Ian Dunn » OpenVZ / Virtuozzo / Plesk http://iandunn.name Seattle-based web developer blogging about tips and solutions Fri, 18 May 2012 18:11:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 Connecting to a PPTP VPN from an OpenVZ CentOS VPS http://iandunn.name/connecting-to-a-pptp-vpn-from-an-openvz-centos-vps/ http://iandunn.name/connecting-to-a-pptp-vpn-from-an-openvz-centos-vps/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:25:08 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/?p=1281 a few extra steps you need to take that you don’t have to do with a non-virtualized box. First, you have to load the following kernel modules on the hardware node and/or set them to automatically start during the boot up process : After doing that you should... [more]]]> When setting up the PPTP and PPP packages on an OpenVZ VPS in order to connect to a VPN, there are a few extra steps you need to take that you don’t have to do with a non-virtualized box.

First, you have to load the following kernel modules on the hardware node and/or set them to automatically start during the boot up process:


modprobe ppp_mppe
modprobe ppp_deflate
modprobe zlib_deflate
modprobe ppp_async
modprobe ppp_generic
modprobe slhc
modprobe crc_ccitt

After doing that you should see something similiar to this when running lsmod


[root@me ~]# lsmod | grep ppp
ppp_mppe 39816 0
ppp_deflate 39168 0
zlib_deflate 52760 1 ppp_deflate
ppp_async 45056 0
ppp_generic 63632 4 ppp_mppe,ppp_deflate,ppp_async
slhc 39680 1 ppp_generic
crc_ccitt 35200 1 ppp_async

Second, you have to tweak the VPS’s conf file:


vzctl stop [VEnumber]
vzctl set [VEnumber] --features ppp:on --save
vzctl start [VEnumber]
vzctl set [VEnumber] --devices c:108:0:rw --save
vzctl exec [VEnumber] mknod /dev/ppp c 108 0
vzctl exec [VEnumber] chmod 600 /dev/ppp

Once that’s done, you can follow the normal instructions.

After that, you might need to uncomment the require-mppe-128 or mppe required,stateless line in /etc/ppp/options.pptp (depending on the VPN server). You may also need to manually create a static route to the network, with route add -net 10.1.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 ppp0.

You can check /var/log/messages for details about negotiation errors.

]]> http://iandunn.name/connecting-to-a-pptp-vpn-from-an-openvz-centos-vps/feed/ 0 Tweaking Apache Settings for VPSs http://iandunn.name/tweaking-apache-settings-for-vpss/ http://iandunn.name/tweaking-apache-settings-for-vpss/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:05:30 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/?p=919 Apache Performance Tuning is a good article that explains a lot... [more]]]> Apache’s default settings assume it’s running under a dedicated box with at least 2GB of RAM, so they don’t perform very well in a VPS that may only have 500MB. I recently made some tweaks to several VPS’s that reduced memory usage by 300-400MB without degrading performance. Apache Performance Tuning is a good article that explains a lot of the settings and gives an example for a VPS.

]]> http://iandunn.name/tweaking-apache-settings-for-vpss/feed/ 0 Creating an OpenVZ Template From an Existing VPS http://iandunn.name/creating-an-openvz-template-from-an-existing-vps/ http://iandunn.name/creating-an-openvz-template-from-an-existing-vps/#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:40:43 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/?p=896 The instructions in the wiki are actually overkill for this situation; here’s all I had to do: vzctl stop [vps id] Create /tmp/vz-template-exclude.txt and add these lines to it: .bash_history lost+found /dev/* /mnt/* /tmp/*... [more]]]> I recently setup a VPS on a new OpenVZ node and wanted to use it as a template for future VPS’s created on that node.  The instructions in the wiki are actually overkill for this situation; here’s all I had to do:

  1. vzctl stop [vps id]
  2. Create /tmp/vz-template-exclude.txt and add these lines to it:
    • .bash_history
    • lost+found
    • /dev/*
    • /mnt/*
    • /tmp/*
    • /proc/*
    • /sys/*
    • /usr/src/*
  3. tar –numeric-owner -czvf /vz/template/cache/template-name.tar.gz -X /tmp/vz-template-exclude.txt /vz/private/[vps id]
  4. cp /etc/vz/dists/centos.conf /etc/vz/dists/template-name.conf
  5. vzctl start [vps id]
]]> http://iandunn.name/creating-an-openvz-template-from-an-existing-vps/feed/ 0 Updating Packages in an OpenVZ VPS http://iandunn.name/updating-packages-in-a-openvz-vps/ http://iandunn.name/updating-packages-in-a-openvz-vps/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:10:37 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/?p=883 useful solutions to common problems when running yum update inside an OpenVZ VE.]]> Sam Mingolelli has posted some useful solutions to common problems when running yum update inside an OpenVZ VE.

