What do you think of freeVSD? Can this software be also used as a "normal" control panel? I am interested in this software, but have never seen a demo or some screenshots ...

On freeVSD you can set up virtual dedicated accounts, what are the disadvantages? Do I have to choose how many of the server load/RAM each account gets and also if the performance isn´t used, the other accounts can not profit of that?

Is there also a billing or support-ticket modul available?

you see, I am a newbie to that, but would be very nice of you, if you could answer anyway :cartman:

I was about to correct you and explain that it's FreeBSD, and that FreeBSD is an operating system, but then I went to http://www.freevsd.com.
Hmm, never heard of it before.

FreeVSD is a different take on control panel software. If you look at the usual control panel system horizontally as root, reseller, end user, each with lower levels of access, the FreeVSD would be somewhat of a vertical system.

From my take on it, it provides what they call 'virtual dedicated'. Each account has root access, but within it own account. You get the access usually only available to the server owner, and can alter the entire fundamental structure of the way the server acts within your account, running it's own daemons. This gives you the perfect opportunity to nuke your entire account right down to root level :D

On the up side it allows you to configure the environment to build a mini server devoted to a single task, again right back to root level. Some of the larger Content Management Systems prefer to work this way, assuming you're devoting an entire server to their system.

Jumpline are apparently basing a lot of their post Alabanza business on this model, citing far more control over your account by being able to affect the entire way your account works.

I've read through a lot of their site and they appear to have works out a way to make it workable, without chewing CPU time as much as you would imagine, as well as developing it over the past 3 years or so under a live environment. It looks solid, the amazingly small screen shots I've seen look professionaly built from what I could see of them. I'd like to see it in a working environment though.

We're seriously considered that model, using that software, but due to the paradigm shift required it's not something we can consider without devoting an entire server to it to test it.

Without being able to qualify the comment, I'd hazard a guess that a net search on anything that mentions 'virtual dedicated' is probably using it.

Greg Moore

Wow. This is the coolest idea. This is basically the same thing I had way back when I was hosting at Vservers.
It looks solid, the amazingly small screen shots I've seen look professionaly built from what I could see of them. I'd like to see it in a working environment though.
Where did you see the screenshots? I couldn't find them anywhere.

It's a little abstract, but on their 'About' page they mention a ISP in the UK that uses their system. If you dig through their site we see the occasional reference to the control panel (ala Free VSD). The ISP is here:
http://www.dsvr.co.uk/
Quite a snappy design in my eyes :)

Specifically you'll be looking for this page:
http://www.dsvr.co.uk/virtualservers/controlcentre.phtml

so you'll see what I mean when you look at it. :)

Greg Moore

akashik,

I have seen this mini shots also, but how could you identify something on them?? :)

If you are running this on a machine, could you post here your experiences and some shots please?

Sorry, all I know of that panel is what I read on their page, and from what I see in those screen shots. Someone might be running it and can give you the right answers as to whether it's all it's cracked up to be or not. The closest I can come to the good stuff, is it looks good from what I can see.

Greg Moore

As others have said, this is not a control panel, but a virtual server environment.

Did you know that all the server readable files on typical shared servers are generally available to anyone else on that server? With a PHP, perl or other CGI script, I can read any file on most servers if that file can also be read by the web server process. Config files containing mySQL passwords, etc - all are available to anyone on your shared server.

Using FreeVSD lets you run the web server process as a unique ID for each account on the server, and thus you can prevent processes other than the web server process for that one account from accessing private information.

Security is a huge benefit of the FreeVSD configuration.

Of course, you also get your own config files for Apache, mySQL, etc, so you can tailor your environment to meet any specific needs of the client. This is the most widely touted benefit - but if you are using FreeVSD in a shared hosting environment, you will need to be prepared to handle much more serious support calls when your customers totally screw up their Apache config file, or their DNS server, or their copy of Sendmail, etc...

-t

Originally posted by thewitt
As others have said, this is not a control panel, but a virtual server environment.But it can handle everything a control panel can do, can´t it?

Originally posted by thewitt
Did you know that all the server readable files on typical shared servers are generally available to anyone else on that server? With a PHP, perl or other CGI script, I can read any file on most servers if that file can also be read by the web server process. Config files containing mySQL passwords, etc - all are available to anyone on your shared server.

