Monthly Archives: March 2018

Build a Small 10W LED Grow Light for Plants

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Introduction

We like to garden inside as well as outside. And wouldn’t you know it, we don’t get much sun in the house. I built this grow light to use on a 4 plant hydroponic garden I built. My test subject for this light will be herbs.

Overview

The colors we are interested in for our light are red and blue. Different LED lights you can buy have differnet ratios of these two colors. There are excellent articles on the internet describing how plants use these two colors. Now if you want to view your plant’s natural beauty then this is not the light for you. For this light I used red and blue LEDs. I used 3 red LEDs for every Blue LED. Hopefully this provides some good results. If you want to view your plants then you’ll have to build a light using white LEDs.

Specifications

I built the light on perf board. See the pictures for the layout. The light draws 10.7 watts of power and runs on 12V. 1.5W is dissipated in the resisters. I used 136 LEDs and 34 100 ohm resisters.

Construction

Please use the pictures as a guide for construction. Each row contains a 100 ohm resister and four LEDs in series.

Greatly dimmed so you can see the LED colors.

Top view of Light.

Bottom view of light.

How Much Light Do You Need?

This is prob the biggest question. Depending on what you are growing you’ll need from 10W to 40W per square foot. Lettus and herbs will need 10W to 25W per square foot. And vegetables will need 25W to 40W per square foot. What you are aiming for is 50% to 70% of the watts per square foot used by an HPS light. For example if you use a 250W HID light you would need at least a 100W LED light.

What Can I Grow?

The ratio of red to blue is important to plant growth. This light has a high percentage of blue light. This makes it well suited for non flowing plants such as herbs.

Conclusion

This is an extremely bright light. It should provide enough light for a small garden. By small I mean less than 1 ft by 1 ft.

Build a Small 5V and 12V Power Supply with Optional PIC Programmer

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Introduction

I needed a bench top power supply for prototyping PIC microcontrollers. I also had my PIC programmer looking for a home. Well combining the two together created a nice piece of equipment.
The PIC programmer is an old parallel version.  It can still be useful for many people.  I have upgraded to a USB version these days.

Overview

This is nothing more than a PIC programmer kit mounted on top of a power supply. You can buy/build the PIC programmer of your choice. The programmer gets its power from the power supply.
The power supply provices 5 volts at 1 amp and 12 volts at 1 amp. When plugged in the power supply powers up the programmer. The front switch controlls a relay which supplies power to the front terminals.

Schematic

The schematic lists the part values. This is a standard power supply design based on the LM7805 and LM7812 voltage regulators.

Right click on the image to view/save a full size version

Pictures

Here’s some pictures of the inside of the power supply.

Conclusion

There’s nothing better than a PIC programmer built on top of a bench top power supply. Just add a prototyping board and a computer and you’re good to go.

Growing Tomatoes In Containers

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Introduction

Do you want to grow tomatoes but you don’t have a lot of room. Then container gardening is for you. I’m going to cover what we have found to work. I’m not going to cover common tomato plant disorders. However I will cover what can happen when growing in containers.

Choosing A Container

You have a lot of container choices. Choose a container that allows the roots to grow deep. The bigger the container the better. We now use wine barrels for our plants.

What soil to use

For tomatoes you’ll need a well draining soil.  You don’t want soggy soil.  The best soil mixes to use are made for raised beds.  Mixes with coco coir work very well.

Container Drainage

If you are not careful you will drown your plants. It is critical that your container has plenty of drainage holes. Our containers have more holes then swish cheese. Drill plenty of holes in your container. When you think there are enough holes then keep drilling. We used a 1/4 inch drill bit for our holes.We learned this the hard way our first year. Our tomato plants were wilting towards their demise. We supported the container with its plant in mid air and drilled more holes. Lucky for us that brought the plants back to life.

Watering

Tomatoes need a lot of water. When placed into containers they may need more. Plant and container size determine how much and how often you need to water.

Tip #1: Each time you water be sure the container drains. You want to see water on the ground. When the plant is large harmful amount of salts can collect in the soil. Heavy watering helps remove these salts.

Tip #2: Water your plants mid day. This will cool off the roots. You like a cool drink on a hot day and so do they.

Tip #3: Let the soil tell you when to stop watering. When you first start to water the soil will soak up the water rapidly. When the soil soaks up the water slowly and drains then you are done.

Other Tips

Tip #1: Boy its hot out here. When in containers tomatoes can’t take high temperatures. When the day time highs go above 80 degrees its time to move them to a shady spot. The plants will start wilting in the sun. If the plant transpires to rapidly then blossom end rot could occur.

Tip #2: You did give your containers wheels didn’t you? Do yourself a favor, put wheels on those large containers. This tip is for your back.

Pictures


The tomatoes when first planted

The tomatoes 2 weeks later.

The tomatoes 5 weeks from being planted.

The Final Word

With a little TLC you can grow plenty of tomatoes in containers.  With today’s selections its easier then ever to find a plant that will work in a container you have.

Build A 30W 50 Ohm Dummy Load

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Introduction

For testing out transmitters every ham should have a dummy load. The project I’m describing here is useful up to 30W. The parts used could allow up to 50W but there is no vents in the chassis.

The Parts

  • One small metal box
  • One chassis mount BNC connector
  • 26 1.3K 2W resistors.

Construction

The 26 resistors were soldered in parallel. One end was connected to the chassis. The other end was connected to the center pin of the BNC connector.

Conclusion

I realize that there isn’t much here. But hopefully the pictures give you some ideas. Use whatever parts you have on hand. The goal is to get a resistance load of 50 ohms. Good luck.

Modding And Hacking A Christmas Light Controller

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Introduction

For under $10 you can buy christmas light sets that flash the lights in different patterns. These sets have a small controller that animates the lights. The light set I chose cost $7.99 and were purchased from Big Lots. The lights can be removed from the controller and plugs installed.

Disclaimer

This project works with items that run off of AC mains. Only qualified persons should consider attempting this project. This project is meant as a guide. Your controller may be different from mine.

The Parts List

  • 1 x set of chasing Christmas lights
  • 3 x green multi outlet extension cord
  • 6 x crimp butt connectors

Tools

  • Wire cutters
  • Wire strippers
  • Crimp tool

Prepping The Controller

1. Remove the lights from the packaging.
2. Identify the main power leads going into the controller. It should be two wires connected to the AC plug. You may want to place some tape on these wires to identify them. We will not be altering these connections.
3. Next we need to identify the wires connected to the lights. Follow each wire to the first light it is connected to. We are going to leave one light connected to each wire. This will let us identify each channel. Cut the wire that is connected between light 1 and light 2. The controller I had gave me three channels. So I had three lights.
4. The last wire to cut is the return wire for all the lights. About 12 inches from the controller cut the wire. Strip this wire back 1/4 inch.

