So I've just trashed a perfectly good, working server install. That's right, I threw it all away, and for what you ask? For you gentle reader... and because I found a new toy that I wanted to play with, puppet.
Puppet is a configuration management tool, Adobe use it to manage their hadoop cluster and it was something I knew I wanted to look at when it came time to start to manage mine. It wasn't really until I came to the process of writing down all the steps I took setting my server up, so I could reproduce the process if necessary that it occurred to me puppet was something I could should use.
The previous post I'd partly written for today was about the process of getting my server, updating it to Ubuntu 10.04 and generally getting started. Basically I was breaking the steps I took setting my server up into bite sized chunks and them writing down, from memory.
For general background see yesterday's post, most of that still applies. Also reading the Atlassian Dragon Quest is useful background, the biggest difference between that and my install is probably that I'm using MySQL instead of Postgress. There isn't any real reason except I'm familiar with it and so tend to prefer it. I'll also be using hudson, not bamboo - I don't have anything against Bamboo specifically, but 10 plans wont be enough for me and I'm not willing to splash the extra cash to get more when hudson is free and in some respects better suits my needs.
On top of the Atlassian stuff I'm also installing nexus, putting everything behind nginx so that it shows up neatly as a single host and locking most of the site away behind client SSL certificates. With a few holes poked through for public services.
I also assume you've got a domain and that it's properly pointed at the server. I'll be using dev.andrewmccall.com throughout - which coincidentally, is mine.
So, without further ado, let's get going.
The Server
I had a look around at the cost of servers, thought about hosting things at amazon, rackspace or elsewhere in the cloud but in the end settled on a hosted server at Server4You. It was recommended by a friend as fairly cheap and reliable, the server is in the EU so it's quicker for me to access than going across the atlantic.
The signup process was fairly painless, I even got a phone call from a real person welcoming me and telling me my server would be online soon. After a few hours I got an email telling me it was online and ready to go. I just had to log in and select my OS.
I logged in and was unsurprised to find that Server4You, like most most hosting companies, seem to only offer Ubuntu 8.10 LTS, so I installed the Ubuntu 8.04 LTS - LAMP - 64bit image. The same image I'm in the process of overwriting my fully setup server with right now.
It can take up to 2 hours, so I'm going to call it a night at that and I'll carry on tomorrow.
