Web Server Migration

April 30th, 2004Presented by Geoff Strom

Information Technology Services

Topics

• Reasons for Migration

• User and Web Site Changes

• Impact on Services

• Hosting Structure

• Directory Layout

• System Administration

• Schedule

Reasons for Migration

Concerns

• WXA is unsupported at both the hardware and software level

• Administration is minimal and done manually

• Reliability and security are concerns

Solutions

• Future growth in web service offerings depends on an upgraded, secure, and manageable platform

• Supported hardware is available (FXWEB1)

User Changes

Accounts

• Will be named

• Username same as SLU email

• Initial quota will be 50MB

• Will be verified nightly with system information

• Accounts no longer in the system will be disabled immediately, pending removal

Access

• SFTP

• SSH on request

• No more insecure Telnet or FTP

• Software upgrades will be necessary

• Web based "control panel" containing account information and tools

Web Site Changes

Owner

• Single defined owner

• Will be able to assign group members

• Web based "control panel" containing site information and tools

• MySQL database server on request

• PHP on request

Groups

• Named after the web site

• Members have full read/write permissions

• Only members will have access

• Initial quota will be 100MB

Impact on Services

Services that will be migrated

• All current web sites

• phpMyAdmin (slumyadmin)

• phpEasySurvey (EasySurvey)

• Homefree (pages.slu.edu)

Services that will not be migrated

• ServletExec

• TestPilot

• UltimateBB

By The Numbers

• Approximately 300 user accounts will be migrated

• Approximately 400 web sites will be migrated

Hosting Structure Changes

Current Hosting Structure

• Three kinds of web sites– Domains

• http://www.slucare.edu/

– Virtual Hosts• http://medschool.slu.edu/

– Everybody else• http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/

• http://www.slu.edu/centers/heartland/

New Hosting Structure

• Two kinds of web sites– Domains

• http://www.slucare.edu/

– Virtual Hosts• http://medschool.slu.edu/

• All existing sites that are not already Domains or Virtual Hosts will be converted to Virtual Hosts

Domains

• Available via traditional addresses:– http://www.slucare.edu/

Virtual Hosts

• Available via traditional addresses:– http://medschool.slu.edu/

• Two alternative addresses will also be available:– http://www.medschool.slu.edu/– http://www.slu.edu/medschool/

Aliases

• Redirects from the original address

• http://www.slu.edu/colleges/medschool/ would redirect to http://medschool.slu.edu/

• Make transition easier but should expire

• All converted web sites will be granted a temporary Alias to ease the transition

Directory Layout

Current Directory Layout

New Directory Layout

New Directory Layout

• Home directories will have two sub directories:– files– public_html

• Unable to modify home directory content

• Access to web sites via symbolic links

System Administration

Current System Administration

• Done manually

• Small number of people with the skill and access to make changes

New System Administration

• Stored in a database

• Easy to use front end

• Increased number of administrators

• Configuration files rebuilt automatically

Schedule

Schedule

March – May Develop server, tools, and policies

May 10th Announce migration plan and new policies

May 25th Migrate WXA user accountsNew user accounts will be on new system

June 1st Start of web site migrationNew web sites will be on new system

June – August Rolling web site migration(12 weeks for 400 sites = 34 sites per week)

August 23rd End of migration

Questions?