Prepping The Extension Cords

1. Cut the AC plugs off the extension cords. You should be left with the AC receptacles at the other end.
2. Separate the cord back 2 to 3 inches.
3. Strip each wire back about a 1/4 inch.

Putting It Together

I bet you’re wondering why we left one light connected to each channel. Its an easy way to identify the wires.
1. Twist together the wire without a light connected and one wire from each extension cord. Using a crimp connector secure the connection. This forms our common wire.
2. For each of the wires with a light connected do the following. Cut the light off the wire and strip the wire back 1/4 inch. Twist this wire with the un-crimped wire from one of the extension cords. Using a crimp terminal secure the connection.

Notes About LED Lights

Some sets of LED Christmas lights will work with the controllers. The LED rope lights sold by Costco work fine. LED light sets with 35 lights work fine. Home Depot is also selling LED lights that work as well.
The controller rectifies the AC into pulsating DC. Many LED light sets have half the LEDs wired to handle one half of the AC cycle. And the other half of LEDs are wired to handle the other half of the AC cycle.

How Many Lights Can Be Connected

Many controllers were design to run 150 to 200 lights. My controller ran 150 lights and drew 0.6A of current. My controller has 3 channels. That works out to 0.2A per string of lights.
Using standard Christmas light limits what you can do. At 0.2A per channel the max number of bulbs would be 50. That’s only one string of lights per channel.
Using LED Christmas lights gives you a great show. A string of 50 LED lights I have use 0.05A of current. That means that we can use 4 strings of lights per channel. That’s 200 LED lights per channel or 600 LED lights per controller.

Conclusion

This project was a great way to animate my holiday lights. Don’t forget to check those after Christmas sales for the best deals.

Build A POE Injector To Remotely Power Your Gear

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Introduction

Information on building your own POE adaptors. I didn’t want to install UPSes everywhere in the house. My access point is centrally located in my house. It has a plug right by it but no UPS. My home office on the other hand has a couple of hours of backup. Since I already ran the lan cable its a quick jump to add POE and have wireless access when the power goes out.

This information is for 10/100M ethernet.  For 1G ethernet it is better to buy a POE switch.

DISCLAIMER

The information on this page worked for me. I may not work for you. This information is provided as-is. Use at your own risk. You should have experience with basic electrical wiring. You should also own a multimeter and a soldering iron.

Important POE info for 10/100M ethernet

lan cable function
Pin 1 <-> data
Pin 2 <-> data
Pin 3 <-> data
Pin 4 <-> DC Positive Wire 1
Pin 5 <-> DC Positive Wire 2
Pin 6 <-> data
Pin 7 <-> DC Negative Wire 1
Pin 8 <-> DC Negative Wire 2
Voltage: 48V max (if you want to go that high you need to make sure your equipment will accept it)
Current: 350ma (500ma max)

Simple POE Injector

For my POE project I will be using couplers that snap appart. These couplers have RJ45 plugs. These things are not rated for 100mbit but should work just fine.

First break appart the connectors. Use the table above to determin which wires in the connector we need. For me it was red, green, white, and brown. There is a wiring standard that covers the wire colors so most likely you will cutting the same wire colors. Cut the wires as close to the RJ45 connector as you can. Strip the wires back 1/4 of an inch. When done one half will be missing some wires and the other half will have wires for making connections. Twist together the ends of the red and green wires. Then twist together the ends of the white and brown wires. Do the above for both connectors.

If you’re like me you’ve got a collection of AC wall warts. If you don’t start collecting now. Also if you don’t you’ll be hacking on your wall wart that came with your access point.

Next we need to cut a notch in the plastic housing for the power cable. Notch the half that has the extra wires. The notch should be large enough to allow the wires to pass through when the connectors are put back together.

This completes the prep work for using the injector on your projects.

An Example:  POE for the D-Link DWL900AP+

The AC adaptor DWL900AP+ is 5V. The unit has a built in voltage regulator capable of accepting up to 36V. A search through my adaptor collection yielded a 9V adaptor with the correct size and polarity connector. The unit ran fine with the adaptor connected. My adaptor had a white line on the cable wire marking the positive wire. Cut the cable 4 to 6 inches from the end. Unzip both cables back 1/2 of an inch. Strip the wires back 1/4 of an inch. Connect the positive wire to the red and green wires. Connect the negative wire to the white and brown wires. Do this for both conectors. Solder the wires and cover with electrical tape. Re-assemble the couplers. Lable the coupleers so you know which connector goes to the equipment/switch and which connector carries the power. Test the setup by connecting a lan cable between the injectors and measure the voltage on the power jack. If everything is OK plug the power jack into the DWL900AP+ to verify its operation. If it all tests good then you are ready to deploy.

The POE/DWL900AP+ deployment was very successfull. The cable lenth is around 50ft. Testing so far has shown no negative impact. Now when the power goes out I still have wireless access for my laptop.

Conclusion

POE can be very usefull. It sure beats putting UPSes all around the house.

Hacking The Aviosys IP Camera 9100 or 9100A

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Introduction

In a nutshell I wanted access to the raw jpg files that the server should offer.

Watching the Raw Video Stream

The following URL allows you to watch the mjpeg video stream.

http://yourip/GetData.cgi
Example:  http://192.168.1.10/GetData.cgi

Here’s an example php script to extract the 4 video inputs into 4 image files. Be sure the device to set to round robin mode.

<?
// readstream.php
//
// by Richard Camp
// rcamp at campworld dot net
// Copyright 2006 - 2018
// All rights reserved
//
// There is no warranty. Use at your own risk.
// NOT FOR COMERCIAL USE. Personal use is fine.
//
// INTRODUCTION
// This script parses the stream form a IP Camera 9100 (A) for jpgs.
// Set the camera server for round robbin mode and all 4 inputs.
// Include the script in your script to generate the files.
//   ex.  include('readstream.php')
//
// User provided parameters
$camurl="http://192.168.151.253/GetData.cgi";
$imgpath="./";             // directory where to store images
$fname="img";              // image file name without extension
$log=1;                    // debugging / log flag
$maxcams=4;                // max cams 1-4

// global values
$maxloop=200;               // max images to read from the stream
$portoffset=14;            // ofset into jpg for cam port num
$imgfile=$imgpath.$fname;  // image file name
$camnum=0;                 // camera number

//
// start of script
//
if ($log) echo "readstream.php starting\n";

