Mike Hughes

April 3, 2009

Server upgrade to Lenny

I’ve been a little slow on this one, but I finally upgraded the server to Debian Lenny (From Etch) - Everything went smoothly, not a single issue!

*Pats Debian*

November 23, 2008

Lighttpd/PHP/MySQL for Low RAM applications

The point of this article is to demonstrate how to install and optimise Lighttpd, PHP5 and MySQL under Debian (My system runs ‘Etch’).

If you feel I’ve missed anything in this article, or have made an error, get in touch.

Ok, so let’s grab lighttpd, php and MySQL

apt-get install lighttpd php5-cgi php5-cli php5-mysql mysql-server

You may want to add any other php modules that you may require, such as php5-curl, php5-gd etc.

Next, as lighttpd automatically assumes you’re using php4, we need to update the fastcgi php path in:

/etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi.conf

Look for the line

"bin-path" => "/usr/bin/php4-cgi",

and replace it with

"bin-path" => "/usr/bin/php5-cgi",

Simple.

While you have the file open, change

"max-procs" => 2,

and

"PHP_FCGI_CHILDREN" => "2",

This will reduce the number of waiting fastcgi instances, thus reducing ram. If you have a particularly busy site, you may want to either leave this, or perhaps even increase it.

Now enable fastcgi module in lighttpd

lighty-enable-mod fastcgi

Restart lighttpd

/etc/init.d/lighttpd restart

You now have lighttpd running perfectly with php5.

You might now want to add some virtual hosts. For example purposes, we’ll call these foo.com and bar.net

Create your directory structure:

mkdir /home/sites/foo.com
mkdir -p /home/sites/foo.com/http
mkdir -p /home/sites/foo.com/logs

mkdir /home/sites/bar.net
mkdir -p /home/sites/bar.net/http
mkdir -p /home/sites/logs

Give ownership of the logs directory to the web server

chown www-data /home/sites/foo.com/logs
chown www-data /home/sites/bar.net/logs

Once we’ve done this, we can sort out the config side of things.
Open up

/etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf

Include the configuration files you’ll use for each of your domains

include "foo.com.conf"
include "bar.net.conf"

Now open up

/etc/lighttpd/foo.com.conf

and add

$HTTP["host"] =~ "foo\.com" {
            server.document-root = "/home/sites/foo.com/http"
            accesslog.filename         = "/home/sites/foo.com/logs/access.log"
}

and the same for

bar.net.conf

$HTTP["host"] =~ "bar\.net" {
            server.document-root = "/home/sites/bar.net/http"
            accesslog.filename         = "/home/sites/bar.net/logs/access.log"
}

Again, restart lighttpd

/etc/init.d/lighttpd restart

and you’re done.

For MySQL

I simply altered some of it’s fine tuning values.
Open

/etc/mysql/my.cnf

and change the following values

key_buffer              = 16K
max_allowed_packet      = 1M
thread_stack            = 64K
thread_cache_size       = 8
#max_connections        = 100
table_cache            = 4

2 comments

After losing my co-located hardware, I was forced onto shared hosting. I’ve put up with this for approximately one year now, however, just recently the restrictions of this have really been getting to me. Now I don’t need a dedicated server, so the next option is a VPS (Virtual Private Server).

A Company called BitFolk came recommended from a few people. BitFolk is a one man band, run by a chap called Andy. Don’t let this put you off, if anything, in my opinion, this is a good thing. Andy is very knowledgeable and approachable - he seemed happy to answer any of my questions via IRC before purchasing the VPS, and was very flexible on plans and payment details.

I opted for Debian Etch (Stable). From time of ordering to the VPS being ready for me to login, took approximately one hour. Upon logging in, I discovered everything was upto date, Andy had actually dist-upgrade’d as part of the setup. Another thing I noticed is that bit-folk operate their own apt cache, meaning installing stuff via apt is not only super speedy, but doesn’t soak your bandwidth allowance.

I’ve since managed to get most stuff setup - Lighttpd, PHP, MySQL etc. I opted for Lighttpd, mainly due to the low memory allocation surrounding VPS’s (Mine has a mere 120mb, which for the moment, seems plenty - currently using 30MB). However, after the experience I’ve had with lighttpd so far, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it on a machine with more memory available. I’ve also optimised PHP and MySQL for low memory usage. it’s posible, if I get time that I’ll write a little piece on setting up Lighttpd/PHP/MySQL and optimising them for the purposes of low memory usage.

Overall, I couldn’t recommend Bitfolk highly enough, with plans starting from just £8/m, it’s competitive with decent shared hosting, whilst giving you full control.

If, after reading this small write-up you decide on a BitFolk VPS, be sure to mention this site when ordering

3 comments

July 9, 2008

Nokia Software Updater 1.4.49 Released

Nokia have announced the release of NSU 1.4.49, bringing back Windows Vista support.

The latest version of Nokia Software Updater (1.4.49) is now available- 9 July 2008

Dear updaters

We are pleased to announce that the Nokia Software Updater once more supports Microsoft Vista.

We are very sorry that many of you have been unable to update your devices, and we are sorry that you have had to wait so long. Thank you very much to everyone who gave feedback on the Beta release.

The latest version of Nokia Software Updater (1.4.49) is now available from Nokia Europe - Device software update - Support or your local Nokia support pages.

Warm regards
The Nokia Software Updater team.

1 comment

July 6, 2008

o2 Release N95-1 v21 Firmware

alternativeimage o2 has released the long awaited v21 firmware for it’s N95-1 customers.

Whilst many are already running this firmware after de-branding, there is speculation that this can void your warranty. Good news for those who have been holding out.

Nokia Europe - Device software update - Support