Old:4.0-Mona: Introduction

The Uniform Server 4-Mona

The Uniform Server 4-Mona

The Uniform Server’s architecture is resilient and has stood the test of time; 4-Mona enhances this by offering several installation options along with integrated SSL support. All main components have been upgraded to the latest stable versions.

Note: 4.1-Mona contains core component updates and enhancements.

Note: 4.2-Mona contains core component security updates and bug fixes. - Recommended upgrade

New features

Integrated SSL support Automated self-signed Certificate and Key generation Name/password access to secure server UniController V2 includes diagnostics MySQL Password recovery All main components upgraded

Root drive installation (does not require a virtual drive) Automatic free-drive detection Two new batch files for root drive control. Running multi-servers on same PC New UniTray plugin Apanel updated.

The following provides an overview of each new feature before looking at these; I have provided a list of the older Uniform Server versions for comparison.

The Uniform Server releases

For reference, I have shown the current Uniform Server stable releases and their main components.

Uniform Server 3.2a   Apache 2.0.54 MySQL 4.1.12a PHP 5.0.4   phpMyAdmin 2.6.3-rc1 ActivePerl 5.8.7.813	Uniform Server 3.3   Apache 2.0.55 MySQL 5.0.17 PHP & Extensions 5.1.1 phpMyBackupPro 1.7.1 phpMyAdmin 2.6.4-pl4 ActivePerl 5.8.7.815	Uniform Server 3.5 Apollo   Apache 2.0.59 MySQL 5.0.37 PHP Version 5.2.3 phpMyBackupPro v.2.1 phpMyAdmin 2.10.2 ActivePerl 5.8.8.820 eAccelerator 0.9.5.1	Uniform Server 4.0 Mona   Apache 2.2.11 MySQL 5.1.30-community PHP 5.2.8 phpMyAdmin 3.0.1.1 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1003 eAccelerator 0.9.5.3 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098j)
Uniform Server 4.1 Mona   Apache 2.2.11 MySQL 5.1.33-community PHP 5.2.9-1 phpMyAdmin 3.1.3.1 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 30953_5.2.9.1 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098k)	Uniform Server 4.2 Mona   Apache 2.2.11 MySQL 5.1.34-community PHP 5.2.9-2 phpMyAdmin 3.1.3.1 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 30953_5.2.9.2 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098k)	Uniform Server 4.3 Mona   Apache 2.2.11 MySQL 5.1.35-community PHP 5.2.10 phpMyAdmin 3.2.0 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 30953_5.2.10 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098k)	Uniform Server 4.4-Mona   Apache 2.2.13 MySQL 5.1.38-community PHP 5.3.0 phpMyAdmin 3.2.2-rc1 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 0.9.6-rc1 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098k)
Uniform Server 4.5-Mona   Apache 2.2.14 MySQL 5.1.41-community PHP 5.3.1 phpMyAdmin 3.2.4 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 0.9.6-rc1 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098l)	Uniform Server 4.5a-Mona   Apache 2.2.14 MySQL 5.1.41-community PHP 5.2.12 phpMyAdmin 3.2.4 ActivePerl 5,10,0,1004 eAccelerator 0.9.6-rc1 SSL pre-installed (ssl_098k)

V4.0-Mona Structure Overview

The following provides a quick overview of 4-Mona's main server areas.

A) Top-Level Server control - Start/Stop servers: Server_Start.bat Stop.bat disk_start.vbs UniController.exe C) CGI Scripts Place all your CGI scripts in this folder Perl Scripts - .pl E) Secure Web Root Folder Place all site/pages to be encrypted in this folder. Uses Open SSL 098i H) Web Root Folder Place all other site/pages in this folder. This is the Standard Web-Server folder

B) USB Disk-root Server control - Start/Stop servers: usb_server_start.bat usb_server_stop.bat D) Plugins Folder key_cert_gen - Scripts to generate new server certificate and key restore_mysql_password - Script to restore MySQL back to root Services - Scripts to install UniServer as a service (copied to C drive) move_servers - (4.1-Mona) Script changes server ports renames equitables F) Bin Folder Location of the PERL interipter G) Local Folder Apache Server, configuration and logfiles. Location of server certificate and key. MySQL Server, configuration file and databases. PHP interpreter and configuration file.

UniController V2 (V2.1)

UniController: Has a minimal user interface and built in diagnostics. Checks server ports in use Has the capability to run multi-servers. Auto-drive detection with option to manually override. Independent control of Apache and MySQL servers Apache configuration syntax check. Option to open a MySQL CMD (command) window.

Apart from test all buttons perform what’s displayed. Test hides its functionality because it supports options that are rarely used. The initial click checks server port status. Then offers a choice to check Apache configuration syntax. Finally offers a choice to run a MySQL prompt. Note: Upgraded to V2.1 in V4.1-Mona (bug fix associated with running multi-servers)

UniTray and Apanel

Apanel: New menu options supporting SSL and MySQL password recovery. Creating a new personal server certificate and key are initiated by a single mouse click. New menu items are found under the Plugin Manager section Restore MySQL password Server Key & Cert Gen

UniTray: New menu options supporting SSL and MySQL password recovery. Creating a new personal server certificate and key are initiated by a single mouse click. UniTray tracks 4.0-Mona's installation modes; Basic, Disk-Root or Service and offers menu items appropriate to that mode.