// open the stream to the video server
if ($log) echo "opening stream $camurl\n";
$fvid=fopen($camurl,"r");
if (!$fvid) {
  // cannot open mjpeg stream
  if ($log) echo "cannot open stream $camurl\n";
} else {
  // We are connected so start reading data
  if ($log) echo "connected to $camurl\n";
  $r='';

  // read a number of images from the stream and 
  // save them to files
  for ($loop=1; $loop<=$maxloop; $loop++) {

    // read the stream until 2 boundaries are found
    // 
    if ($log) echo "reading data\n";
    while (substr_count($r,"--WIN")<2) $r.=fread($fvid,256);

    // get the start and end offsets for the jpg
    // and extract the image
    if ($log) echo "extracting jpeg\n";
    $start = strpos($r,"Content-Type: image/jpeg")+28;
    $end   = strpos($r,"--WIN",$start);
    $frame = substr($r,$start,$end - $start);

    // get the camera port the image belongs to
    $cport=bin2hex($frame[$portoffset]);
    $cpnum=ord($frame[$portoffset]);
    if ($log) echo "image is for camera port $cport hex $cport\n";

    if (($camnum==$cpnum)&&($camnum<$maxcams)) {
      // save the image file
      if (file_exists("$imgfile-$cport.jpg")) {
        if ($log) echo "removing old file\n";
        unlink("$imgfile-$cport.jpg");
      }
      if ($log) echo "saving image file $imgfile-$cport.jpg\n";
      if ($fimg=fopen("$imgfile-$cport.jpg","wb")) {
        fwrite($fimg,$frame);
        fclose($fimg);
      }
      $camnum++;
      if ($camnum==$maxcams) $loop=$maxloop;
    }

    // we need the remainder of the buffer after the second
    // boundary. it contains the start of the next image.
    $r=substr($r,$end+1);    
    if ($log) echo "\n";
  }
}
fclose($fvid);
if ($log) echo "readstream.php complete\n";
?>

Here’s another php script that reads the mjpeg stream and lets you select which cameras to extract images from, which cameras to flip the image horizonntally, and the creation of thumbnail images.

<?
// readstream.php
//
// by Richard Camp
// rcamp at campworld dot net
// Copyright 2006 - 2018
// All rights reserved
//
// There is no warranty. Use at your own risk.
// NOT FOR COMERCIAL USE. Personal use is fine.
//
// INTRODUCTION
// This script parses the stream form a IP Camera 9100 (A) for jpgs.
// Set the camera server for round robbin mode and all 4 inputs.
// Include the script in your script to generate the files.
//   ex.  include('readstream.php')
//
// User provided parameters
$camurl="http://192.168.151.253/GetData.cgi";
$imgpath="./images/";      // directory where to store images
$fname="img";              // image file name without extension
$log=0;                    // debugging / log flag
$loadcam[0]=1;             // set to 1 to retreive image for cam 1
$loadcam[1]=1;             // set to 1 to retreive image for cam 2
$loadcam[2]=1;             // set to 1 to retreive image for cam 3
$loadcam[3]=1;             // set to 1 to retreive image for cam 4
$camflip[0]=1;             // set to 1 to flip image horizontally for cam 1
$camflip[1]=0;             // set to 1 to flip image horizontally for cam 2
$camflip[2]=1;             // set to 1 to flip image horizontally for cam 3
$camflip[3]=0;             // set to 1 to flip image horizontally for cam 4
$thumbs=1;                 // set to 1 to create image thumbnails
$thumbwidth=160;           // width of thumbnail
$thumbheight=120;          // height of thumbnail

// global values
$maxloop=200;                          // max images to read from the stream
$portoffset=14;                        // ofset into jpg for cam port num
$imgfile=$imgpath.$fname;              // image file name
$lockfile=$imgpath."readstream.lock";  // lock file name

//
// start of script
//
if ($log) echo "readstream.php starting\n";

// create the log file
$flock=fopen($lockfile,"w");
fwrite($flock,"Locked for update");
fclose($flock);
if ($log) echo "Lock file created.\n";

// open the stream to the video server
if ($log) echo "opening stream $camurl\n";
$fvid=fopen($camurl,"r");
if (!$fvid) {
  // cannot open mjpeg stream
  if ($log) echo "cannot open stream $camurl\n";
} else {
  // We are connected so start reading data
  if ($log) echo "connected to $camurl\n";
  $r='';

  // read a number of images from the stream and 
  // save them to files
  for ($loop=1; $loop<=$maxloop; $loop++) {

    // read the stream until 2 boundaries are found
    if ($log) echo "reading data\n";
    while (substr_count($r,"--WIN")<2) $r.=fread($fvid,256);

    // get the start and end offsets for the jpg
    // and extract the image
    if ($log) echo "extracting jpeg\n";
    $start = strpos($r,"Content-Type: image/jpeg")+28;
    $end   = strpos($r,"--WIN",$start);
    $frame = substr($r,$start,$end - $start);

    // get the camera port the image belongs to
    $cport=bin2hex($frame[$portoffset]);
    $cpnum=ord($frame[$portoffset]);
    if ($log) echo "image is for camera port $cport hex $cport\n";

    // if we have not saved the current cam image then process it
    if ($loadcam[$cpnum]==1) {
      $newfile=$imgfile."-$cport.jpg";
      $tmpfile=$newfile.".tmp";
      $thumbfile=$imgfile."-thumb-$cport.jpg";

      // save image into a temp file
      if ($log) echo "saving image file $tmpfile\n";
      if ($fimg=fopen("$tmpfile","wb")) {
        fwrite($fimg,$frame);
        fclose($fimg);
      }

      // flip the image horizontally if it is marked to be flipped
      if ($camflip[$cpnum]==1) {
        if ($log) echo "Flipping image horizontally.\n";
        exec("convert -flop $tmpfile $tmpfile");
      }

      // move temp file to final image file
      if ($log) echo "Renaming $tmpfile to $newfile\n";
      if (!rename($tmpfile,$newfile)) {
        unlink($newfile);
        rename($tmpfile,$newfile);
      } 

      // create thumbnails if the flag is true
      if ($thumbs==1) {
        if ($log) echo "Creating thumbnail image\n";
        $myimg=imagecreatefromjpeg($newfile);
        $iwidth=imagesx($myimg);
        $iheight=imagesy($myimg);
        $tmpimg=imagecreatetruecolor($thumbwidth,$thumbheight); 
        imagecopyresampled($tmpimg,$myimg,0,0,0,0,
                           $thumbwidth-1,$thumbheight-1,$iwidth,$iheight);
        imagedestroy($myimg);
        imagejpeg($tmpimg,$thumbfile.".tmp");
        if (!rename($thumbfile.".tmp",$thumbfile)) {
            unlink($thumbfile);
            rename($thumbfile.".tmp",$thumbfile);
        } 
      } 

