Re: [cobalt-users] Previewing a name-based virtual site

[Dennis <dkc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kevin-

What we normally do is say the person domain is theirdomain.com

We set that site up as a virtual site in the GUI and make it the following:
Hostname: theredomain
Domain: yourdomain.com

Then add an A record for theredomain.yourdomain.com and point it to the IP address. We
normally then add a simple .htaccess to the web directory and once the domain is
online go into the siteadmin settings for that virtual site and make it:
Hostname: www
Domain: theredomain.com

And then add the necessary DNS entries. Its pretty simple and we not only use this to
preview developmental sites, but also give hosting customers a way to view there site
before it goes online.

    Best Regards,
        Dennis



Kevin Murphy wrote:

> Thanks, Will, but you missed my quandry by a hair.
>
> I see what you're doing, and it's a great solution - if it's my site I'm
> posting, and reviewing for internal use only, since I have control over
> my local DNS setting.
>
> But these are client sites, and we all know how goofy they can get
> sometimes about seeing things "in process".  So I need a way to get them
> to the 'in process' site, without having to move it around in the
> directory structure on the RaQ.  Heaven knows it's difficult enough
> sometimes to get them to send me email - I hate to think what I would
> have to go through to get them to change their DNS settings!
>
> I did find a "solution", but it feels REALLY insecure to me...
>
> In httpd.conf, I set things up as follows (Note: IP addresses have been
> changed to protect the innocent):
>
> NameVirtualHost my.ip.add.res
> <VirtualHost my.ip.add.res >
> ServerName my.ip.add.res
> DocumentRoot /home/sites
> ServerAdmin admin
> </VirtualHost>
> <VirtualHost my.ip.add.res >
> ServerName my.cobalt.raq
> DocumentRoot /home/sites/home/web
> etc...
>
> So, now, when someone accesses
> http://my.ip.add.res/theirsitenumber/web/index.html - they get their
> site, in progress.  If someone hits http://my.cobalt.raq, they get the
> regular server stuff.
>
> But as I say - this seems somewhat insecure - if you have my.ip.add.res,
> you can get to anything on there you want to see.  Not that anything in
> there is "private" - and you have to know the cobalt structure of
> site1,site2, etc (the symlinks don't seem to work here, but I think
> that's because of the owner status on them). But you can get to the
> cgi-bin, or anything else you want to, as well.  Scary.
>
> And again, I'm afraid of what happens to my httpd.conf file when the
> cobalt interface gets ahold of it again.
>
> So, that's where I got, but if anyone has a better way that is easily
> communicated to the average client, I'm all ears.
>
> I'm beginning to wonder if there's some way to wrap it up in PHP, so
> that httpd.conf doesn't have to get involved...
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Kevin
>
> Will DeHaan wrote:
> >
> > The best way to test a name-based web site before your DNS domain
> > registrations are complete is to take control of your own DNS service.
> > Every RaQ and Qube out there has a DNS server built-in.  Simply add a
> > forward (A) record in your DNS from your
> > www.namebasedbutnotyetregistered.com to the IP address used by that
> > site.  Save Changes.  Set the RaQ to your primary DNS server on your
> > local PC.  Now pull up that site on your web browser, test away.
> >
> > The public can never access a name-based site without correctly
> > configured public DNS service.  Register those domains if you haven't
> > already.  www.123domains.com is running a sale, $28 for two years
> > service.
> >
> >         -- Will
> >
> > Kevin Murphy wrote:
> > >
> > > Hello.
> > >
> > > We have been using a Coblat RaQ2 for quite some time for a single
> > > client, and are beginning now to host multiple sites on it.  We are
> > > planning to use name-based hosting to accomplish this.
> > >
> > > My question is deceptively simple.  When a virtual site is added to the
> > > primary IP address on the server, how do I access that site in order to
> > > test it?
> > >
> > > Currently, we "stage" all our sites as users in the home directory.
> > > This allows us to send clients to 'our.cobalt.server/users/theirsite',
> > > and works well.  But I don't want to be forced to move their sites when
> > > they go "live" because of the limits of this server.  There's got to be
> > > a better way!
> > >
> > > >From what I can tell, the directory structure of the server prevents you
> > > from accessing a new  site directly by IP, as the IP-based hosting
> > > points at a specific web directory, and not the "root" of all web directories.
> > >
> > > I have tried adding a symlink to the directory created by the new domain
> > > in /home/sites/home/users, but I always get "file not found" when I try
> > > to access it in the browser.
> > >
> > > I also tried adding a second entry in the ServerAlias line in
> > > httpd.conf, and that didn't seem to work, either - it just redirected
> > > the site over to the existing domain!  Not useful for my purposes.
> > >
> > > So, I'm stuck.
> > >
> > > Do I need to change the DocumentRoot for the IP I'm going to host all
> > > the sites under so it  points at a higer level directory, and then put
> > > in a new ServerName line for the existing machine on that IP?  But won't
> > > that screw up the Cobalt Interface?  Or is httpd.conf written
> > > separately, and only re-written when it's asked to?
> > >
> > > Any hints are greatly appreciated.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to
> > > encounter this problem.
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > > -Kevin
> > >
> > > --
> > > Kevin Murphy
> > > Director of Technology
> > >
> > > Glen Group
> > > Marketing and Advertising Design
> > > P.O. Box 2838, 170 Kearsarge Street
> > > North Conway, New Hampshire 03860
> > > http://www.glengroup.com
> > >
> > > Voice: 603-356-3030 * FAX: 603-356-3991
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > cobalt-users mailing list
> > > cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > http://list.cobalt.com/mailman/listinfo/cobalt-users
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > cobalt-users mailing list
> > cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > http://list.cobalt.com/mailman/listinfo/cobalt-users
>
> --
> Kevin Murphy
> Director of Technology
>
> Glen Group
> Marketing and Advertising Design
> P.O. Box 2838, 170 Kearsarge Street
> North Conway, New Hampshire 03860
> http://www.glengroup.com
>
> Voice: 603-356-3030 ? FAX: 603-356-3991
>
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