Welcome to the new home of The Year of the Geek!
As per a very special May Day sale on DreamHost I now have a domain and permanent home for my site. So now I will actually want to update more, hopefully;-)
Go DreamHost and your kick ass sale!
So after some time with this new drive I’ll just give a quick update on it.
I love the new space of course. I an now keep all of my docs and programs happily as well as some extras. I’m not removing files left and right anymore to free up space for downloads, etc.
The computer seems to run a little hotter, it could just be me, and it does seem a tad bit louder than the original. My old drive was also a 7200RPM drive, but this one seems quieter seeking, but spinning sounds like a small fan (another one). I can deal with it though, doesn’t bother me.
Was it worth $100? Oh yeah!
So, very odd things are happening. First, our DNS server is not taking updates for some reason, unless Poly isn’t sending updates for some reason. Either way, on my network, the site does not work, on any other network, it’s fine now. Second, the site that was originally setup was not working of course, but I decided to do some trickery. I wanted to see if the system was actually working properly, or if it was actually the WordPress install. I switched the working virtual host home directory with the Word Press one, and lo-and-behold, it didn’t work. I just uploaded a fresh WordPress install to the proper directory, and it’s now a working site!
Turns out it was NOT Leopard server, but the WordPress configuration. So let this be a lesson, always start fresh if you can. 
As I wrote before, I use Apple servers at work and most times I enjoy using them. I feel that the operating system is very stable (I happen to use 10.4.1 and 10.5.5) and very customizable, and i also feel that the hardware is very good. It’s very rare that I see the CPUs being pegged or the memory getting drained somehow.
Our secondary server, POW, the server that this site is currently hosted on hosts a few different domains. Recently, I have been setting up things for our new HCI and Games lab here at BXMC. They wanted a site so they made one in WordPress with my recommendation. Now I need to move it to the server with a better domain than pow.idmi.poly.edu/~chrisdimauro/wordpress. I was instructed to use socialgamelab.bxmc.poly.edu (the bxmc is due to the expected change in all of our domains soon). I call up my guy at IS and he tells me it’s done. Excellent for me.
Now the task of setting up another virtual host on POW. Normally this is a CLI job with lots of files and configuration but not with Server Admin (SA); SA gives you a really nice GUI for editing many server features. One can completely configure and maintain their server without ever using CLI by using SA. More complex set-ups will have difficulty at times while only using SA.
This is what you’re presented with after opening SA, a very nice looking summary of your server and it’s running processes.
Now, I want to add a new website to this server using a name-based virtual host. So I’ll select ‘Web’ from the left side list of active services, and begin to edit this:
That’s a very simple, straight-forward form for a website. I filled out all of the appropriate information, pointed everything to the proper directory, and save. I restart apache, and try the site after a few (i needed to wait for it to replicate to the external dns servers). After a short wait, I test the site. I am directed to the main site, pow.idmi.poly.edu. Something is not working on my end, I don’t think virtual hosting is working properly. So I test one of our other virtual hosts on the server, and that works. I compare the two, both are the same 100%. Now it’s time to bring out the CLI and go deeper into the config files.
Apparently Leopard server uses different configuration for virtual hosts and apache in general. It breaks up each virtual host config file into numbered .conf files. Apache’s httpd.conf just includes the directory and any .conf files that are inside of that directory. Sure, this looks nice, it’s pretty clean and easy to edit sites, but it’s a pain when researching help, I am literally stuck with Apple only help (to a good extent). I find the appropriate file (nicely named 0005_[ip]_socialgamelab.bxmc.poly.edu.conf) and look into the file. I compare it with the working virtual hosts .conf file and find, they’re also the same.
Now I begin to ask myself things like “Why?” and “What?” but at the same time begin to wonder how Leopard Server is messing this up. The site loads properly if I direct the browser to it’s long directory, but still only gives me the main site if I use the new virtual host name.
I am still in the process of working on getting this to work. I have a list made up of how I am going to resolve this. I think I will update as I go through the list.
Covering the List
I own an iPod. To be more precise I actually own a 3rd Generation iPod; if you don’t know what kind that is, check it out on Wikipedia. It’s the first iPod to have a dock, the only iPod for have 4 light up buttons, lined on the top, and the iPod with the worst battery life, period. It also uses firewire to charge and sync, no USB charging on this guy.
My iPod is 40GB, and I’ve never filled it. But I love my iPod, I love how it looks, and I used to love how rugged it was. It’s been through a lot, here’s a run down of stuff:
I bought it in 2003, when it was new, from eBay for $300. It has lasted me 5 long years, and now the battery is dying again (it only holds about an hour charge). I’ve finally given in and decided to buy a new one.
When looking, I decided to get another iPod, just because I like them, and I’m very impressed with my iPods durability. I decided to get a refurb from Apple. It’s the “previous generation”, basically meaning they don’t make it anymore. It’s 80GB, black, and $100 cheaper than the new ones. Of course I got Applecare for the additional $59. Worth it.
I am anxiously waiting for it to arrive from California now. I’m hoping that this new iPod gives me the same amount of life that my 3rd gen has given me. I of course will not be doing away with the 3rd gen, it’ll still be used for files and backups until something else on it dies (the hard drive or the port).
So, in this post I shall thank you 3rd Generation iPod. You’ve given me countless hours of entertainment, you’ve been around through my entire college career, and I know you’ll always be around somewhere for me.