      // mark the camera number as processed  and exit the loop when
      // we have all the images.
      $loadcam[$cpnum]=0;
      if (($loadcam[0]+$loadcam[1]+$loadcam[2]+$loadcam[3])==0) $loop=$maxloop;
    }

    // we need the remainder of the buffer after the second
    // boundary. it contains the start of the next image.
    $r=substr($r,$end+1);    
    if ($log) echo "\n";
  }
}
// close the image stream
fclose($fvid);

// remove the lock file
unlink($lockfile);
if ($log) echo "readstream.php complete\n";
?>

 Getting Access to JPGs

I wanted to get the raw JPGs from the video server. This would allow me to put the images up on my website. It took some digging but here it is. Below are the URLs for the image file.

http://yourip/Jpeg/CamImg.jpg

Changing the Video Channel

To get the different video images you’ll need to use round robin mode or change the video channel. The following url changes the channel.

http://yourip/SetChannel.cgi?Channel=M

M=the channel number 0-3

Getting the Video Channel you are on

What channel am I on? The following url shows you how to get the channel number.

http://yourip/GetChannel.cgi

Configuring The Device For Round Robin Mode

Here is the information on setting the camera into round robin mode. Use the following url.

http://yourip/SetChannel.cgi?Channel=M

M=256+C1+C2+C3+C4

Here’s a table with the values for C1-C4

Video Input Off Selected
C1 0 1
C2 0 2
C3 0 4
C4 0 8

For example I want to use cameras 1 and 3 in round robin mode.

So M=256+1+0+4+0=261

Changing the Camera Resolution

This is the quick easy way to change the camera resolution. Use the following url.

http://yourip/ChangeResolution.cgi?ResType=N

N=the following
0 – 176*144
1 – 352*288
2 – 320*240
3 – 640*480

Change the Image Compression

Below is the url for changing the image compression level.

http://yourip/ChangeCompressRatio.cgi?Ratio=x

x = the following ratio
0 = low (image size 18.2kB)
1 = high (image size 25.2kB)
2 = medium (image size 27.2kB)
3 = clarity (image size 30.2kB)
4 = motion (image size 34.7kB)

Get the capabilities

I’m still working on this one. Here is the url for getting the camera capabilities.

http://yourip/GetCapability.cgi

Conclusion

I hope these notes help you out.

HOWTO Ubuntu 16.04 Virtual Web Hosting With Apache, PHP, vsFTPD and Let’s Encrypt

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Introduction

The focus of this howto is for those users who need to host their own domains and maybe a few customer domains. This is not aimed at being used for mass web hosting.

There are many ways to do virtual websites under linux. The technique I am going to use is multiple domains on one ip address. I’m using standard linux users to log into the virtual domains.

Setting Up The Base Server

For a dedicated server start with the base server setup:

HOWTO Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Base Server Setup

Introduction All of our servers will start with this install. This base server is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server.  I don’t explain much in the howto so if you have a question leave a comment or use Google. Downloading … Continue reading →

NOTE: If you don’t follow the base server setup then you may run into problems with this howto.

Install Software

We need to install an FTP server and Let’s Encrypt. So type the following:
> sudo add-apt-repository ppa:certbot/certbot
> sudo apt-get update
> sudo apt-get install vsftpd python-certbot-apache

Setup Default User Directory

A new user’s directory needs to have some files and folders created for them.  We will modify the user skel directory so when a new user is created the required folder structure will be there.

Type the following.
> sudo mkdir -p /etc/skel/{website,logs,cgi-bin,backup}
> sudo bash
> sudo echo “HELLO WORLD” > /etc/skel/website/index.html

Configuring vsftpd

Lets create the configuration file.  Replace the contents of /etc/vsftpd.conf with the text below.

listen=NO
listen_ipv6=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
#local_umask=022
dirmessage_enable=YES
use_localtime=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/var/run/vsftpd/empty
pam_service_name=vsftpd
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
rsa_private_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
ssl_enable=NO
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
pasv_enable=Yes
pasv_min_port=40000
pasv_max_port=40100

Start vsftpd.
> sudo systemctl enable vsftpd
> sudo systemctl start vsftpd.service

Configuring Apache

Most of the apache configuration is already done.  We are going to do some changes to make managing websites easier.

Create the virtual host config file. I defined macros to make virtual host creation easier.  I also turn on compression. Create /etc/apache2/conf-available/virtual.conf with the following:

# compress all text & html:
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/svg+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/atom_xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-php
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-fastphp
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-eruby

# Go ahead and accept connections for these vhosts
# from non-SNI clients
SSLStrictSNIVHostCheck off

# define a macro for the virtual hosts
# the user's directory should be setup as follows:
# |- cgi-bin
# |- logs
# |- website
# |- ssl
#
LoadModule macro_module modules/mod_macro.so

<Macro virtHost $type $user $host>
  use $type $host

  ServerName $host
  ServerAlias www.$host 
  DocumentRoot /home/$user/website
  ScriptAlias "/cgi-bin/" "/home/$user/cgi-bin"
  LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common
  CustomLog /home/$user/logs/access_log common
  ErrorLog /home/$user/logs/error_log
  <Directory /home/$user/website>
   DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
   Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride All
   Require all granted
  </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost80 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:80>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost443 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:443>
  SSLEngine on
  SSLProtocol all -SSLv2
  SSLCipherSuite HIGH:MEDIUM:!aNULL:!MD5
  SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/cert.pem
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/privkey.pem
  SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/fullchain.pem
</Macro>

Enable the configuration.
> sudo a2enconf virtual

Enable macros and ssl.
> sudo a2enmod macro
> sudo a2enmod ssl

Restart apache
> sudo service apache2 restart

Configuring Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt needs to be configured to auto renew certs. Lets create a daily cron job
> sudo nano -w /etc/cron.daily/letsencrypt

#!/usr/bin/bash
# letsencrypt auto renew
/usr/bin/certbot renew --no-self-upgrade >> /var/log/le-renew.log

Adding a Default Website

Now we will create a default website.  This site will be used when no other website can be found.

Setup a DNS record for the new domain. I won’t cover this here.

Add a user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. \\
> sudo useradd -m -U -s /sbin/nologin -c ‘default website’ defaultweb
> sudo passwd defaultweb

Add the apache user to the new user’s group.
> sudo usermod -a -G defaultweb www-data

Update directory permissions.
> sudo chmod g+rwx /home/defaultweb
> sudo chown -R defaultweb:defaultweb /home/defaultweb

Create the virtual host file.  For the default server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Type:
> sudo nano -w /etc/apache2/sites-available/00-default.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld

# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld

Disable the old default site and enable our default site.
> sudo a2dissite 000-default
> sudo a2ensite 00-default

Reload apache config
> sudo service apache2 reload

Test out the new website.  You should get a page that says ‘Hello World’.