Using FreeVSD lets you run the web server process as a unique ID for each account on the server, and thus you can prevent processes other than the web server process for that one account from accessing private information.Doesn´t that cause much more server performance?

Is it possible to disable modifications on DNS, email etc. for the user?

Wow. This is the coolest idea. This is basically the same thing I had way back when I was hosting at Vservers.

This is nothing new. Sphera and Ensim have been offering this for over a year. Not free, but proven.

As far as Jumpline, I really can not wait for their model to be released. It is based off of FreeVSD. They even state that you can use the Java based admin tools to click and drag a site from one VS to another. Imagine, no more manualing tarring sites to new servers.

We have been with Ensim since Jan. They allow click and drag at the VDS level, but not at the site level. Plus they charge $25 - $50/VDS/mo that you create. So a free version would be nice. :)

I still think there is going to be a good year of serious bugs and support issues when this is released. When Ensim released, it had soo many issues. It took a good year to iron them out. Also, Ensim had like 82 million in funding and over 40 programmers working in India. Jumpline has I think 4 or 8? I am sure they are working with FreeeVDS closely, so probably more.

This is nothing new. Sphera and Ensim have been offering this for over a year. Not free, but proven.
I know it's nothing new. But the FREE part is what really struck me, along with everything I can find via my pet Google-Bot that says this is a really stable application.
I thunk I read on their website somewhere that they had been out for 3 years.

Cool thread guys...

Yes, freeVSD has been out for over three years and yes, it is is very similar to VServers' and iServers' offerings. The difference between freeVSD and other solutions like Ensim is that it does not create 'virtual machines', rather it creates a chroot filesystem containing all services required within that virtual server environment.

Just to clear up the comments on 'root' access. freeVSD creates a user called 'admin' within each virtual server, and provides this user with enough privileges to compile/install software, edit config files and start/stop processes. Not enough to nuke the entire server, but enough rope to hang themselves with if ya know what I mean ;) Root access is reserved for the server owner...

The main point of freeVSD is to provide dedicated server functionality in the most efficient way possible, and a moderately powered (PIII, 512MB RAM) should be able to support up to 250 virtual servers quite happily.

For less technical users, is is possible to provide a web based interface instead. More info about this is available from the site.

Oh, and, I work for the company so if anyone's got any questions I'll try to answer honestly ;)

<note>
it looks like Mark(complexmind) has posted just as I was writing the post, so if there is any discrepency, refer to his post.
</note>

Hello everyone,
I have been doing a lot of research on freevsd, so I thought I could share some knowledge/experience.
note: I get these information from the freevsd.org site, personal research as well as correspondence with Complexmind(a user on this forum who works at freevsd), while some are true, other are just my guess, but it should be quite accurate.

A VS has an IP address, a file system which is linked to a skel, and a collection of processes. FreeVSD is not a true virtual machine implementation: The file system is just a directory located under /home/vsd/vs_name/, and the processes are just regular processes on the host server. These processes are, however, chrooted to jail them only to /home/vsd/vs_name/. This is what give the illusion of a "virtual" machine.
A VS has a semi-root user called admin. It is like a root user jailed to /home/vsd/vs_name/. But it is further restricted by the fact that even some directories in its VS file system is owned by root of the host server, therefore admin of that VS cannot touch them. This is related to a feature called skel, which is a skeleton of file system hard linked to each VS's file system. Multiple VS can share the same skel, therefore reducing diskspace and also allow rapid updates of programs. The admin of a VS is allow to touch only some directories, as others are hardlinked, and must be protected to avoid corruption to other VS as they all share the same skel.
This limit of admin user means that software that requires root access(plesk comes to mind) cannot install in a VS.
A VS can have a number of users, which from what I can guess are also true user on the host server.
The advantage of FreeVSD over true virtual machine implementation is the small overhead. Like I mentioned, a VS is just a collection of host server's object jailed by chroot. Therefore it has very little overhead as they are all run on the host server.
I really wish they would have root access that will allow a user to install root-level software. From a technical point of view this shouldn't be so difficult, as a VS can just use one skel exclusively. But I am not a linux programmer, so I don't know if there is other difficulty.
A lot of these are just my guesses, so I hope complexmind or some other experts point out any inaccuracy.
Personally I have also tried to install FreeVSD on my server. But I wasn't able to get it working and uninstalled it. It took over my host server and disabled other services. It seems that this is a feature which allow you to treat the host server as just another VS. But I could not add VS or "connect" to the VS. So I am giving up right now. Luckily, freevsd has good uninstallation scripts, so there wasn't any problem. I will try it later.

