Web Server for HP-UX Enterprise Shop

[Joe Odman]

We are an HP-UX shop with little experience in Linux. But we must run several (6 - 8) web servers with up-to-date security patches. As soon as a vulnerability is detected (usually before the patch is even released) we need to install the fix. We have been running Apache on HP-UX with Service Guard, but it seems few others do that, so we might be on the bleeding edge and have some problems implementing the new release, modPerl, modRewrite, or modSecure, etc.. Should we be running Apache on SUSE?, or RedHat?, with Service Guard?, with Steel Eye? What is the best platform? We can certainly learn Linux if it's the right system.

[Steven E. Protter · Accepted solution]

You can run apache reliably on any of the Unix platforms you listed. If you want serviceguard, I believe you are limited to red hat.

I run a network service provicer, hosting mail and websites off a three server system. The primary server is Red Hat 7.3 running apache 1.3.x The Red Hat update facility gets me the bug fixes in a timely fashion, faster than HP gets them to me for the secondary server which is on HP-UX with Apache 2.0.x

The third web server is running Red Hat 9 with Apache 2.0.x

My servers host a dozen different domains with 100% uptime in the past year. There have been no service complaints on the apache side at all, and only a few minor glitches with sendmail and dns.

Linux has done the job for me and it runs on much chepaer hardware than the HP-UX server, which was a throwaway from my job.

The httpd.conf configuration is compatible between servers if you have the same version of apache running on all machines. You don't lose anything running it on Linux.

SEP

[Joe Odman]

SEP,
What hardware do you use for Linux? How HA is it? Mirrored disk? clustered?, not Service Guard?, etc.. Thanks DHM

[Steven E. Protter]

Dave,

I use a Dell Poweredge SC500 server with 1.2 GB of RAM and two 40 GB hard disks.

I am usin software mirroring on every filesystem to provide raid 1 fault tolerance and performance.

Red Hat 7.3, fully patched.

SEP

[Stuart Browne]

We use ML370's with 5x36G SCSI in RAID5 array's, mirroring data across the network.

Just over 3000 users using a custom apache/php/imap based interface. Only 15-20k hits a day.

No automatic failover just yet, but it's only 2 commands.

Using RH8, and like SEP, the 'up2date' processes to update security issues.

The machines are yawning.

Best platform depends on what you can afford, and what you want to spend.

I have a friend who uses a couple of custom built rack boxes with Celeron 2Ghz's with twin IDE disks, and has no issues. Hosting about 80-90 domains, plus about 2000 mail users.

Depends on the scale of traffic you erxpect.