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the default website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  So lets get the cert:
> sudo certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/defaultweb/website/ -d <YOUR_DOMAIN> –email <YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS> –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/00-default.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> sudo service apache2 reload

Test it out.  Connect to your default host via https.

Setup Additional Virtual Hosts

Adding a new virtual host is like adding the default virtual host.  Lets go through the steps.

Be sure DNS is configured for the new virtual host.

Setup a new user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. Change ‘NEWUSER’ to the username you want.\\
> sudo useradd -m -U -s /sbin/nologin -c ‘Virtual Website User’ NEWUSER
> sudo passwd NEWUSER
> sudo usermod -a -G NEWUSER www-data
> sudo chmod g+rwx /home/NEWUSER
> sudo chown -R NEWUSER:NEWUSER /home/NEWUSER

Create the virtual host file.  For the virtual server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Replace ‘NEWUSER’ with your user name.  Replace NEWVHOST with your hostname.
> sudo nano -w /etc/apache2/sites-available/NEWUSER.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 NEWUSER NEWVHOST

# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 NEWUSER NEWVHOST

Enable the new site and reload apache config
> sudo a2ensite NEWUSER
> sudo service apache2 reload

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the new website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  Replace NEWUSER and NEWVHOST with the info you have.  So lets get the cert.
> sudo certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/NEWUSER/website/ -d NEWHOST -d www.NEWHOST –email YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/NEWUSER.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> sudo service apache2 reload

Test it out.  Connect to your new host via https.

Conclusion

That’s the complete setup.

HOWTO Open Suse 42 Virtual Web Hosting With Apache, PHP, vsFTPD and Let’s Encrypt

Posted on by
Reply

Introduction

The focus of this howto is for those users who need to host their own domains and maybe a few customer domains. This is not aimed at being used for mass web hosting.

There are many ways to do virtual websites under linux. The technique I am going to use is multiple domains on one ip address. I’m using standard linux users to log into the virtual domains.

Setting Up The Base Server

For a dedicated server start with the base server setup:

HOWTO SUSE 42 Base Server Setup

Introduction All of our servers will start with this install. This base server is based on OpenSUSE 42. Downloading the ISO Visit the OpenSUSE website and download the Leap version. Download the install DVD. You could also use the Network … Continue reading →

NOTE: If you don’t follow the base server setup then you may run into problems with this howto.

Install Software

We need to install an FTP server and Let’s Encrypt. So type the following:
> zypper in vsftpd python-certbot-apache

Setup Default User Directory

A new user’s directory needs to have some files and folders created for them.  We will modify the user skel directory so when a new user is created the required folder structure will be there.

Type the following.
> mkdir -p /etc/skel/{website,logs,cgi-bin,backup}
> echo “HELLO WORLD” > /etc/skel/website/index.html

Configuring vsftpd

Lets create the configuration file.  Replace the contents of /etc/vsftpd.conf with the text below.

listen=NO
listen_ipv6=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
#local_umask=022
dirmessage_enable=YES
use_localtime=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/var/run/vsftpd/empty
pam_service_name=vsftpd
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
rsa_private_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
ssl_enable=NO
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
pasv_enable=Yes
pasv_min_port=40000
pasv_max_port=40100

Start vsftpd.
> sudo systemctl enable vsftpd
> sudo systemctl start vsftpd.service

Configuring Apache

Most of the apache configuration is already done.  We are going to do some changes to make managing websites easier.

Create the virtual host config file. I defined macros to make virtual host creation easier.  I also turn on compression. Create /etc/apache2/conf.d/virtual.conf with the following:

# compress all text & html:
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/svg+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/atom_xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-php
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-fastphp
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-eruby

# Go ahead and accept connections for these vhosts
# from non-SNI clients
SSLStrictSNIVHostCheck off

# define a macro for the virtual hosts
# the user's directory should be setup as follows:
# |- cgi-bin
# |- logs
# |- website
# |- ssl
#

LoadModule macro_module modules/mod_macro.so
<Macro virtHost $type $user $host>
  use $type $host

  ServerName $host
  ServerAlias www.$host 
  DocumentRoot /home/$user/website
  ScriptAlias "/cgi-bin/" "/home/$user/cgi-bin"
  LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common
  CustomLog /home/$user/logs/access_log common
  ErrorLog /home/$user/logs/error_log
  <Directory /home/$user/website>
   DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
   Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride All
   Require all granted
  </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost80 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:80>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost443 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:443>
  SSLEngine on
  SSLProtocol all -SSLv2
  SSLCipherSuite HIGH:MEDIUM:!aNULL:!MD5
  SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/cert.pem
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/privkey.pem
  SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/fullchain.pem
</Macro>

Enable mod_macro, mod_filter and mod_deflate.
> a2enmod mod_macro
> a2enmod mod_filter
> a2enmod mod_deflate

Restart apache
> systemctl restart httpd

Configuring Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt needs to be configured to auto renew certs. Lets create a daily cron job
> nano -w /etc/cron.daily/letsencrypt

#!/usr/bin/bash
# letsencrypt auto renew
/usr/bin/certbot renew --no-self-upgrade >> /var/log/le-renew.log

Adding a Default Website

Now we will create a default website.  This site will be used when no other website can be found.

Setup a DNS record for the new domain. I won’t cover this here.

Add a user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. \\
> useradd -m -U -s /sbin/nologin -c “default website” defaultweb
> passwd defaultweb

Add the apache user to the new user’s group.
> usermod -a -G defaultweb wwwrun

Update directory permissions.
> chmod g+rwx /home/defaultweb
> chown -R defaultweb:defaultweb /home/defaultweb

Create the virtual host file.  For the default server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Type:
> nano -w /etc/apache2/vhosts.d/00-default.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld
# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld

Reload apache config
> systemctl reload httpd

Test out the new website.  You should get a page that says ‘Hello World’.

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the default website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  So lets get the cert:
> certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/defaultweb/website/ -d <YOUR_DOMAIN> –email <YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS> –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/00-default.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> systemctl reload apache

Test it out.  Connect to your default host via https.

Setup Additional Virtual Hosts

Adding a new virtual host is like adding the default virtual host.  Lets go through the steps.

Be sure DNS is configured for the new virtual host.