Note:

The MySQL password should always be set using Apanel setting it with phpMyAdmin results in MySQL lockout.

In this situation use the new MySQL password recovery feature.

Server_Start.bat and Stop.bat

These perform the same function as for 3.5-Apollo in that they start and stop the servers.

Server_Start.bat now supports auto-drive detection this can be overridden to provide a fixed drive letter by either modifying the batch file or passing parameters to the batch file.

New batch files usb_server_start.bat usb_server_stop.bat

These new batch files perform an identical function to the above however they have been configured to run from a drive’s root (top level). The drive can be a hard disk or USB stick this removes the need for a virtual drive. It also offers a small increase in speed.

Note: UniController 2 tracks its location allowing it to run from either disk root or a sub-folder hence only a single version of UniController required.

Running multi-Servers on same PC

The Uniform Server's architecture has always supported running multi-servers however 4-Mona makes this task easier that said you do need to edit some files covered in detail here.

Note: 4.1-Mona new plugin script automates this process.

Related Information

How to install some popular applications

Please note all these applications can be installed and run from a USB memory stick.
Some require a small amount of editing to removed hard coded paths.
Packages that require Cron jobs to be run are catered by a portable-cron this requires three additional files.

Package		Installed Size
Drupal 6.9		51.1 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick - Portable cron
Joomla 1.5.9		64.5 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick
MediaWiki 1.13.3		79.4 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick
Moodle Moodle 1.9.4+		102 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick - Portable cron
WordPress 2.7		52.3 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick
Xoops 2.3.2b		62.6 MB	- Run from a USB memory stick

Plugins

The following lists plugins available for The Uniform Server 4-Mona series:

Plugin Name	Description
UniTray_2	Adds a tray menu control to UniServer-Mona. Supports all three installation modes basic, disk-root and run as service. Supports multi-server installations (requires a single file name change).
UniServer_AWStats	AWStats is a free powerful and fully featured tool that generates advanced server statistics, graphically.
UniServer_CA	UniServer CA is both a plugin and a portable certificate authority (CA). It allows you to sign certificates (server and personal) Intended for Personal Servers and Intranet use. Note: Mona’s ssl.conf file has support for CA and personal certificates in the form of a template (commented lines).
UniServer_CD	Transforms 4.1-Mona into a CD development system. Similar to UniServer_USB uses Portable Firefox plus a PAC file to resolves local web-addresses..
UniServer_FileZillFTPd	Adds FileZilla Server to 4.1-Mona Supports all three-installation modes. Core portable-FileFillaFTPd can be used independently of UniServer.
UniServer_USB	This makes Uniform Server 4.1-Mona totally independent of host PC. Adds portable Firefox. Host browser not required. Uses PAC file to resolve Web addresses “hosts” file not required. (Example of use see tutorial USB MediaWiki for complete step-by-step guide)
UniServer_Zend_Optimizer	Some application encode PHP scripts using Zend Guard to run these scripts on Uniform Server requires the installation of Zend Optimizer. This plugin provides a quick way to install Zend Optimizer on Uniform Server Mona.

Design

1. UniController is based on Unicon with a few enhancements.
   Note:UniController uses my.cnf while Unicon uses my-small.cnf hence are not interchangeable.
   If you wish to recompile UniController2 the instructions are comatible. Source code can be found in folder *\udrive\docs\SRC.

Security related information

The following topics and tutorials show how to harness the power of SSL built into The Uniform Server.

Password protect folders/files plus ssl

Authentication covers Apache’s basic authentication, viable over the Internet when secured using SSL. The techniques shown eliminate the need for additional programming and remove the requirement to have mod-rewrite enabled. A full-blown secure server is not required! Double logins are eliminated.

Run your own CA (Certificate Authority)

UniServer CA Introduction. A complete tutorial how to use UniServer,s CA plugin to create root CA and server certificate for the Apache server. Also covers personal certificates for accessing secure areas of the server.

CAcert

CAcert A complete tutorial on how to obtain a free signed server certificate from CAcert certificate authority.

Other Topic Links

Perl CGI Hello World - Short snippets to get you started with Perl

USB self-contained server - How to avoid the hosts file. Uses V4.0-Mona (V4.1-Mona), Firefox and PAC

Summary

The Uniform Server 4-Mona series is a significant upgrade, including several enhancements. It reminds me of a classic from “Only Fools” where Trigger claims that he's had his road sweeper's broom for 20 years. Then he adds a little gem, that the broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles.

Yep! That applies to 4-Mona, however it still has the look and feel of Uniform Server 3.5 even down to its file structure, so it remains familiar and easy to use. The wealth of material for 3.5 is transferable to 4-Mona.

How to Install 4-Mona

---