The Debian Web Server: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Question:
   Using Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Service Pack 1, I started the server. But GRUB 2 could not find any bootable partition and returned an error. I tried looking for the proper one by typing,
   
   ls -l /dev/sd*
   
   No result. What's the reason?
   
   Answer:
   Yes, I have repeated your test by running the server over VPC2004. For some reason, the error occurs. I suspect this may be a virtual SCSI hard drive, but an IDE one is expected.
   Anyways, the problem will be solved if you use the newer version of VPC2007.
   
   
2. Question:
   Hey, wtf?! I don't see the network.
   
   Answer:
   Don't be a dumbass. Firstly, try checking your NIC by typing,
   
   sudo ifconfig eth0; sudo ifconfig eth1
   
   See. Obviously, the eth1 is your network card.
   After having found the card, you should accept some settings to make the server work.
   1. Edit your /etc/network/interfaces
      • if you have a static IP then:
        
        # The primary network interface
auto eth1
# iface eth1 inet dhcp
iface eth1 inet static
address 192.168.1.10
network 192.168.1.0
netmask 255.255.255.0
broadcast 192.168.1.255
gateway 192.168.1.1
dns-nameserver 217.70.96.34 217.70.106.5

        
        
      • otherwise:
        
        # The primary network interface
auto eth1
iface eth1 inet dhcp

        
        
   2. Edit Samba over /etc/samba/smb.conf: in the [global] section find the parameter of "interfaces" and write down the correct device there.
   
   Reboot the server:
   
   sudo reboot
   
   
   
3. Question:
   My Perl and PHP scripts don't work on the hosting. Why?
   
   Answer:
   PHP works over *.php files. Perl - over *.pl, *.cgi files. Beyond all doubt, these files require an "x" ("executable") attribute.
   So, do something like,
   
   chmod +x *.pl; chmod +x *.cgi; chmod +x *.php
   
   before running them.
   Also, you may do it through the FTP server.
   You must know that all other files shouldn't have the "x" attribute quite the contrary. I mean *.htm*, *.gif, *.js, *.jpeg and so on. But they should be readable - so the server could open them and return them to a user if required.
   Do not forget: this is a UNIX-like operating system. And it has the same things as UNIX would do.
   
   
4. Question:
   How can a network bridge be created?
   
   Answer:
   See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/KVM/Networking#Creating_a_network_bridge_on_the_host.