Peter

Thanks for the wonderful posts, guys. It was very informative. Just a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

First, from what I gathered, there is a two-part installation process. Step one involves actually installing FreeVSD, and part two is the installation of the php scripts that allow the front-end user interface. I may be wrong, so please correct me if I am. The question is...how hard is it to install. I noticed ckpeter had a pretty tough time with the install, and I was wondering how common his experiences are. I'm talking about how it seemed to take over his machine. I couldn't find any install docs (maybe I didn't look hard enough.)

Two has to do with the front-end scripts that allow the interface for the users. Is there anywhere I could see this in action? Does it allow for separate levels of interface? Such as machine administrator (root), VS administrator and end user?

I've got more, but I really want to get to work researching this first. Any bones you want to throw in about different sources would be appreciated.

Ckpeter...if you give this another go, could you keep us updated with the outcome? I'm as giddy as a school-girl here. :)

disclaimer: I could be wrong, refer to ComplexMind as the definitive source.

sbrad,


First, from what I gathered, there is a two-part installation process. Step one involves actually installing FreeVSD, and part two is the installation of the php scripts that allow the front-end user interface. I may be wrong, so please correct me if I am. The question is...how hard is it to install. I noticed ckpeter had a pretty tough time with the install, and I was wondering how common his experiences are. I'm talking about how it seemed to take over his machine. I couldn't find any install docs (maybe I didn't look hard enough.)

Don't get me wrong, the installation was actually very easy, and the install script is very helpful(by the way, if you try to find it, all the programs are in /usr/sbin/, took me a while). Just make sure you don't have any live site, as the installer takes over your host and configurate it as just another VS. It really isn't as bad as it sounds though, as the uninstaller will rollback all the changes.

The problem I encountered is that I cannot connect to the host server, thus I wasn't able to create VS. Also, I couldn't start the host VS's services. However, this could be due to the fact that I am using localdomain.com as my host name. I gave up because I don't have enough time to play around with it.

Under the FTP directory, you should find readme, news, and install. From what I know, that's all the documentation there is.

Strictly speaking, the PHP interface is not necessary, you can do administration with vsdadm.

I only uninstalled part of vsd, here is the command line options to vsdadm(obtained by running vsdadm alone)

