Using Conda for Alternate Python Installations

Posted on by Helpful Humans of Liquid Web
Category: Technical Support | Tags: ,

Let’s be honest: Most of the time, the Python version included with a Linux distro isn’t the newest. For example, at the time of this writing, the version of Python 2 included with our CentOS 7 Storm images is 2.7.5, and Python 3 isn’t even available out of the box. For reference (again, at the time of this writing), the latest versions are 2.7.14 and 3.6.4 respectively.

Chances are that if you’re reading this article, you already have a reason to run a different version than what’s included (especially if 3.x is needed). However, if you stumbled on this article by chance, various reasons might include new features, a software package or library that only works up to a certain version, etc.

Continue reading “Using Conda for Alternate Python Installations” →

What is a LAMP stack?

Posted on by Helpful Humans of Liquid Web
Category: Featured Articles, Getting Started, Products | Tags: , , , ,

The LAMP stack is the foundation for Linux hosted websites is the Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) software stack.

The Four Layers of a LAMP Stack

Linux based web servers consist of four software components. These components, arranged in layers supporting one another, make up the software stack. Websites and Web Applications run on top of this underlying stack. The common software components that make up a traditional LAMP stack are:

  • Linux: The operating system (OS) makes up our first layer. Linux sets the foundation for the stack model. All other layers run on top of this layer.
  • Apache: The second layer consists of web server software, typically Apache Web Server. This layer resides on top of the Linux layer. Web servers are responsible for translating from web browsers to their correct website.
  • MySQL: Our third layer is where databases live. MySQL stores details that can be queried by scripting to construct a website. MySQL usually sits on top of the Linux layer alongside Apache/layer 2. In high end configurations, MySQL can be off loaded to a separate host server.
  • PHP: Sitting on top of them all is our fourth and final layer. The scripting layer consists of PHP and/or other similar web programming languages. Websites and Web Applications run within this layer.

We can visualize the LAMP stack like so:

Applying what you’ve learned

Understanding the four software layers of a LAMP stack aids the troubleshooting process. It allows us to see how each layer relies on one another. For instance; when a disk drive gets full, which is a Linux layer issue. This will also affect all other layers in the model. This is because those other layers rest on top of the affected layer. Likewise, when the MySQL database goes offline. We can expect to see PHP related problems due to their relationship. When we know which layer is exhibiting problems. We know which configuration files to examine for solutions.

Some Alternatives

The four traditional layers of a LAMP stack consist of free and open-source products. Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP are the cornerstone of a free, non-proprietary LAMP stack. There are several variants of the four stack model as well. These variants use alternative software replacing one or more of the traditional components. Some examples of these alternatives are:

  • WAMP: Windows, Apache, MySQL & PHP
  • WISA: Windows, IIS, SQL & ASP.net
  • MAMP: MacOS, Apache, MySQL & PHP

You can explore these alternative software stacks in greater depth using online resource. The LAMP stack Wiki is a great place to start:

How can we help?

The LAMP stack is an industry standard and is included in all of our Core-Managed and Fully Managed Linux based servers. Our support teams work hand in hand with the LAMP stack on a daily basis. You can rest assured we are at your disposal should you have questions or concerns. To learn more you can browse our latest product offerings.

What are man pages?

Posted on by Dan Pock
Category: Featured Articles, Getting Started | Tags: , ,

When you buy a new tool, piece of equipment, or hardware device, in the box you’ll find a useful manual. The manual covers various methods to use device, safety procedures and troubleshooting tips. These manual books are an invaluable knowledge tool when learning to use new equipment – what about computers though?

When it comes to computers you rarely, if ever, get a physical manual. When you do it’s usually going to be very specific to the hardware of the device, but not the software. On UNIX based OS’s when you need to read about software you pull up the man pages. Short for manual pages, the man pages are a type of document that provides details on using various commands and applications. Man pages are super simple to use and can help you learn without Google! Continue reading “What are man pages?” →

How To Install Git on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Posted on by Dan Pock
Category: Technical Support | Tags: , , , ,

Git is one of the most popular tools used for distributed version control system(VCS). Git is commonly used for source code management (SCM) and has become more used than old VCS systems like SVN.

