Dumb compile question - on live server?

[Jonathan <jo...@driftwood.net>]

We have a production RH 6.2 server with RH's "Secure Web" server, and need 
to recompile Apache to include Front Page extensions for a client.

Dumb question to some, I know, but I'm compelled & paranoid enough to ask:

Can we safely compile & install the newest verion of Apache (1.3.23) on a 
live - in production - web server?   Is it really as simple as installing 
the fresh sources, config/make/install the binary, and restarting 
Apache?  We really only seem to need mod_ssl, mod_perl and FP; but can't 
get FP witout recompiling.

Anxious to not interupt the active sites on the server, nor paint ourselves 
into a corner via overwriting anything.  But I would rather avoid having to 
build up a new box, doing the compile, and migrating the sites manually.

It'll be my first Apache compile (yeah!).  On a twin 1.7g CPU, 1-gig RAM, 
UW-SCSI firebreather.  So any relevant optimization (or links to) settings 
anyone can recommend for twin-CPU boxes would be also sincerely appreciated.

Thanks!

Jon



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Re: Dumb compile question - on live server?

[Owen Boyle <ob...@bourse.ch>]

Jonathan wrote:
> 
> We have a production RH 6.2 server with RH's "Secure Web" server, and need
> to recompile Apache to include Front Page extensions for a client.
> 
> Dumb question to some, I know, but I'm compelled & paranoid enough to ask:
> 
> Can we safely compile & install the newest verion of Apache (1.3.23) on a
> live - in production - web server?   Is it really as simple as installing
> the fresh sources, config/make/install the binary, and restarting
> Apache?  We really only seem to need mod_ssl, mod_perl and FP; but can't
> get FP witout recompiling.
> 
> Anxious to not interupt the active sites on the server, nor paint ourselves
> into a corner via overwriting anything.  But I would rather avoid having to
> build up a new box, doing the compile, and migrating the sites manually.
> 
> It'll be my first Apache compile (yeah!).  On a twin 1.7g CPU, 1-gig RAM,
> UW-SCSI firebreather.  So any relevant optimization (or links to) settings
> anyone can recommend for twin-CPU boxes would be also sincerely appreciated.

This would be a scary thing to do - especially with FP which is,
arguably, the worst thing you will ever have to compile into apache. 

Is it not possible to build the FP-apache on another, less critical
machine? even if the machines are not binary compatible, you could at
least verify that the compiled executable works before working on the
production server. 

When you do work on the production machine, I would certain *stop*
apache before overwriting the binary. Remember that the parent process
uses the binary to instantiate new httpd daemons and if the binary has
changed you will get a very funny error (I think it seg-faults). 

Rgds,

Owen Boyle.

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