apache_vhenum - List all configured VirtualHost declarations
apache_vhdelete - Delete a VirtualHost declaration
apache_vhmodify - Modify a VirtualHost declaration
apache_vhadd - Add a new VirtualHost declaration
apache_vhget - Get the contents of a VirtualHost declaration
apache_htp_grplist - List available .htpasswd access groups
apache_htp_grpadd - Create a new/add users to a .htpasswd access group
apache_htp_grpdel - Delete an existing .htpasswd access group or a user from it
apache_htp_grpget - Retrieve a list of users in a .htpasswd access group
apache_dir_list - List configured Directory blocks for a VirtualHost
apache_dir_add - Add a Directory block to a VirtualHost
apache_dir_del - Delete a Directory block from VirtualHost
apache_dir_get - Get contents of a configured Directory block for a VirtualHost
bind_list - List domains
bind_delete - Delete a domain
bind_get - Get the details for a domain
bind_add - Add a new domain to the name server
bind_namedgen - Re-generate named.conf
bind_rootnamedgen - Re-generate main named.conf index
bind_modify - Modify an existing domain
bind_ipmod - Change an IP address for a domain
bind_ipmodall - Change an IP address for all domains held by a VS
bind_fix - Fix common errors in DNS zone files
bind_fixall - Fix common errors in DNS zone files held by a VS
bind_dbgen - (re)generate domain database
bind_dblist - List domains stored in the exclusion database
bind_dbadd - Add a domain to the exclusion database
bind_dbdelete - Delete a domain from the exclusion database
bind_addvs - Allow a vs to add domains to the name server
bind_deletevs - Delete domains belonging to a virtual server
bind_restorevs - Restore a previously deleted virtual server
bind_modifyvs - Modify a virtual server definition
bind_setttl - Set the TTL for all domains on a virtual server
bind_reload - Reload one or all domains for a virtual server
ca_version - Version information for VSD CA
part_skeladd - Register a new skel within an existing partition
part_skeldel - Unregister an existing skel from a partition
part_setskelglobal - Register the skel 'skel name' to be the global skel
part_delskelglobal - Unregister the skel 'skel name' from the global section
part_skellist - List all of the defined skels
part_setskelvs - Set the skel definition for a virtual server
priv_modify - Set privileges for a user on a virtual server
priv_list - List privileges that are assigned to a user
priv_avail - List all available privileges on a virtual server
quota_vsset - Set disk quota limits for a virtual server
quota_vsget - Get disk quota limits for a virtual server
quota_userget - Get quota limits for a user
quota_userset - Set quota limits for a user
quota_stats - Get quota details for all users on a server
raw_io - Raw protocol access
sendmail_vlist - List e-mail aliases for a domain
sendmail_vmodify - Modify e-mail aliases
sendmail_cwlist - List domains configured in sendmail.cw
sendmail_cwadd - Add a domain to sendmail.cw
sendmail_cwdelete - Delete a domain from sendmail.cw
sendmail_alist - List entries in /etc/aliases
sendmail_amodify - Modify entries in /etc/aliases
tz_list - List available timezones
tz_change - Change timezone for a virtual server
user_add - Create a new user
user_del - Delete a user
user_mod - Modify a user account
user_list - List all users on a virtual server
user_chpass - Change the password for a user
user_gradd - Create a new group
user_grdel - Delete a group
user_grmod - Add/remove a user from a group
user_grlist - List all groups on a virtual server
vd_add - Create a new virtual domain account
vd_delete - Delete a virtual server account
vd_details - Return config details for a virtual server
vd_modify - Modify characteristics of a virtual server
vd_aliasadd - Add a domain alias to an exixting managed domain
vd_aliasdel - Remove a domain alias from a managed domain
vs_create - Create a new virtual server account
vs_delete - Delete a virtual server account
vs_enable - Enable a virtual server account
vs_disable - Disable a virtual server account
vs_details - Return config details for a virtual server
vs_reboot - Restart services on a virtual server
vs_signal - Send a signal to all processes
vs_modify - Modify characteristics of a virtual server
vs_addipalias - Add an IP alias to a virtual server
vs_delipalias - Delete an IP alias from a virtual server
vuser_add - Add virtual user
vuser_del - Delete virtual user
vuser_dfltadd - Add virtual user default forwarder
vuser_dfltdel - Delete virtual user default forwarder
vuser_fwdadd - Add forwarder to virtual user
vuser_fwddel - Delete forwarder from virtual user
vuser_rspadd - Add responder to virtual user
vuser_rspdel - Delete responder from virtual user
vuser_list - List virtual users
vuser_mbxadd - Add virtual user mailbox
vuser_mbxdel - Delete virtual user mailbox
vuser_mbxlist - List virtual user mailboxes
vuser_mbxpass - Change virtual user mailbox password
vuser_mbxenable - Enable virtual user mailbox
vuser_mbxdisable - Disable virtual user mailbox
vuser_msgadd - Add virtual user response message
vuser_msgdel - Delete virtual user response message
vuser_msgget - Get virtual user response message
vuser_msgset - Set virtual user response message
vuser_msglist - List virtual user response messages


Two has to do with the front-end scripts that allow the interface for the users. Is there anywhere I could see this in action? Does it allow for separate levels of interface? Such as machine administrator (root), VS administrator and end user?


I don't think there is any demo. You could always just download the script and look at it yourself. I didn't get to use FreeVSD so I didn't install the script, and I have limited information about it. From what I know, its just a web interface of the vsdadm program. I am not aware of any administration level. You can create VS(I think), modify users, web servers, FTP, mail, etc... See the PHP script page on freevsd.org.


I've got more, but I really want to get to work researching this first. Any bones you want to throw in about different sources would be appreciated.


I can pretty much tell you there is no other sources. A search on google turned out nothing. But Mark(complexmind) was extremely helpful to me, so he is definitly the one to go. Also, on the support section of FreeVSD, there are FAQ lists and mailing list archive.


... I'm as giddy as a school-girl here. :)

:D

Peter

I've had first hand experience with FreeVSD, so I wanted to make a couple observations.