]]> http://iandunn.name/updating-packages-in-a-openvz-vps/feed/ 0 Directory Permissions for WordPress under Plesk/Linux http://iandunn.name/directory-permissions-for-wordpress-under-plesk-linux/ http://iandunn.name/directory-permissions-for-wordpress-under-plesk-linux/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:36:41 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/?p=669 setup directory permissions on a Linux box running Plesk so that WordPress can automatically create the directories it uses to store uploads. Basically, you need to make sure that PHP’s safe mode is turned off and that wp-content is owned by apache, in the apache group, and chmod’d to 777.]]> Jason Diehl describes the right way to setup directory permissions on a Linux box running Plesk so that WordPress can automatically create the directories it uses to store uploads. Basically, you need to make sure that PHP’s safe mode is turned off and that wp-content is owned by apache, in the apache group, and chmod’d to 777.

]]> http://iandunn.name/directory-permissions-for-wordpress-under-plesk-linux/feed/ 0 PHP Error Logs with Virtuozzo http://iandunn.name/php-error-logs-with-virtuozzo/ http://iandunn.name/php-error-logs-with-virtuozzo/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 19:26:03 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/workblog/?p=278 more]]]> Virtuozzo sets domains up to have PHP’s display_errors flag turned off by default, so that you’ll only see a blank page when there are critical errors. This is a good thing in production environments because it avoids potential security issues, but it can also be annoying when you’re trying to debug something.

Instead of displaying the errors, you can configure PHP to log them and then use the logs for debugging. For a Linux environment, you’ll need to create a file named vhost.conf inside the domain’s conf directory, /var/www/vhosts/domain.name/conf.

<Directory /var/www/vhosts/domain.name>
  php_value error_log /var/www/vhosts/domain.name/statistics/logs/php-errors.log
  php_flag display_errors off
  php_value error_reporting 6143
  php_flag log_errors on
</Directory>

Then create the file and assign it the right permissions

  cd /var/www/vhosts/domain.name/statistics/logs/
  touch php-errors.log
  chown apache php-errors.log

And the last thing is to tell Apache to reread the updated conf file

  /usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/websrvmng -a
]]> http://iandunn.name/php-error-logs-with-virtuozzo/feed/ 0 Firewalling an OpenVZ node and containers http://iandunn.name/firewalling-an-openvz-node-and-containers/ http://iandunn.name/firewalling-an-openvz-node-and-containers/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:13:31 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/workblog/?p=266 firewalling an OpenVZ node and it’s containers . It creates a service and configures iptables to block all traffic to the node (except the ports you specify), but allow all traffic through to the containers, so that they can manage their own firewall. It also allows the container’s firewalls to be managed on the... [more]]]> The OpenVZ wiki has a nice script for firewalling an OpenVZ node and it’s containers. It creates a service and configures iptables to block all traffic to the node (except the ports you specify), but allow all traffic through to the containers, so that they can manage their own firewall. It also allows the container’s firewalls to be managed on the node through a simple config file.

]]> http://iandunn.name/firewalling-an-openvz-node-and-containers/feed/ 0 Working with Qmail’s Queue http://iandunn.name/252/ http://iandunn.name/252/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:21:00 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/workblog/?p=252 qmqtool is a great tool for viewing and changing messages in qmail’s queue. It’ll help you search for and delete spam, for instance. The FAQ has a some examples to get started with.]]> qmqtool is a great tool for viewing and changing messages in qmail’s queue. It’ll help you search for and delete spam, for instance. The FAQ has a some examples to get started with.

]]> http://iandunn.name/252/feed/ 0 Relaying Qmail Through a Spam Filter http://iandunn.name/relaying-qmail-through-a-spam-filter/ http://iandunn.name/relaying-qmail-through-a-spam-filter/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:19:47 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/workblog/?p=250 relaying outbound mail through a spam filter , or it could be used to send spam if the forms get hijacked. For qmail, you just need to create /var/qmail/control/smtproutes and enter “:yourmailserver.com”, then restart. Make... [more]]]> If you’re running a mail service on a web server so it can send out e-mail from contact forms, etc then you’ll want to make sure it’s relaying outbound mail through a spam filter, or it could be used to send spam if the forms get hijacked. For qmail, you just need to create /var/qmail/control/smtproutes and enter “:yourmailserver.com”, then restart. Make sure the spam filter is configured to allow the mail server to relay through it.

]]> http://iandunn.name/relaying-qmail-through-a-spam-filter/feed/ 0 Additional FTP accounts on Plesk for Linux http://iandunn.name/additional-ftp-accounts-on-plesk-for-linux/ http://iandunn.name/additional-ftp-accounts-on-plesk-for-linux/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:34:12 +0000 Ian http://iandunn.name/workblog/?p=72 add extra FTP accounts that are restricted to their home directory .]]> Before version 9 of Plesk you couldn’t add additional FTP accounts for a domain through the control panel. This KB explains how to manually add extra FTP accounts that are restricted to their home directory.

]]> http://iandunn.name/additional-ftp-accounts-on-plesk-for-linux/feed/ 0