Month: June 2013

Changing and testing Nginx configuration

Table of ContentsConfiguration testing Graceful restartingYou can make adjustment to the Nginx rules and rewrites on MageStack by editing two key files /microcloud/domains/example/domains/example.com/___general /microcloud/domains/example/domains/example.com/___rewrites To make the changes effective, you need to restart Nginx, you can do this either Using … Continue reading

Protecting virtual hosts and directories

Table of ContentsAdding users Subdomains SubdirectoriesYou can block access to your any virtual host using the normal Nginx syntax, in your ___general/example.com.conf file satisfy any; allow x.x.x.x; auth_basic "Login"; auth_basic_user_file /microcloud/data/domains/x/domains/x/___general/.htpasswd; deny all; You should put the .htpasswd in the … Continue reading

Single versus redundant servers

When deploying a solution, there is always the option of choosing between a single "large" server, or two "smaller" servers. The single "large" server usually works out a little more expensive (because of the hardware density and technology) - but … Continue reading

Centralised logging with custom logs

Table of ContentsFile Read UDP Stream FormatYou may have some applications that you wish to be centrally logged (along with the MageStack core applications). You can send any type of file/stream to your central logging server using two methods. Be … Continue reading

CPU Sizing

Table of ContentsConcurrency Individual Page load timeThere are two figures you need to bear in mind when choosing a server, concurrency and page load time. Concurrency is how many customers your server can support at any time. Individual page load … Continue reading

DOS filter rules

Table of ContentsThresholds Identifying requests Search Engines False positives Whitelisting Viewing DOS Hits in KibanaThe denial of service filter works on a basic premise of two rules Dynamic requests Static requests MageStack classifies the type of request using a few … Continue reading

Issuing VPN Bundles

Table of ContentsUser Management Issuing a new bundle Revoking a bundle Re-sending a bundleEach user requires their own VPN bundle and pass-phrase (bundle), no two users can share the same bundle. Sometimes third parties require short-term access, the process is … Continue reading

Debugging with response headers

Table of ContentsEnabling Debug Mode Enabling Whitelist Debug Mode Headers MageStack-Debug MageStack-Area MageStack-Cache MageStack-Cacheable MageStack-Cache-Lifetime MageStack-Cache-Status MageStack-Web-Node MageStack-Tag MageStack-Spdy MageStack-Whitelist-Debug MageStack-Whitelisted-Http-Host MageStack-Whitelisted-Uri MageStack-Whitelisted-Ip MageStack-Whitelisted-Useragent MageStack-PageSpeedMageStack sets a number of different response headers to help you identify how a request is … Continue reading

Controlling Varnish cacheable content

Table of ContentsCustomising TTLs Examples Enable Varnish for dynamic content Enable Varnish for static content Enable Varnish for semi-static content Enable Varnish except for logged in WordPress users Enable Varnish except for WordPress admin Disable Varnish for a real PHP … Continue reading