1and1 VPS Network Settings

[AndyBorrett]

We have purchased the XL VPS package from 1and1 with the intention of moving our 5 website to it rather than having a separate hosting package for each one.

I am really struggling to get the network test to pass due to various reasons, if I get the cgi-bin to be recognised the http bit doesn't work. I am sure we have all got to the point where we can't see the wood for the trees at some point.

I have transferred the domain www.giftmill.co.uk to 1and1 and it is pointing (as far as I know) to a directory called site1. The acatalog directory is called shop.

Here are the latest network settings I am trying - can anyone see what is wrong or perhaps provide a working export of their VPS settings?

HTTPPROXYMODE 0
HTTPPROXYADDRESS
HTTPPROXYPORT 80
HTTPPROXYUSER
HTTPPROXYPASSWORD
FTPPROXYMODE 0
FTPPROXYADDRESS
FTPPROXYPORT 21
FTPPROXYUSER
FTPPROXYPASSWORD
SCRIPTID 1
SCRIPTEXT .pl
SMTPHOST mrvnet.kundenserver.de
WEBSITEURL http://www.giftmill.co.uk/
IGNOREPASSIVEERRORS false
USERELATIVECGIURLS false
PATHTOPERL /usr/bin/perl
USEENHANCEFTP true
FTPCLIENTTIMEOUT 30000
FTPRETRYDELAY 3000
FTPKEEPALIVEINTERVAL 30000
FTPSILENT true
FTPMAXRETRIES 3
FTPCONNECTTIMEOUT 50000
SMTPAUTHREQUIRED false
SMTPUSERNAME
SMTPPASSWORD
COMPRESSIONPACKETSIZE 1024
COMPRESSEDUPLOAD false
CATALOGURL http://www.giftmill.co.uk/shop/
ONLINESTOREFOLDERNAME shop
CGIBINURL http://www.giftmill.co.uk/cgi-bin/
PATHFROMCGITOCATALOG ../site1/shop/
FTPHOST ftp.giftmill.co.uk
FTPUSERNAME
FTPPASSWORD
PATHTOCGIBIN ./cgi-bin/
USEPASSIVEFTP true
FTPPATHFROMCGITOCATALOG ../site1/shop/

[Mike Hughes]

With a multi-site setup a lot of this depends on how your sites are structured on the server and where the ftp login takes you.

So, does the server directory look something like this:

Site1:
- Shop
- CGI-BIN

and when you ftp in do you have to enter the site1 directory to see the shop and cgi-bin directories?

Mike

[AndyBorrett]

I have tried different FTP entry points and what I have now let's me see the cgi-bin.

- cgi-bin
- site1 - shop

If I FTP in at the site1 level then I can't find a setting in Actinic that "sees" the cgi bin

[Mike Hughes]

OK. I have no experience of 1and1 VPS servers but normally I create a cgi-bin with each site directory. That makes life easier as the network setup is then the same as on most other hosting and you avoid potential problems with sharing the cgi-bin amongst several sites.

I would try and create a cgi-bin inside your site1 directory and using that for the perl scripts. On 1and1 shared hosting it will let the scripts run in there. Not sure on a VPS though.

Mike

[AndyBorrett]

Thanks for the advice Mike.
I did try this approach yesterday after reading an old post by Duncan but I couldn't get it working. I emailed and spoke to 1and1 support but they told me the cgi-bin is created automatically when you setup a new webspace - I couldn't find this using either the built in file manager or FileZilla. I will have another go at it this afternoon.

[Buzby]

Andy,

We set up webspace with 1and1 yesterday and had to set up our own cgi-bins.

1and1 told us that we should not do this as script files can run from any folder and there is no need to put them in a seperate folder.

Kind regards

Jason

[AndyBorrett]

Thanks for the info Jason.

I have just tried creating a folder called cgi-bin and given it the correct permissions but get the error message that the script could not run during the network test.

Are you on a VPS or other hosting?

[Buzby]

We are only on the business package as we are not hosting live sites just using it for testing changes etc.

Didn't have trouble running any scripts, just had trouble getting the filepaths correct for the software to run.

We currently use Host-it on live sites and did find 1and1 a lot more complicated to set up, and support staff only give generic answers.

We pay £1200 a year to Host-it, and £60 to 1and1 so I suppose that is where the difference is.

Kind regards

Jason

[AndyBorrett]

Thanks for the extra info.

I am prepared to give 1and1 support and myself another day to try and sort this out then we will have to start looking for alternative hosting again.

[malbro]

Thanks for the extra info.

I am prepared to give 1and1 support and myself another day to try and sort this out then we will have to start looking for alternative hosting again.

I use the 1and1 dedicated server and this works differently to the 1and1 shared servers like business. On the shared servers you set up a folder for site and in that folder you have acatalog (or shop) and a cgi-bin folder.

This does not work on dedicated servers as you have to use the standard cgi-bin which will not be in the folder for your site. You only have one cgi-bin folder so must use different script numbers for each site you want to use. I would expect the VPS to be like the dedicated as I hace a VPS on web fusion that works the same way.

I will dig out the network settings for you.

EDIT

HTTPPROXYMODE	0
HTTPPROXYADDRESS	
HTTPPROXYPORT	80
HTTPPROXYUSER	
HTTPPROXYPASSWORD	
FTPPROXYMODE	0
FTPPROXYADDRESS	
FTPPROXYPORT	21
FTPPROXYUSER 	
FTPPROXYPASSWORD 	
SCRIPTID	1
SCRIPTEXT	.pl
SMTPHOST	mrvnet.kundenserver.de
WEBSITEURL	http://mydomain.co.uk/
IGNOREPASSIVEERRORS	true
USERELATIVECGIURLS	false
PATHTOPERL	/usr/bin/perl
USEENHANCEFTP	false
FTPCLIENTTIMEOUT	15000
FTPRETRYDELAY	3000
FTPKEEPALIVEINTERVAL	30000
FTPSILENT	false
FTPMAXRETRIES	6
FTPCONNECTTIMEOUT	50000
SMTPAUTHREQUIRED	false
SMTPUSERNAME	
SMTPPASSWORD	
COMPRESSIONPACKETSIZE	1024
COMPRESSEDUPLOAD	true
CATALOGURL	http://mydomain.co.uk/acatalog/
ONLINESTOREFOLDERNAME	acatalog
CGIBINURL	http://mydomain.co.uk/cgi-bin/
PATHFROMCGITOCATALOG	../acatalog/
CODEBASE	./
FTPHOST	toddesigns.co.uk
FTPUSERNAME	*************
FTPPASSWORD	*************
PATHTOCGIBIN	/cgi-bin/
USEPASSIVEFTP	true
FTPPATHFROMCGITOCATALOG	../acatalog/

NOTE the difference between the http route to cgi-bin and the ftp route, this is due to the way the server handles the cgi-bin.

[AndyBorrett]

Thanks for the invaluable advice Malcolm.

I don't like to tempt fate but I think I have got everything going now.

1and1 Support is next to useless as they do not answer the questions you ask them and say we should employ a system admin to sort things out.

After re-imaging the VPS (in case I had made any mistakes I was not aware of) and getting FTP working by adding a new rule to the firewall it all seems OK.

For future searchers - I had to set the mail server as giftmill.co.uk rather than any of the usual 1and1 mail servers as it stops the network test from passing complaining about paths to the cgi-bin or time outs.