Setup a new user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. Change ‘NEWUSER’ to the username you want.\\
> useradd -m -U -s /sbin/nologin -c “Virtual Website User” NEWUSER
> passwd NEWUSER
> usermod -a -G NEWUSER wwwrun
> chmod g+rwx /home/NEWUSER
> chown -R NEWUSER:NEWUSER /home/NEWUSER

Create the virtual host file.  For the virtual server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Replace ‘NEWUSER’ with your user name.  Replace NEWVHOST with your hostname.
> nano -w /etc/httpd/virtualhosts.d/NEWUSER.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 NEWUSER NEWVHOST
# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 NEWUSER NEWVHOST

Reload apache config
> systemctl reload httpd

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the new website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  Replace NEWUSER and NEWVHOST with the info you have.  So lets get the cert.
> certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/NEWUSER/website/ -d NEWHOST -d www.NEWHOST –email YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/NEWUSER.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> systemctl reload apache

Test it out.  Connect to your new host via https.

Conclusion

That’s the complete setup.

HOWTO CentOS 7 Virtual Web Hosting With Apache, vsFTPD and Let’s Encrypt

Posted on by
Reply

Introduction

The focus of this howto is for those users who need to host their own domains and maybe a few customer domains. This is not aimed at being used for mass web hosting.

There are many ways to do virtual websites under linux. The technique I am going to use is multiple domains on one ip address. I’m using standard linux users to log into the virtual domains.

Setting Up The Base Server

For a dedicated server start with the base server setup:

HOWTO CentOS 7.x Base Server Setup

Introduction All of our servers will start with this install. This base server is based on CentOS 7. Downloading the ISO Visit the CentOS website and download the Minimal install ISO. Initial Install Boot the install DVD. The graphical install … Continue reading →

NOTE: If you don’t follow the base server setup then you may run into problems with this howto.

Install Software

We need to install an FTP server and Let’s Encrypt. So type the following:
> yum -y install vsftpd ftp python-certbot-apache

Setup Default User Directory

A new user’s directory needs to have some files and folders created for them.  We will modify the user skel directory so when a new user is created the required folder structure will be there.

Type the following.
> mkdir -p /etc/skel/{website,logs,cgi-bin,backup}
> echo “HELLO WORLD” > /etc/skel/website/index.html

Configuring vsftpd

Lets create the configuration file.  Replace the contents of /etc/vsftpd.conf with the text below.

listen=NO
listen_ipv6=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
#local_umask=022
dirmessage_enable=YES
use_localtime=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/var/run/vsftpd/empty
pam_service_name=vsftpd
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
rsa_private_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
ssl_enable=NO
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
pasv_enable=Yes
pasv_min_port=40000
pasv_max_port=40100

Start vsftpd.
> sudo systemctl enable vsftpd
> sudo systemctl start vsftpd.service

Configuring Apache

Most of the apache configuration is already done.  We are going to do some changes to make managing websites easier.  Lets start out by creating a directory for virtual host file storage.
> mkdir /etc/httpd/virtualhosts.d

Create the virtual host config file. I defined macros to make virtual host creation easier.  I also turn on compression. Create /etc/httpd/conf.d/virtual.conf with the following:

# compress all text & html:
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE image/svg+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/atom_xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-php
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-fastphp
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-httpd-eruby

# Go ahead and accept connections for these vhosts
# from non-SNI clients
SSLStrictSNIVHostCheck off

# define a macro for the virtual hosts
# the user's directory should be setup as follows:
# |- cgi-bin
# |- logs
# |- website
# |- ssl
#
LoadModule macro_module modules/mod_macro.so

<Macro virtHost $type $user $host>
  use $type $host

  ServerName $host
  ServerAlias www.$host 
  DocumentRoot /home/$user/website
  ScriptAlias "/cgi-bin/" "/home/$user/cgi-bin"
  LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common
  CustomLog /home/$user/logs/access_log common
  ErrorLog /home/$user/logs/error_log
  <Directory /home/$user/website>
   DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
   Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride All
   Require all granted
  </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost80 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:80>
</Macro>

<Macro VHost443 $host >
 <VirtualHost *:443>
  SSLEngine on
  SSLProtocol all -SSLv2
  SSLCipherSuite HIGH:MEDIUM:!aNULL:!MD5
  SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/cert.pem
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/privkey.pem
  SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$host/fullchain.pem
</Macro> 

# include the virtual host files
IncludeOptional /etc/httpd/virtualhosts.d/*.conf

#undefine the macros
UndefMacro virtHost
UndefMacro VHost80
UndefMacro VHost443

Restart apache
> systemctl restart httpd

Configuring Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt needs to be configured to auto renew certs. Lets create a daily cron job
> nano -w /etc/cron.daily/letsencrypt

#!/usr/bin/bash
# letsencrypt auto renew
/usr/bin/certbot renew --no-self-upgrade >> /var/log/le-renew.log

Adding a Default Website

Now we will create a default website.  This site will be used when no other website can be found.

Setup a DNS record for the new domain. I won’t cover this here.

Add a user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. \\
> useradd -s /sbin/nologin -c “default website” defaultweb
> passwd defaultweb

Add the apache user to the new user’s group.
> usermod -a -G defaultweb apache

Update directory permissions.
> chmod g+rwx /home/defaultweb
> chown -R defaultweb:defaultweb /home/defaultweb

Create the virtual host file.  For the default server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Type:
> nano -w /etc/httpd/virtualhosts.d/00-default.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld

# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 defaultweb myserver.mydomain.tld

Reload apache config
> systemctl reload httpd

Test out the new website.  You should get a page that says ‘Hello World’.

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the default website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  So lets get the cert:
> certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/defaultweb/website/ -d <YOUR_DOMAIN> –email <YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS> –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/00-default.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> systemctl reload apache

Test it out.  Connect to your default host via https.

Setup Additional Virtual Hosts

Adding a new virtual host is like adding the default virtual host.  Lets go through the steps.

Be sure DNS is configured for the new virtual host.