There's a few issues, such as using vsdredirect instead of ipchains, and there's a couple of security issues related to bevs, which I'm not going to go into on here. All in all, it's a good product, but be warned, their corporate "partner" Idaya is trying to heavily push FreeVSD into a commercial market. They also need a better support mechanism (forums, anything) because their mailing list is terribly unorganized.

It's a great alternative to something like VMware, and best suited for someone who wants to provide the closest thing to a dedicated server you can possibly get, to their clients. It has its own common binaries such as SU, passwd, etc.. that allow the Admin user to do common root-tasks like su down to other users, and change other users passwords from the command line. /home, /root, and /tmp are owned by Admin, as is a number of config files in /etc such as httpd.conf, sendmail.cw, aliases, virtusertable, proftpd.conf, logrotate.conf, php.ini, and admin has root access to MySQL. All-in-all.. very powerful, they just need to clean up a few things. :)

Originally posted by ComplexMind
Cool thread guys...

Just to clear up the comments on 'root' access. freeVSD creates a user called 'admin' within each virtual server, and provides this user with enough privileges to compile/install software, edit config files and start/stop processes. Not enough to nuke the entire server, but enough rope to hang themselves with if ya know what I mean ;) Root access is reserved for the server owner...


I wouldn't go quite as far to say that vs admins can "compile" software. As far as I can remember, they don't have that functionality, though I could be wrong. I know for a fact they cannot install rpms. As for root access... user root on a vs is technically seperate from the host root. The VS Root uid is disabled though by default, because the host (server owner) uses a utility 'bevs' (which has some major security concerns) to access all VS's. With some tweaking and hacking, you can theoretically give a trusted user true root access to his/her VS, though it's not recommended.

One cool thing about FreeVSD is it's ability to 'reboot' a VS. An end user can simply type /usr/sbin/rebootvs and kill/restart all processes.

I wouldn't go quite as far to say that vs admins can "compile" software

As far as I am aware there are no issues with admin compiling/installing software, all you need to do is make sure that admin has the 'gcc' privilege enabled. I'll see if I can get one of our developers to clear this up.

As far as RPM installations go, this is not currently possible by the admin user (something to do with the RPM DB I think) but _is_ possible by the root user of the server. From the root of the box, it is possible to install RPM's directly into the skel and make them globally available within VS's, or it is possible to install the RPM directly into a virtual server. It is also possible to chroot (as root user using the bevs command) into the virtual server environment and use RPM locally.

It is just the admin user that cannot use RPM and this will probably be addressed before too long.

LLT, I would be interested to hear what your security concerns are regarding the bevs utility, since as far as I am aware it is secure. :confused:

BTW- thanks for the comments on support. I am currently working on new content for the freeVSD site, and will do what I can do to improve the mailing lists. I would point out, however, that the support offered through the mailing list is free :angel:

Also note that if you need a more structured form of support than the mailing lists, it will soon be possible to purchase a 2xCDROM boxset with full installation support for 30 days. All commercial support will be handled using an email/web based system that will also be available for incident support shortly.

I can't give too much info about the CD right now, but I can tell you that it is based on RedHat 6.2 (inc security errata/patches) plus Bastille Linux plus freeVSD-1.4.10 (latest version), all wrapped up in a nice installer... :cool:

The more feedback we get about shortcomings, the faster we can get the issues fixed. As far as we at Idaya are concerned though, freeVSD-1.4.10 is extremely stable having been tested _extensively_ over the last month or so. We have several well-known ISPs testing the CVS versions right now and the feedback thus far has been very good.

can it use for hosting company??

That's what it was originally designed for ;)

Hmm. I just read all posts .. I have had a free virtual account at DSVR for quite some time now and it works really great :)

I was wondering if it would be stupid to install FreeVSD just for the control panel system and not really for the "virtual dedicateds". It should be able to handle about 250 sites on 1 dedicated..

I want to be able to easily install a control panel system on a dedicated with little Unix knowledge (so the CD-ROM release would be good for me?)

Is FreeVSD best for me or should I use a different control panel system?

Dreas

Although a 'default' freeVSD install won't give you an easy way to do this, all the tools you need are there to do it if you know what you are doing.

We are currently working on a standalone enabler product that will allow you to use the VSD control panels supplied by the project's sponsors (see my sig) with 'normal' Linux/Apache/Sendmail servers.

