.

Its low memory footprint, light CPU load and speed make it the perfect web server for an environment such as a 384MB VPS. lighthttpd supports the FastCGI interface, which we will use to enable PHP5 support. This article assumes you have already updated your system with the latest fixes and DO NOT have a web server, such as Apache, already installed on your VPS. We will be installing all required applications with the apt-get utility in Debian.

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Remote Desktop - CentOS 5.1

In this article we’ll duscuss setting up your VPS as a VNC server and using a client from your Windows machine to connect. Why would you want to use your VPS as a remote desktop? Well one example I can think of would be if you wanted to explore the GUI features of Linux before installing it on your box at home. Another advantage would be to install a desktop environment if you’re unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the command prompt to run administrative tasks.

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Ruby on Rails - Ubuntu Hardy

Ruby on Rails is a web application framework designed to make web development faster, simpler, and more efficient. This article will show you how you can install Ruby on Rails and configure it to work with the websterver and database on your VPS.

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Serving multiple sites with Apache - Debian Etch

This article is intended to help you set up name based virtual hosts on the Apache Web server. Apache allows you to host several different domains and subdomains on a single IP. While this is an integral part of Apache, many people seem to struggle with setting up such a scenario.

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Installing a DNS Server with BIND - Ubuntu Hardy

This article will go over how to install and set up a DNS server with BIND on your VPS. BIND has been around for 20 years and has proven to be very reliable for managing DNS. We will be using Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 as the target OS for deployment but the process for deploying on any other OS should be just about the same.

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Installing Zabbix (System Monitoring)

Zabbix can monitor Windows and Linux (among others!) servers, network devices, and applications. It also includes a notification system for email, IM and SMS. It’s also got a bunch of other neat stuff like performance graphs and real-time network status maps. More »

LAMP Server – Debian Etch

In this article, we are going to discuss how to get a LAMP Server up and running on Debian 4.0. The reason we picked Debian for this article is because it is by far one of the most commonly used distributions for hosting websites. In addition Debian is one of the lightest installations, with respect to memory and disk usage. LAMP, as it is commonly referred to, stands for Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP/Perl. The instructions in this article can also be applied to any other version of Debian and also Ubuntu.

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Pimping out your command prompt

If you’ve worked with the Linux shell, you are no doubt familiar with the command prompt. By default, most Linux distros display a bland and boring command prompt with hostname and current directory, such as

vpsmedia: ~ # More »

Security and Hardening – Debian Etch

This article will cover basic security in Debian, from securing SSH to installing and configuring iptables. You will learn how to restrict access to your VPS to a small number of selected individuals (or PCs) and design a very simple but effective firewall solution.

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Setup and Updating – Debian Etch

This article will walk you through basic setup and updating procedures to get your VPS ready for web hosting, development, or whatever else you may choose to do with it. It is meant to give you a better understanding of the Debian environment and what is happening within it.

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