Configuration instructions for deploying my rails project

s0700157_rails_config.md

Configuring a Rails Server

Assuming Kerberos is set up, and Apache (or nginx) and MySQL (or other db) are installed, this guide should work fine. NOTE: RVM needs to be installed via sudo, not directly as root.

1. Prepare installation of RVM:

   1. install build tools such as build-essential
   2. install git

2. Follow the instructions found here: https://rvm.beginrescueend.com/rvm/install for multi-user install. Although this installs it for all users locally, we need to add the lines specified in step 2 to the top of /etc/bash.bashrc, ensuring that rvm and all $PATHs work over ssh.

3. rvmsudo rvm install 1.9.2 followed by rvmsudo rvm use --default 1.9.2. These should make sure that all users are now using ruby 1.9.2 - easily checkable by logging in as a non-root user and doing which ruby (which should include rvm in the path somewhere), or ruby -v.

4. sudo gem install rails. This should install rails 3.

5. Install node.js (or some other javascript executable, see https://github.com/sstephenson/execjs for a list of supported runtimes). Node.js has handy source-building instructions available at http://apptob.org.

6. Install the passenger module:

   1. sudo gem install passenger
   2. sudo passenger-install-apache2-module (or -nginx-module if nginx is the web server). May be required to install missing software.
   3. Install any dependencies listed for ''Ruby''.

7. Configure Apache/Nginx. Add a virtual host entry (example for apache):

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName whateveritshouldbecalled
       DocumentRoot /var/www/foldername/current/public
       <Directory /var/www/foldername/current/public>
           Order allow,deny
           Allow from all
           Options -MultiViews
       </Directory>
   </VirtualHost>
   

   Make sure this host is marked as enabled. It should be noted that only the /var/www/foldername needs to be created, current/public gets created when I deploy the files. /var/www/foldername needs to be world readable, and writable by me (s0700157).

8. Create a database, and grant all privileges on it to a new user with a password.

Then I simply need to know the /var/www/foldername path, the database user and password, and to be able to ssh into the machine. It should all work fine from there!