The tools provided by our sponsors are not web browser based, but native clients running on Windows. We are currently looking at several ways of making the tools cross-platform, but at present most (95% +) users of VSDClient and VSDMail are using Windows. Anyone on a *NIX platform should already have the ability (and possibly even the desire!) to manage things via command line.

Has anyone on here tried the control panels yet? We are about to release the latest 'greatest' versions next week. If anyone is interested in trying them out then let me know and I'll contact you when they're available.

FYI the CDROM (already finished but available next week) release also includes lite versions of the control panel software.

Oh yes, and none of this is on the site yet, ;)

we use freeVSD commercialy and have tried the free version of the windows GUI but as its one domain etc didn't get too much of a feel for it, it's per seat licence may put of a lot of our clients as they tend to work at both home and the office, we have also put a lot of work into the web admin scripts

We would be interested in the 'new' versions and the CD which sounds great for our situation.

Got to say our customers really like freeVSD and we are impressed with it and can see it becoming a core part of our business.

when freeVSD becomes all that it has the potential to be then it will be a world beater

Gary Reid

Some of the main feedback we got last time was with respect to the pricing. At that time the licensing mechanism we used restricted us in some ways from offering practical 'reseller' packages. We've since done a lot of work on the licensing system and we're able to be a lot more flexible for ISP's looking to 'resell' or 'bundle' with the hosting package.

If you like I'll get one of our sales team to give you a call and take you through it all next week? Once it's officially announced...

Other areas we've done a lot of work on is virtual domains (email) and the CA management tools for the SSL authentication/encryption mechanism.

The apps have also undergone a total 'refit' with nicer logos and an overall nicer, sharper feel. I know I make it sound like a new car or something but I work with the software every day ;)

I suppose it's about time I got the demo server up and running again :rolleyes:

Originally posted by ComplexMind

I suppose it's about time I got the demo server up and running again :rolleyes: that would be nice! :cartman:

We've got a few VS servers with DSVR and I have to say that the support/service from DSVR, the FreeVSD software and their control panel are all 110% spot on!

Having followed the mailing list for Freevsd for about 12 months now there are always people posting questions about installing FVSD or using it so gut feeling is that it's slightly tempramental about what it runs on and how. I think you've got to follow the documentation to the letter! BTW the new FAQ's are well worth reading.

My only comment as a potential 'root' user of FreeVSD is that many of the core package seem to need patches etc. We were concerned that we'd be putting the servers at risk by using FreeVSD as it would mean that we couldn't upgrade say sendmail when the latest version came out as we'd have to wait for the FreeVSD version to be prepared? Am I doing it an injustice?

we have managed upgrades of services but its not just as simple as on a straight dedicated server because of the hard links on the skel etc but it is possible. But I suppose it does require a much greater sys admin knowledge than if you were say running a RaQ.

I think the new release 1.4.10 makes it a lot easier to unlink-re-link VS's which should simplify this task as you create a new skel which is patched then link your VS's to the new skel.

So time consuming but possible - as I haven't seen 1.4.10 yet I can't comment on how it has changed

Having followed the mailing list for Freevsd for about 12 months now there are always people posting questions about installing FVSD or using it so gut feeling is that it's slightly tempramental about what it runs on and how.

I can see how you might get that impression, but the reason people use the mailing list is because they are having problems, so it's difficult to get a measure of how many people are successfully using the software as well. We get over 1000 downloads every month and maybe 10 people per month have trouble installing it. The bulk of the queries on our mailing list are advanced setup questions..

The main falling down point is when people install freeVSD on servers that are not 'clean' installations. Usually there was already something broken with the server that prevented things installing properly. Basically, if the system is freshly installed, based on x86/Redhat 6.x/7.x, and the instructions are followed there should be no problems. In fact the CDROM distribution guarantees a perfect install first time with very little user interaction.

My only comment as a potential 'root' user of FreeVSD is that many of the core package seem to need patches etc. We were concerned that we'd be putting the servers at risk by using FreeVSD as it would mean that we couldn't upgrade say sendmail when the latest version came out as we'd have to wait for the FreeVSD version to be prepared? Am I doing it an injustice?

What we have patched is as follows:

2.2.x kernel has been patched to allow proper request redirection and Apache logging.

Glibc has been patched so that the 'hostname' command works properly within virtual servers.