Setup a new user. This user will be associated with the new domain name. Type the following. Change ‘NEWUSER’ to the username you want.\\
> useradd -s /sbin/nologin -c “Virtual Website User” NEWUSER
> passwd NEWUSER
> usermod -a -G NEWUSER apache
> chmod g+rwx /home/NEWUSER
> chown -R NEWUSER:NEWUSER /home/NEWUSER

Create the virtual host file.  For the virtual server we will use port 80. Past the text below into the file.  Replace ‘NEWUSER’ with your user name.  Replace NEWVHOST with your hostname.
> nano -w /etc/httpd/virtualhosts.d/NEWUSER.conf

# Virtual host config file
#
# MACRO FORMAT
# virtHost [type] [user] [host]
#  type = VHost80 or VHost443
#  user = the username of the website
#  host = domain name or virtual host name
#
# Use the line below to configure a site on port 80
use virtHost VHost80 NEWUSER NEWVHOST

# Uncomment the line below once lets encrypt is setup
# use virtHost VHost443 NEWUSER NEWVHOST

Reload apache config
> systemctl reload httpd

Now we will setup lets encrypt for the new website.  The website must be reachable from the internet.  Replace NEWUSER and NEWVHOST with the info you have.  So lets get the cert.
> certbot certonly –webroot -w /home/NEWUSER/website/ -d NEWHOST -d www.NEWHOST –email YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS –agree-tos

Edit /etc/httpd/virtualHosts.d/NEWUSER.conf
Uncomment the last line to enable ssl connections for the virtual host.

Reload apache.
> systemctl reload apache

Test it out.  Connect to your new host via https.

Conclusion

That’s the complete setup.

HOWTO SUSE 42 Base Server Setup

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Introduction

All of our servers will start with this install. This base server is based on OpenSUSE 42.

Downloading the ISO

Visit the OpenSUSE website and download the Leap version. Download the install DVD. You could also use the Network install ISO.

Initial Install

Boot the install DVD/CD/USB. Select the ‘Installation’ option from the menu.

The graphical install loads and we’re ready to go.
*Select your language and keyboard. Click next.
*Change the partitioning if you want. Click next.
*Select your timezone. Click next.
*For user interface select server. Click next.
*Enter local user information. Uncheck ‘Automatic Login’. Click next.
*At the bottom of installations settings enable the ssh service. Click install.

First boot

Reboot the machine when the install finishes.
The OS will boot. Log in.

Get everything updated and install a couple of items.
> zypper in nano
> zypper update

WARNING: My server isn’t directly connected to the internet. The firewall is disabled to help with installation, configuration and testing easier. Once everything is working, turn on the firewall and configure it. I wil remind you to secure your server at the end of this howto.

now reboot the server.

The Second Boot – Installing Additional Packages

We need quite a few other packages. A change in this howto is that I’m installing RPMs reguardless if they were already installed by another dependency. This guards against RPM changes that could cause a package to not be installed.

We need to add and enable a few repositories.
Add the following Repo for Webmin. Create /etc/zypp/repos.d/webmin.repo

 [Webmin]
 name=Webmin Distribution Neutral
 baseurl=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum
 enabled=1

Install the following RPMs. Multiple lines to make cut and paste easier.
> zypper in make screen bind
> zypper in libmcrypt perl perl-Net-SSLeay perl-Crypt-SSLeay
> zypper in openssl libopenssl-devel man

Run the following to install Webmin:
> rpm –import http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
> zypper in webmin
> systemctl enable webmin
> service webmin start

Install MariaDB.
> zypper in mariadb mariadb-tools
> systemctl enable mysql
> systemctl start mysql

Run the following script to setup mariadb.
> mysql_secure_installation

Install Apache web server
> zypper in apache2
> systemctl enable apache2
> systemctl start apache2

Install PHP.
> zypper in php7 php7-fpm apache2-mod_php7
> zypper in php7-gd php7-snmp php7-mbstring php7-mysql php7-devel
> zypper in php7-odbc php7-imap php7-xmlrpc php7-dba php7-mcrypt
> cp /etc/php7/fpm/php-fpm.conf.default /etc/php7/fpm/php-fpm.conf
> cp /etc/php7/fpm/php-fpm.d/www.conf.default /etc/php7/fpm/php-fpm.d/www.conf
> chkconfig php-fpm on
> systemctl start php-fpm.service

Installing and Configuring phpMyAdmin

I prefer to phpMyAdmin to manage my MySQL databases. The nginx config above has the configuration for phpMyAdmin.

Now install phpMyAdmin.
> zypper in phpMyAdmin

Restart apache2.
> systemctl restart apache2

Now test it out.

Getting root’s and other’s mail

You need to get some local system user’s mail. We’ll use postfix’s virtual file to get the emails to the right place.

Add the following to /etc/postfix/virtual

 root admin@yourdomain.tld
 postmaster admin@yourdomain.tld
 abuse admin@yourdomain.tld

Now add the configuration option to main.cf
> postconf -e “virtual_alias_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/virtual”
Just a couple commands to wrap everything up.
> postmap /etc/postfix/virtual
> systemctl restart postfix

Final Settings

You may want to enable the linux firewall.

Conclusion

That’s it for the basic server setup. This is an example of a standard linux server setup. Be sure to use setup or webmin to set which services you want to start at boot time. See the other pages for info on configuring servers for virtual webhosting or virtual email hosting. Remember to configure the firewall on the server.

HOWTO CentOS 7.x Base Server Setup

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Introduction

All of our servers will start with this install. This base server is based on CentOS 7.

Downloading the ISO

Visit the CentOS website and download the Minimal install ISO.

Initial Install

Boot the install DVD.

The graphical install loads and we’re ready to go.
*Choose your language and click next.
The next screen has a menu with groups of settings that need to be configured.
*Click on ‘DATE & TIME’ and set your timezone.
*Click on ‘INSTALLATION DESTINATION’ and click done to let it auto partition the drive.
*Click on ‘NETWORK & HOSTNAME’ and set the hostname. Click the ‘Configure’ button and set the adaptor to auto connect. Then click done.
*Click on ‘SOFTWARE SELECTION’. Select ‘Minimal Install’. Check the option for ‘Compatibility Libraries’. Then click done.
*When done click ‘Begin Installation’.
The installation progress screen has a couple of menu items for setting the root password and creating users.
*set the root password.
*You should create a user to admin the system.
*Click ‘Finish Configuration’ when it appears.
*Click ‘Reboot’ when it appears.

First boot

Reboot the machine when the install finishes.
The OS will boot. Log in.

Get everything updated and install a couple of items.
> yum -y install nano net-tools deltarpm
> yum -y group install ‘Infrastructure Server’
> yum -y upgrade

Disable selinux

Now we need to disable selinux. There is some software that doesn’t play well with selinux.
Edit /etc/selinux/config and change SELINUX=enforcing to SELINUX=disabled

Disable the firewall

> systemctl stop firewalld
> systemctl disable firewalld

WARNING: My server isn’t directly connected to the internet. The firewall is disabled to help with installation, configuration and testing easier. Once everything is working, turn on the firewall and configure it. I wil remind you to secure your server at the end of this howto.

now reboot the server.

The Second Boot – Installing Additional Packages

We need quite a few other packages. A change in this howto is that I’m installing RPMs reguardless if they were already installed by another dependency. This guards against RPM changes that could cause a package to not be installed.

