virtual hosts are ignored (fc6)

[bidevi]

Thanx. Now, I need some help here, because I don't know how to conclude that there are apache processes running here nor how to kill them. Thanx!

With Server Name: linvun
and no Available Adresses
I get this:

[root@Linvun ~]# cd /
[root@Linvun /]# ps aux | grep httpd
root 3500 0.0 2.0 24112 10480 ? Ss 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3502 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3503 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3504 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3505 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3506 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3507 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3508 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache 3509 0.0 1.1 24244 6056 ? S 00:08 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
root 3545 0.0 0.1 3876 676 pts/0 R+ 00:11 0:00 grep httpd
[root@Linvun /]#
[root@Linvun /]#
[root@Linvun /]#
[root@Linvun /]#

With Server Name: linvun
Available Addresses: All available addresses on port 80
I get this:

[root@Linvun ~]# ps aux | grep httpd
root 4029 0.0 0.1 3876 680 pts/1 R+ 00:32 0:00 grep httpd
[root@Linvun ~]#

[jledhead]

#killall -9 httpd

that should kill every httpd process.

then do the #ps aux|grep httpd
and make sure there are no running apache process.

I have had this before (not with apache) where a process was hanging out for a service that wasn't actually running, I think I upgraded a package wrong. Anyway, the running (rogue) process is probably whats keeping you from starting apache back up

report back.

[bidevi]

This is the situation now.

Server Name: linvun
All available addresses on port 80

[root@linvun /]#killall -9 httpd
httpd: no process killed
[root@linvun /]# ps aux | grep httpd
root 7356 0.0 0.1 3876 680 ptx/0 R+ 01:23 0:00 grep httpd
[root@linvun /]#

Which system file contains the Server Name? And how do I set the correct Server Name?

I'm asking this because changing the Server Name field from blank to something triggered the error.

I remember that, when I started up httpd the first time after freshly, i.e. completely, reinstalling Fedora, I got a message in Terminal saying that no server had been named so automatically 127.0.0.1 was used. That's what the message said, and consequently httpd started up. Virtual hosts worked alright then, but it's strange that the Server Name field should be left blank.

[jledhead]

even with the error you mentioned, do the virtual hosts all work now?

usually you put
ServerName FQDNofYOURserver


or the ip address, which won't work for you.

[bidevi]

I solved the problem by - again - reinstalling FC6. This did not prove easy, because after the whole installation process X-server failed to start. Only after I removed Linux partitions using gparted, was I able to reinstall Fedora (it's not the first time this X-server error occurred after completing the installation process).

During installation I set up the Network Configuration manually because I want a static IP address for later router configuration. I was asked to give a computer Hostname, which I did: linvun.comp.

After installation, I see the hostname back in Terminal, i.e. [root@linvun ~]#

When inspecting the System => Administration => Server Settings the HTTP screen showed an empty field for Server Name.

Virtual hosts is working now. Last time, when I decided not to leave the Server Name field empty and put the hostname there, I apparently messed something up because as a result virtual hosts stopped working. When I tried to make the Server Name field blank again and wanted to save the empty field, I got a message saying the field cannot be left blank.

Maybe THIS has something to do with it, but if so, I wouldn't know how to go about this.

QUESTION: why is the Server Name field blank and what are we supposed to do with that option anyway if it only leads to messing things up? Where can I find instructions?

[bidevi]

On the next morning the line:

All available addresses on port 80

had spontaneously disappeared from the window
System => Administration => Server Settings => HTTP Server Configuration

I added that line and clicked the Save button, anticipating what would happen:

the line Server Name could not be left blank. So I tried some server names (Server, linvun.comp, linvun) but alas... virtual host refused to work again.

I'm abandoning Fedora know. Maybe SuSE does it better.

I am also disappointed about the help I received from the Linux community. Having said that: jledhead, thanx for your support!

[bidevi]

Got rid of Fedora Core 6, installed OpenSuSe.

Good news: virtual hosts are working wonderfully!

[bidevi]

Got back to Fedora from SuSE. At last figured out a way to setup virtual hosts myself. I decided to post my solution here just in case it might suite somebody else. I had searched on the web for hours, even days, and didn't come across anything that worked for me. The following setup did work, however.