OpenSSH, procps, proFTPd, psmisc, qpopper, sh-utils, util-linux and vm-pop3d have been patched to allow them to be configured by the virtual server administrator as well as root user. The patches are very small, so if you have a requirement for a specific version to be patched it should not pose a problem. The patches may be downloaded seperately from freeVSD if desired.

Note - all of these patches are included in the freeVSD packages and are automatically/already applied so they don't add any complexity to the installation of freeVSD.

Apache, Sendmail, MySQL etc have not been touched at all... A future version of freeVSD will remove the need for any application patching whatsoever. No news on when this will be though...

Bluebox - thanks for your comments. I agree freeVSD does require the root administrator to know their stuff, but most ISPs have ample experience in-house to run freeVSD.

WRT upgrading virtual servers by installing a new skel and re-linking virtual servers from old to new is by far the best way, since it enables you to test your new configuration fully before applying it to production servers. Anyone with shell-scripting skills should be able to automate the whole process. Future versions will provide this ability through the control panels.

Hope this helps :D

Thanks for clearing that up. :-)

complexmind, I saw somehwere(might be thinking of something else) on the site that it works on freebsd with some "tweaking". What kinda tweaking is needed?

how many level those it support?
1. admin
2. reseller
3. domain
4. email user
5. ????

Sorry for disappearing for a few days guys, but I became a daddy for the first time on Tuesday. Check out www.mailforme.co.uk/phoebesworld/ (http://www.mailforme.co.uk/phoebesworld/) if ya want :cool:

complexmind, I saw somehwere(might be thinking of something else) on the site that it works on freebsd with some "tweaking". What kinda tweaking is needed?

Well, some time ago I was told that the only problem was getting freeVSD to work properly with quotas, but I couldn't be 100% sure if that was the only thing. I'll see what I can find out when I get back to work next week...

how many level those it support?

On the freeVSD side, a protocol exists to enable any and all levels of administration, with SSL CA support for the ISP, VS admin, domain name and email users. This protocol is open so you can implement whatever control panel functionality you need.

On the admin client side you have four options:

1) There are some free web admin scripts that provide basic admin functionality for the virtual server user.

2) There is VSDControl, which works at the admin level, allowing you to create/delete virtual servers, manage Apache, Sendmail, BIND, users, quotas, permissions, virtual mail and SSL certs for the VS admins and domain owners.

3) There is VSDClient, which allows you to manage Apache, Sendmail, BIND, users, quotas, permissions, virtual mail within the VS and SSL certs for the domain owners.

4) There is VSDMail, which allows you to manage virtual mail hosted in a VS.

Options 2, 3 and 4 are 'proper' clients that run on win32 platforms. These are our main area of commercial (ie costs real money) development as well as forthcoming extras for CPU/RAM allocation.

Finally, there is something in the pipeline for individual email users but that is all I can say for now. Can't give too much away at this stage...

Drop me a PM if you want any more info, otherwise I run the risk of getting my messages pecked at. (Sorry Chicken ;) )

congratulations complexmind :)

we have found the web admin scripts really easy to adapt and add to, with a bit of php knowledge, and because you can pass multiple commands to the FreeVSD client you can get them to carry out complex multiple tasks very easily.

Originally posted by ComplexMind
Sorry for disappearing for a few days guys, but I became a daddy for the first time on Tuesday. Check out www.mailforme.co.uk/phoebesworld/ (http://www.mailforme.co.uk/phoebesworld/) if ya want :cool: congratulations, a really sweet one! :cartman:

Thanks guys ;) - I just wanted to add something to my last post to make it clearer for Lah_Lah.

2) Is for the ISP
3) Is for the VS admin (Webmaster or reseller)
4) Is for the domain owner

And there will be a 5) before too long...

HTH

ComplexMind: congratulations, a really sweet one!

Thanks.

How about compare to web-cp from can-host.com and webmin??

What is the advantages and disadvantages??

I'm probably not the best person to ask since I'm not actually a user of any other web based admin systems... However, as Bluebox stated earlier in the thread, setting up a decent web admin system set up based on your own needs, but using our basic scripts as an example is a good (and fairly painless) way to go.

WRT the VSDControl, VSDClient and VSDMail products, these applications are not web based admin as such, rather proper applications for Win32 (cross platform before too long hopefully!) to enable faster (instantaneous & multi-threaded), friendlier (looks and feels like a windoze app), more extensible (plugin ability coming fairly soon) administration at all tiers.

