Old:4.0-Mona: Introduction
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4-Mona: Introduction | Install | Security features | Enable SSL | Multi-Servers | UniController | UniTray | Security and passwords | Known Issues | Support
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| 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
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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.
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V4.0-Mona Structure Overview
The following provides a quick overview of 4-Mona's main server areas.
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A) Top-Level
C) CGI Scripts
E) Secure Web Root Folder
H) Web Root Folder
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B) USB Disk-root
D) Plugins Folder
F) Bin Folder
G) Local Folder
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UniController V2 (V2.1)
UniController:
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Apart from test all buttons perform what’s displayed.
Note: Upgraded to V2.1 in V4.1-Mona (bug fix associated with running multi-servers) |
UniTray and Apanel
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Apanel:
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UniTray:
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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 |
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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). | |
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AWStats is a free powerful and fully featured tool that generates advanced server statistics, graphically. | |
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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). | |
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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.. | |
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Adds FileZilla Server to 4.1-Mona Supports all three-installation modes. Core portable-FileFillaFTPd can be used independently of UniServer. | |
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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) | |
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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
- 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.
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.