My OS: Fedora Core 6.
IP-adress: dynamic
DNS-service: DynDNS
DNS-update client: ddclient
URLs (e.g.):
test1.dynalias.com
test2.dynalias.com
test3.dynalias.com
Website directories (you can do it differently to your own taste):
/var/www/html
/var/www/vhosts/test1
/var/www/vhosts/test2
/var/www/vhosts/test3

Step 1
Use or create the above mentioned directories.

Step 2
Put index.html files in each of the directories. Give them different titles, messages and background colors to your own taste.

Step 3
Open: System => Administration => Server Settings => HTTP
Put any Server Name in the top field, e.g.: hiphip
You may ignore the Webmaster email address field
Make sure the Available Addresses field remains blank
Click on the tab: Virtual Hosts
Click Edit to modify the Default virtual host
Type any Virtual Host Name, e.g.: Default, or: GeorgeBush
Type the Document Root Directory, in my case: /var/www/html
You may ignore the Webmaster email address field
Make active: All requests on port
Type this port number: 80
Click OK (2 x) and Save the settings when asked

Step 4
Open as root in an editor like Gedit:
Computer => Filesystem => etc => httpd => conf => httpd.conf
Go down to the bottom and find the line:
# NameVirtualHost *:80
Uncomment the line, to make it look like:
NameVirtualHost *:80
Below the other lines, add the following lines, putting your own data there:

<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot /var/www/vhosts/test1
ServerName test1.dynalias.com
</VirtualHost *:80>

<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot /var/www/vhosts/test2
ServerName test2.dynalias.com
</VirtualHost *:80>

<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot /var/www/vhosts/test3
ServerName test3.dynalias.com
</VirtualHost *:80>

Step 5
Restart the httpd server in Terminal as root by typing:
/etc/init.d/httpd restart

Now your virtual hosts should be working, provided that port 80 is open in your Firewall (and router, if you've got one), and provided that your (dynamic) IP address can be reached by the outside world.

This is how it works for me. If anyone knows a different approach that works too, maybe you could post it here to share it with the rest of us.

My next project: setting up an FTP server with vsftpd or pure-ftpd. Help from the community with a setup instruction like the one I've put here will be appreciated.

[bidevi]

Thanx to a lot of folks on the internet I have managed to set up virtual users. Those virtual users may approach 'their own website' on my server by ftp. The ftp client I used is vsftp. The following scheme works for Fedora Core 6. Basically, it should also work for other Linux distro's such as SuSE, possibly with some modifications.

Keep in mind that in order to use ftp, port 21 must be open in your Firewall and router. If you have SELinux enabled, you must modify SELinux (System => Administration => Security Level) to allow ftp.

I use vsftpd as a standalone server, without inet and the like.

From now on, I assume that you operate as root. I modify files using Gedit, not vi.

Before you start, keep in mind that virtual users are in fact guest users. A guest user may only get access if there is a real user who 'invites' the guest. This means you need to create a real user for ftp purposes. That's what we'll do later on.


Step 1 - PACKAGES

Required packages:
pam (installed by default)
db (my version of Fedora has db4 installed by default)
compat-db (provides db42_load; this might not be required for SuSE)
vsftpd

Check which db is installed
TERMINAL: rpm -qa | grep -i db
If the list that appears does not contain a database, i.e. db, db3 or db4, you've got to install it.
TERMINAL: yum install db4
(SuSE probably has db installed as default)

Install compat-db (might not be necessary for SuSE)
TERMINAL: yum install compat-db

Check if you've got vsftpd
TERMINAL: rpm -q vsftpd
If the message says vsftpd is not installed, then
TERMINAL: yum install vsftpd


Step 2 - CONFIGURE PAM

Find pam_userdb.so
TERMINAL: locate pam_userdb.so
You'll probably get: /lib/security/pam_userdb.so
If necessary, adjust the location in the file you're going to edit now

Edit the following file in Gedit or vi:
/etc/pam.d/vsftpd
This is what it should look like:

#&#37;PAM-1.0
session optional pam_keyinit.so force revoke
auth required /lib/security/pam_userdb.so db=/etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users
account required /lib/security/pam_userdb.so db=/etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users
#auth required pam_listfile.so item=user sense=deny file=/etc/vsftpd/ftpusers onerr=succeed
#auth required pam_shells.so
#auth include system-auth
#account include system-auth
#session include system-auth
#session required pam_loginuid.so

You only need the first three lines to work. Any other lines need to be commented out (#) because they might just bar your beloved virtual users.


