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BSDRack Overview and Technical Support Documentation
The BSDRack dedicated servers available from SmartServers and VirtualServers.com
have been designed as an alternative to the Cobalt "RaQ"
and other types of Linux and Windows based dedicated servers offered
by other providers. These servers are an attractive alternative
which are competitively priced and suitable for high end web hosting
and serving applications for web designers, web hosting providers,
ISP's, ASP's, Internet consultants and systems integrators as well
as corporate and small business applications.
The BSDRack range of dedicated servers utilize the highly secure
and reliable FreeBSD operating system and are equipped with
an advanced Web Interface Control Panel System. These servers are
a robust and reliable solution for mission critical e-commerce and
virtual hosting applications and do not suffer from the reliability
and security issues experienced by most Linux and Windows based
systems.
The BSDRack servers offer full and unrestricted root/superuser access
to a FreeBSD Unix based operating system as well as advanced
web interface control panels for both the main server administrator
and all of the virtual sub-hosting users. The virtual sub-hosting
site users can be allowed the ability to create and manage their
own user accounts which can be allocated with both hard and soft
disk space quotas and a maximum number of user and/or email accounts
which can be created by the virtual sub-hosting user can be specified
by the server administrator. The BSDRack system includes a complete
and dedicated version of the Apache Web server which runs as a standalone
daemon and provides support for most of the popular Apache modules.
A stand-alone httpd server allows for faster web server response,
enhanced security, and increased flexibility and control. You have
complete access to your Apache configuration files should you wish
to modify or customize any aspect of your web servers configuration.
Each BSDRack server comes complete with it's own dedicated web,
mail, and ftp servers, providing you with full control over all
aspects of your servers configuration. With full root access you
have total control over your server environment. You can compile
and install any software desired, create POP3, FTP, TELNET or SSH
users and access all server configuration files.
The operating system on the BSDRack servers is a standard version
of the FreeBSD OS with
a number special modifications having been made to enhance the system
which means that all of the standard file structure, services, and
commands of a "generic" FreeBSD dedicated server operating
system are maintained. Support for PHP4. MySQL, FrontPage and other
common applications has been pre-installed for you and the many
third party applications or "ports" which are available
for both the FreeBSD and Linux operating
systems will be compatible with your new BSDRack server. Most
of the documentation relating to the BSD Unix type servers would
apply to the BSDRack servers and much of the extensive documentation
and resources available at the FreeBSD web site at www.freebsd.org
will directly pertain to the BSDRack server core operating system.
Unlike dedicated servers available from other providers the BSDRack
servers offer you a "semi-managed" server solution at
no additional cost in that regular updates of all of the core operating
system software including Apache, Sendmail, Perl, MySQL, FrontPage,
etc, will be continually updated as the latest versions become available
so there is no need for you to have to compile your own versions
or install patches and bug fixes as these updates and installations
will be handled for you by our support department. Again, there
are no additional charges involved for this service.
Another free service with the BSDRack system is daily file backups.
All of the data on your BSDRack server is automatically backed up
to our central network file system once daily at midnight GMT. If
you require the restoration of any data you can request that a specific
file or directory be replaced for you from the backup archive or
a compressed tar file of all of the data on your server can be provided
so that you can retrieve any data that you may require. Again, there
are no additional charges either for the daily backup service or
for the retrieval of data from the backup archives.
.
To maximize administrative and end user control over the various
features and services on the BSDRack system these servers are equipped
with advanced web interface control panels
allowing most administrative tasks to be executed easily with a
JavaScript enabled web browser such as Internet Explorer 5/6 or
Netscape Navigator 4 or better. The web interface control panel
system allows you to create and manage user accounts, set up domain
based web sites, manage email accounts and aliases, access web site
statistics and much more. Both the main administrative and end user
client control panels are available in 10 different languages, English,
German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Greek, Albanian, Italian
and Dutch with additional languages to follow in future.
The BSDRack system is equipped with all of the absolute latest versions
of the core operating system software and will be continually supported
and updated as soon as new versions become available. For instance,
the current web server version is Apache 1.3.34 with PHP 4.4.4 and
the MySQL version is 4.4.4.
The operation and maintenance of the BSDRack both via the web interface
control panels and via the command line will be covered extensively
in the following documentation however if you have any questions
about the operation of your new system which you are not able to
find answers for in either the local documentation provided here
or in the extensive FreeBSD related documentation already available
on the FreeBSD web site and
the various related news
groups, mailing lists, user groups and other resources please
do not hesitate to ask us for advice or clarification.
BSDRack Operations and Maintenance Documentation
1) Getting Started with the BSDRack
2) Using the Control Panel System
3) Basic Unix System Administration
& Commands
4) Special Features and add-on
software
5) BSDRack FAQ's (frequently asked
questions)
6) Operating system updates and
changelog
Getting Started with the BSDRack
To log into your server via telnet or ssh you should first log
in as the "admin" user and then "su" (switch
user) to root (command: "su root") with the admin and
root passwords provided in your configuration and login details.
Direct login as "root" is not available on these systems
for added security. In general, root level access should be entered
into only when root level operations are required to be carried
out. So as to avoid accidental damage to your server it is a good
practice to exit root level access and return to the "admin"
level when you are not carrying out root level operations and related
tasks. For information on command like operation and maintenance
of your server see the section on Basic
Unix System Administration & Commands.
The main administrative web interface for the server is located
at the following URL's:
http://your_servers_ip_or_domain:8001/bin/menu
Note: http://your_servers_ip_or_domain:8001/
will work as well, as this address is automatically forwarded
to http://your_servers_ip_or_domainm:8001/bin/menu.
The ADMIN (admin) username and password should be used to log into
the web interface and not the "root" username.
Each virtual hosting site you set up on your server will have its
own web interface control panel at the following URL:
http:/client_domain.com:8001/bin/menu
Telnet login and command line operation and maintenance of the
BSDRack is covered in the section on Basic
Unix System Administration & Commands.
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