When the demo server is up and running I'll drop an invite to the appropriate forum :cool:

the free web admin scripts are a great resource, we easily added a page which just requires, domain name, username and password and it adds the new domain to the webserver, nameserver, mailserver, creates the user with ftp and mail privs, creates his/her home directory and reboots the VS - its easier to add a domain than using webmin or plesk :)

so if you know a little PHP or you know someone who does you can create a really nice control panel for very little if any cost

The actual power lies in FreeVSD because it allows you to pass multiple commands in one string so you can do multiple tasks at once as far as the user is concerned

two questions:

when is the .10 version due out?

Also by clean install, I get what that means, but what exactly do we need to install before the install of freevsd. Basicly does freevsd install apache, bind, etc?

If my server already have few site running, can I just install the Freevsd and catch all the info about the old site??
like dns, web, mail server....

when is the .10 version due out?

freeVSD-1.4.10 is available now on CDROM with installation support; not sure when it will be available via FTP, but I assure you it will...

Also by clean install, I get what that means, but what exactly do we need to install before the install of freevsd. Basicly does freevsd install apache, bind, etc?

The recommended install is a standard Redhat Server installation, which includes most of the apps required, but not MySQL for example.

Once freeVSD is installed (RPM/source) you need to supply a skel which provides the template for virtual servers. The skel can be generated from the image of the main hosting server (supplied perl script which makes all installed apps available to VSs), or a pregenerated one can be obtained from our site including MySQL, phpMyAdmin, Webalizer, PHP etc already installed.

The CDROM takes you from bare metal to a freeVSD system with very little interaction at all. It includes all the Redhat errata plus Bastille Linux to provide a pretty secure system. In my opinion this is the way to go ;)

If my server already have few site running, can I just install the Freevsd and catch all the info about the old site??

In theory it should be fairly straightforward to move any existing sites and settings over, but be warned - by default freeVSD disables (it doesn't uninstall though) certain applications such as Apache, Sendmail and (I think) Telnet from running at the root of the box for security purposes. This is why we suggest NOT installing freeVSD on a box that is being used to host live accounts unless you are prepared for some downtime whilst transferring the sites into virtual servers.

If you really must only use one server then it would be best to do as much preparation as possible in order to minimise any downtime. Good shell scripting skills will go a long way here...

I cannot advise installing freeVSD on a live server :bomb:

Just to add a note to what Bluebox said, the freeVSD protocol is one of the really nice things about freeVSD, and if anyone is interested then I've attached a copy of the protocol description document. Note - it's not complete at the moment - quite a few modules have been added recently...

The protocol is modular, so can support virtually anything you need to do if you've access to a C programmer ;) The protocol is also distributed, so commands issued on any freeVSD system can be issued to any other freeVSD server. Everything is protected by the use of SSL certs/keys for authentication and encryption.

:cool:

Sorry - with attachment this time ;)

AAAARGH! I've removed the attachment because it lost all the line breaks. If anyone wants a copy the PM me with your email address.

Thanks

How much is the cd and where can we get it?

Thanks

Check out our website (http://www.idaya.com/products/freevsd/) for more info and pricing.

Thanks.

Originally posted by ComplexMind
Well, some time ago I was told that the only problem was getting freeVSD to work properly with quotas, but I couldn't be 100% sure if that was the only thing. I'll see what I can find out when I get back to work next week...
Have you found out if there are any other problems with running it on FreeBSD? Has the quota situation been resolved? Do you guys have an INSTALL procedure for installing on a FreeBSD machine where absolutely nothing has been installed? (Use of your own ports in this situation would be fantastic -- you get a completely blank system and you tailor it to your needs from the beginning.) :)

Has anyone else installed it on a FreeBSD machine? How was the experience?

What about CPU throttling? I obviously don't want someone running the dnet client on a virtual server.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but if the users get root access than theres nothing preventing them from doing ping -f

Thanks,
Gabe

I don't believe there is any CPU throttling capability at all.

User's don't get root access - they get an admin account that is about the same as a chroot jail with limited "root" capabilities.

ping is not available in my virtual server on CagedTornado at all.

-t

Without a major kernel hack, CPU throttling isn't available in Linux at all.

FreeVSD is really an application-level virtualizer -- it doesn't virtualize low-level resources like CPU or memory at all (like VMWare or something else might).

Dan