Installing Git on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Pre-Flight Check
  • You should be running a server with any Ubuntu 16.04 LTS release.
  • You will need to log in to SSH via the root user.
  • In this tutorial I’ll be working with a Core Managed Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS server

First, as always, we should start out by running general OS and package updates. On Ubuntu we’ll do this by running:apt-get update

After you have run the general updates on the server you can get started with installing Git.

  1. Install Git
    apt-get install git-coreYou may be asked to confirm the download and installation; simply enter y to confirm. It’s that simple, git should be installed and ready to use!
  2. Confirm Git the installation
    With the main installation done, first check to ensure the executable file is setup and accessible. The best way to do this is simply to run git with the version command.
    git --version

    git version 2.7.4
  3. Configure Git’s settings (for the root user)
    It’s a good idea to setup your user for git now, to prevent any commit errors later. We’ll setup the user testuser with the e-mail address testuser@example.com.

    git config --global user.name "testuser"
git config --global user.email "testuser@example.com"
    Note:
    It’s important to know that git configs work on a user by user basis. For example if you have a ‘david’ Linux user and they will be working with git then David should run the same commands from his user account. By doing this the commits made by the ‘david’ Linux user will be done under his details in git.
  4. Verify the Config changes
    Now we’ll verify the configuration changes by viewing the .gitconfig file. You can do this a few ways, we’ll show you both methods here.

    1. View the config file using cat with the following command:
      cat ~/.gitconfig
    2. Or, you can also view the same details using the git config command:
      git config --list

And that’s it! You have now installed Git on your Ubuntu 16.04 LTS server and have it configured on your root user. You can get rolling with your code changes from here, or you can repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other system user accounts.

Choosing Your Cloud Sites Technology Setup

Posted on by Dan Pock | Updated:
Category: Featured Articles | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Behind Cloud Sites, racks full of both Linux and Windows servers power over 100,000 sites and applications. Every Windows-based page is served from clusters built and optimized especially for Windows, and every Linux-based page is served from clusters built and optimized especially for Linux. We use advanced load balancing technologies to automatically detect the type of technology you are running and route each request to the proper pool of servers.

This is a great example of the power of cloud computing, since you no longer have to make a hosting choice between Linux and Windows. Both PHP and .NET are included, allowing you to choose the technology you need site by site.
Continue reading “Choosing Your Cloud Sites Technology Setup” →

How KernelCare Protects Your Server

Posted on by dpepper | Updated:
Category: Other | Tags: , , ,

One of the most important things you can do to ensure the security and stability of your Linux server is to keep the kernel updated. Some Kernel updates patch security vulnerabilities and other issues. Kernel patches are released as issues are discovered.

Unless you are regularly checking for kernel updates, or your notified of a security issue, you may not be aware when a kernel update is available. Additionally, since updating the kernel traditionally requires a reboot, the prospect of associated downtime often prevents the updates from being applied as quickly as they should be.

KernelCare changes all that. Continue reading “How KernelCare Protects Your Server” →

What Is KernelCare?

Posted on by Dan Pock | Updated:
Category: Featured Articles, Other, Tutorials | Tags: , , , ,

Tux the Penguin with Hotpatching (KernelCare)The concept of ‘Kernel hotpatching’, sometimes called live patching, was introduced to the Linux community around 2008. Soon after groups began developing differing implementations of the concept. KernelCare, one of the more popular implementations, was originally released in March 2014 by Cloud Linux, Inc. Continue reading “What Is KernelCare?” →

Where Is My DNS Hosted?

Posted on by Dan Pock | Updated:
Category: Technical Support, Tutorials | Tags: , ,

From time to time, you’ll have to make changes to your DNS records. For example, if you change IP addresses, your DNS A records will change. You’ll also change DNS if you want to add SPF records to help email authentication. For these changes to work properly, it’s vital to know where DNS is hosted. Continue reading “Where Is My DNS Hosted?” →