RE: Virtual Domain Solution
On Sat, 8 Jul 2000, Mike Bennett wrote:
>
> - The small ones do it all manually. This is a nightmare as numbers grow.
Something like I did, a little script here and there, various things
configured such that it is easier to copy and paste than work out the
programming logic, with hard coded IP Addresses, Modem Identifiers
Accounting Info/etc. all over the place in our own mix of applications.
> > "Add a new domain and virtual web server".
> >
> > The software could handle that. They don't necessarily need to know that this
> > task involves manipulating DNS zone files and adding a virtual host entry to a
> > web server. The software should handle those real things.
On Fri, 7 Jul 2000 cfm@maine.com wrote:
> That's really not too hard. Tedious yes because there are endless
> things to do. And we've been at it seven years.
>
> Our system is build around mysql and an ncurses interface. It's really
> just selecting account records and passing arguments to perl scripts.
> The front office can register domains, add users, change passwords,
> install mailmaps and so forth. Trust me, they are not technical. :^)
I've followed the same approach using a Web Page interface. The Admin
guys are really just making MySQL database entries. System programs
(those scripts :-) read the data and do the dirty work. Some programs are
run through cron ... or I get an email request. Log what gets done when.
> I can share with you our huge mistake: we started with account=unix userid.
> Don't do that! Now we have master accounts that have secondary accounts;
> those may have any number of services attached.
100% solid advise. Have your system generate a unique ID for a new
account to use as a primary DB key and tie all your account records to it.
Permanently retire the ID when the account laspses. Let your accounting
people worry about whether or not accounts are paid and you worry about
keeping the service records in sync with the accounting ones.
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Gerard MacNeil, P. Eng macneil@supercity.ns.ca
System Administrator
Supercity Internet Services http://www.supercity.ns.ca
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