Connecting to the server
You must use a secure method of connection to access our server. Use the login and password provided in your welcome email.
One of the nicest, though not free, programs to connect is the SSH Tectia Client.
The free client is here, but it's only for non commercial use.
One other popular alternative is Putty.
To connect via SFTP, use a client such as Filezilla.
What else do you need to know?
LISHost is a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server and uses mostly Red Hat standard directory structures.
The paths and directories that will most concern you can be found off of your home directory:
/home/yourusername/
So, for example, if your username (aka login, aka account name) is blake, your home directory is:
/home/blake/
This is not where your WEB accessible files are to be stored. Anything you need to show up on your web site goes into your "web root" directory:
/home/yourusername/sites/yourdomainname.com/html/
So using the previous example as blake for a username,/home/blake/sites/example.com/html/
The two other paths of interest to most folks are the cgi-bin and the location of your apache log files:
Logs:/home/blake/sites/example.com/logs/
cgi-bin:/home/blake/sites/example.com/cgi-bin/
How can I test my domain before I move it? You'll want to start by transfering all your files to you html directory.
Next you need to trick your computer into looking at the LISHost server.
If you run Windows XP:
> Close your web browser
> Open the file called HOSTS in the C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc folder
> put these 2 lines in there
66.98.244.92 www.example.com
66.98.244.92 example.com
Don't forget to change that back before your move on.
If you run OSX it's a bit different. here are the mac steps:
1. edit /etc/hosts
you have to use "sudo" to do that and enter your admin password
% sudo vi /etc/hosts
add the two lines
66.98.244.92 www.example.com
66.98.244.92 example.com
2. find the id of the process "lookupd"
% ps auxwwww | grep lookupd
which should have an output something like this:
root 3028 0.0 0.2 29196 1200 ?? Ss 1:45PM 0:00.06 /usr/sbin/lookupd
where "3028" is the process id
3. send a "hangup" command to that process id using sudo
% sudo kill -HUP 3028
You're process ID will be different.
do the whole process in reverse to change back.
What can I find a particular program on the server?
The easiest thing to do is type "which" at the command line:
which perl
The server will tell you perl is located
usr/bin/perl
If you're trying to find a program to get something done on the server, try the apropos command:
apropos search
will help you find programs to search.
Here are some commonly used programs on the server and their paths: php:/usr/bin/php
perl/usr/bin/perl:
sendmail:/var/qmail/bin/sendmail
python:/usr/bin/python
How can I use MySQL: MySQL and phpMyAdmin are both intstalled on LISHost.
phpMyAdmin can be found at:
http://lishost.org/phpMyAdmin/
Please contact us to have a MySQL Database and user created for your account, there is no charge.
What's the story with backups?
LISHost currently backs itself up to a second hard drive several times a week.
Mail is backed up twice daily.
MySQL is backed up twice weekly.
Your entire /home/ directory is backed up weekly.
Various other system and server files are backed up at other times.
Look in the /backup/ directory on the server for any backups you have access to.
Linux basics.
Command line Linux can be quite confusing and intimidating at first. With just a little practice you'll find yourself navigating like an old pro.
Sooner or later (probably sooner), when you start looking through directories, you're bound to ask, "Where the heck am I?" And you won't be speaking philosophically.
Check out the RedHat Getting Started Guide or contact us for help with Linux commands.