8.1 Hacks #76-100

Linux is a powerful platform for building information servers. But the information systems themselves are rarely a part of Linux. Usually, Linux is simply a "life support system" for more complicated, dedicated information services.

In this final section, we'll look at three major applications. They all run quite well on Linux and have become the backbone of Internet information services. BIND (by the Internet Software Consortium) is by far the most common DNS information server on the planet, serving the Domain Name to IP address information that keeps the Internet running. For more generic information needs, MySQL is a very lightweight, fast, and scalable SQL database that drives many enterprise network applications. Finally, when it comes to serving information to users, Apache is by far the most popular web server on the planet. Apache is run on more servers than all of the rest of the known web servers combined and for good reason: it is mature, stable, fast, and full of useful and interesting features.

If you're looking for more information about running any of these packages, consult the online documentation for each. These applications are running the current incarnation of the Internet, and have been widely and extensively documented. In addition, O'Reilly has a number of good books on all three applications, such as DNS and Bind, MySQL Reference Manual, and Apache: The Definitive Guide to name a few. MySQL by Paul DuBois (New Riders) is also an excellent guide to running MySQL.

In the following hacks, we'll see some non-obvious techniques for getting these servers to deliver information the way you want them. We will take a look at some methods for making them scale to large installations, while keeping maintenance of even very complex sites to a minimum.