Step 3 - CREATE A REAL USER

You need a user that may invite guest users. Let's call him: inviter. In fact, inviter is not going to do anything, but he's got to exist.
TERMINAL: adduser -d /home/inviter inviter

You have now created:
user: inviter
group: inviter
home directory: home/inviter

The home directory of user inviter is /home/inviter. Since we want /var/www/vhosts (or whatever you chose) to be the home directory, we change it now
TERMINAL: usermod -d /var/www/vhosts inviter


Step 4 - CONFIGURE VSFTPD FOR VIRTUAL USERS

Edit /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf in Gedit or vi.

Leaving out the commented lines (#), this is what the file should look like (you may set anonymous_enable to YES if that's what you want):

anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
local_umask=022
dirmessage_enable=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
xferlog_file=/var/log/vsftpd.log
xferlog_std_format=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
listen=YES
pam_service_name=vsftpd
userlist_enable=YES
tcp_wrappers=YES

# Virtual users will be logged into /var/www/vhosts/[username]/ (or whatever path you chose earlier, in which case you must change the path of local_root below)
user_sub_token=$USER
local_root=/var/www/vhosts/$USER
guest_enable=YES
guest_username=inviter
# Umask applied for virtual users and anon
anon_umask=022
# Allows uploading by virtual users
anon_upload_enable=YES
# Allows creation of directories by virtual users
anon_mkdir_write_enable=YES
# Allows deletion of files and directories by virtual users
anon_other_write_enable=YES

Now, check if vsftpd is running
TERMINAL: /etc/init.d/vsftpd status

If vsftpd is not running, start it up
TERMINAL: /etc/init.d/vsftpd start

If vsftpd is running, restart it
TERMINAL: /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart

You must always restart vsftpd in order for changes in the vsftpd.conf file to take effect.


Step 5 - SET UP VIRTUAL USERS

You can only make a database file indirectly. Therefore, first create a text file in directory /etc/vsftpd and give it any name. The name could be: vsftpd_users.txt. The file is going to contain your guest users aka virtual users and their passwords. Always write them on alternate lines, i.e., user1 on line 1, the password for user1 on line 2, user2 on line 3, the password for user2 on line 4 et cetera. Let's create three users (if you want a fourth one, you may add Ringo):

john
johnpw
paul
paulpw
george
georgepw

You should keep the vsftpd_users.txt file for two reasons: (1) to always know what names and passwords are in the database, and (2) to load the data of this file into the database.

If the directory /etc/vsftpd/ already contains the file vsftpd_users.db remove it first
TERMINAL: rm /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users.db

Now we recreate it and feed it with the users inside our text file
TERMINAL:
db42_load -T -t hash -f /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users.txt /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users.db
(SuSE-users should probably use db_load instead of db42_load)

Now we set the correct permissions:
TERMINAL: chmod 600 /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users.db /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd_users.txt


Step 6 - CREATE DIRECTORIES FOR YOUR VIRTUAL USERS

In directory /var/www/vhosts (or whatever you made up yourself) create the directories john, paul and george. Put something inside them, so you recognize them when you're going to check them out later.

Permissions: since virtual users are treated like anonymous guests you will have to write-enable their directories and content for 'others' in order to allow those users to upload and modify their files.
TERMINAL:
cd /var/www/vhosts
chmod 777 john paul george


Your virtual hosts should now be working.

ISSUES
Sometimes the database gets quirky and ftp does too. Simply delete vsftpd_users.db and upload vsftpd_users.txt again (see Step 5)

Don't forget to open port 21 of your Firewall and router. And make sure SELinux allows ftp connections.

Should you encounter any problems, make sure to check /var/log/secure first.

[bidevi]

See the steps in the previous entry