Re: [cobalt-users] Installing software on the RAQ2

[Brent Sims <brent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 31 May 2000, Daniel Pfeifer so wrote:

} Have you got a tip about where I should start? Installing MySQL as
} described in there manual and then installing PHP4.0 as described
} in the their manual? But what about Apache? Doesn't that  kill the
} change of the Apache server the GUI?
} 
} > > do you guys think, that it is possible to just download the 
} > > MySQL-Sources, PHP4 Sources and Apache Sources and install
} > > them on the server without 1.) killing the warranty and
} > > 2.) without totally destroying the GUI and so.

Hi Daniel,

	If I understand the warranty correctly (I can't say that I
do but it's only money...) it is possible to install MySQL and PHP
without killing the warranty. At least I think I just did exactly
that.

	My understanding of the warranty is that you can't edit the
system files. I don't, however, see anything in the warranty which
would prevent me from installing something on the machine as long as
I can do so without touching any of the Cobalt stuff.

	So I did just that. The challenge intrigued me...

	First I had to install the Flex library as MySQL
requires it and it wasn't anywhere to be found on our RaQ2s. I just
followed the link on my favorite tucows mirror and scarfed up
the source. Flex puts two executables in /usr/local/bin, there
wasn't anything else in there and putting them there does not
require any editing of system files so I figure I'm safe for the
moment :-)

	I then when ahead and built MySQL from source and installed
it in /usr/local/mysql. I put it here with the thought that it would
be out of the way should Cobalt need to root around on the machine. 
Building MySQL was kind of scary though in that MySQL builds in a
flash on our other servers but it took a really long time on the
RAQ2s - so long that I started to get worried but things seemed to
work out with the exception that I got a nasty note  from the system
monitor. After installing it I created a couple of symbolic links
and put mysql, mysqladmin, etc in the path in this manner. 
	
	After that I built PHP4.0 as a cgi and stuffed it into
/usr/bin right next to Perl.

	I had already installed PortSentry, Logcheck, SSH and
Tripwire and a few other security gizmos in pretty much the same
manner. To get everything to light off at boot I simply did some
tweaking on the SSH startup script that I found on Question Number
534 in the Knowledge Base at Cobalt.com.

	While I could very well be wrong, I believe I managed to get
all this stuff installed and running without voiding the warranty
and in such a manner that simply deleting the symbolic links that I
created in the process and removing the one script that I stuffed in
the rc.d directory to make everything start up at boot would make 
it pretty easy to get everything out of Cobalt's way in the event
they need to root around on the server. 

	Now if someone can tell me how I can enable remote logging
without editing the syslog.conf file and/or read the tripwire
database off a remote read-only something or other (never knew how
handy floppy drives were till I started messing with machines that
don't have a place to put one...) I'd be a very happy man...

	I haven't had time to really play with it yet (I just
finished a few minutes ag0) but everything seems to be working just
fine: http://aba.webokay.net/cgi-bin/php.cgi

	Peace be with you,
	
	Brent
	
	Brent Sims
	WebOkay Internet Services
	http://www.WebOkay.net
	Brent@xxxxxxxxxxx
	(719) 595-1427 (Voice/Fax)