We need to add and enable a few repositories.
Type nano -w /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo
For the centosplus section change ‘enable=0’. Change the 0 to a 1.

We need the webmin repo. Create webmin.repo with the text below.
> nano -w /etc/yum.repos.d/webmin.repo

[Webmin]
 name=Webmin Distribution Neutral
 #baseurl=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum
 mirrorlist=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum/mirrorlist
 enabled=1

And the EPEL repo.
> yum install epel-release

Finish up by installing hte remi repo.
> wget http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm
> rpm -Uvh remi-release-7.rpm

Edit /etc/yum.repos.d/remi.repo. Change enable=0 to enable=1 in the sections “remi” and “remi-php56”.

Now bring everything up to date.
> yum -y update

Install the following RPMs. Multiple lines to make cut and paste easier.
> yum -y install gcc gcc-c++ wget bison nano make createrepo screen
> yum -y install libmcrypt caching-nameserver

Now lets install webmin. We need SSL support in perl. Setup is easier if you get this installed before webmin.
> yum -y install perl-Net-SSLeay
> rpm –import http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
> yum -y install webmin
> systemctl enable webmin
> service webmin start

Install MariaDB.
> yum -y install mariadb-server mariadb
> systemctl enable mariadb
> systemctl start mariadb

Run the following script to setup mariadb.
> mysql_secure_installation

Install PHP.
> yum -y install php php-cli php-fpm
> yum -y install php-gd php-ncurses php-snmp php-mbstring php-mysql php-devel
> yum -y install php-odbc php-imap php-pecl-apc
> yum -y install php-xmlrpc php-dba php-pear-DB php-mcrypt
> systemctl enable php-fpm
> systemctl start php-fpm

Install Apache web server
> yum -y install @web-server
> systemctl enable httpd
> systemctl start httpd

Installing and Configuring phpMyAdmin

I prefer to phpMyAdmin to manage my MySQL databases.

Now install phpMyAdmin.
> yum -y install phpMyAdmin

You will need to add access to phpMyAdmin. By default only the local server can access it. Edit /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpMyAdmin.conf to look like the following.

# phpMyAdmin - Web based MySQL browser written in php
# 
# Allows only localhost by default
#
# But allowing phpMyAdmin to anyone other than localhost should be considered
# dangerous unless properly secured by SSL

Alias /phpMyAdmin /usr/share/phpMyAdmin
Alias /phpmyadmin /usr/share/phpMyAdmin

<Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/>
 AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
 # Apache 2.4
 Require local
 Require ip 192.168.0.0/16
 Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
 </IfModule>
 <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
 # Apache 2.2
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from All
 Allow from 127.0.0.1
 Allow from ::1
 </IfModule>
</Directory>

<Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/setup/>
 <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
 # Apache 2.4
 Require local
 Require ip 192.168.0.0/16
 Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
 </IfModule>
 <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
 # Apache 2.2
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from All
 Allow from 127.0.0.1
 Allow from 192.168. 
 Allow from 10.
 Allow from ::1
 </IfModule>
</Directory>

# These directories do not require access over HTTP - taken from the original
# phpMyAdmin upstream tarball
#
<Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/libraries/>
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from All
 Allow from None
</Directory>

<Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/setup/lib/>
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from All
 Allow from None
</Directory>

<Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/setup/frames/>
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from All
 Allow from None
</Directory>

# This configuration prevents mod_security at phpMyAdmin directories from
# filtering SQL etc. This may break your mod_security implementation.
#
#<IfModule mod_security.c>
# <Directory /usr/share/phpMyAdmin/>
# SecRuleInheritance Off
# </Directory>
#</IfModule>

Restart Apache.
> systemctl restart httpd

Now test it out.

Installing cockpit

I’m trying cockpit as my server admin tool.  Do the following to set it up.
> yum -y install cockpit cockpit-dashboard cockpit-networkmanager cockpit-packagekit
> yum -y install cockpit-selinux cockpit-sosreport cockpit-storaged
> systemctl start cockpit
> systemctl enable cockpit.socket

You can now login to https://yourserver.tld:9090 to administer your server.

Getting root’s and other’s mail

You need to get some local system user’s mail. We’ll use postfix’s virtual file to get the emails to the right place.

Add the following to /etc/postfix/virtual

root admin@yourdomain.tld
 postmaster admin@yourdomain.tld
 abuse admin@yourdomain.tld

Now add the configuration option to main.cf
> postconf -e “virtual_alias_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/virtual”
Just a couple commands to wrap everything up.
> postmap /etc/postfix/virtual
> systemctl restart postfix

Final Settings

You may want to enable the linux firewall.
Set your timezone in /etc/php.ini

Conclusion

That’s it for the basic server setup. This is an example of a standard linux server setup. Be sure to use setup or webmin to set which services you want to start at boot time. See the other pages for info on configuring servers for virtual webhosting or virtual email hosting. Remember to configure the firewall on the server.

DIY: Build Your Own PVC Bulkhead Fitting

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4

Introduction

It is a straight forward process to build your own bulkhead fitting. A trip to the hardware store will yield all the parts you are looking for. I’m going to describe building a bulkhead fitting for 1.5 inch pvc pipe. Although with the information I’m presenting you should be able to build a bulkhead fitting for other sizes of pipes.

The Parts

Below are pictures and descriptions of the parts you’ll need.

1.5 inch pvc electrical conduit coupler slip x male thread
Do not substitute plumbing pvc couplers. These couples have a tapered pipe thread that won’t work well in this application.

1.5 inch pvc electrical conduit coupler slip x female thread

Gasket used for sink repair.
The gasket should just slide over the threads on the male coupler.

Short length of 1.5 inch sch40 pvc pipe.
This is glued into the bulkhead fitting that is on the outside of the container.

Assembly

1. Start out by choosing the container the bulkhead fitting will be installed in.
2. Next drill a hole for the bulkhead location. The hole should just be large enough so the male threads just pass through the hole. If the hole is too large
3. Insert the coupler with the male threads through the hole from the inside of the container.
4. Place the rubber gasket over the pipe threads sticking out of the hole.
5. Screw the female coupler onto the male coupler.
6. Glue the pvc pipe into the coupler.

Conclusion

And there you have it. It turns out to be quite easy to build your own bulkhead fittings. Once you do you’ll never buy one again. But for those who want to buy here’s a few choices.

Lifegard Aquatics 1/2-Inch Double Threaded Bulkhead

Lifegard Aquatics 3/4-Inch Double Threaded Bulkhead

Lifegard Aquatics 1-Inch Double Threaded Bulkhead