Multi web-server and multi mailserver setup

[ispcomm]

Hello,

I have a question I wonder about ispconfig: Is it possible to install a cluster of two or more webservers and two or more mailservers ?

I want to be able to have an nginx and apache servers running on different physical servers and direct certain sites to the nginx web server while others to the apache webserver.

For similar reasons I'd like to be able to host mailboxes on two or more servers for space and load balancing purposes.

I cannot see similar setups in the ispconfig "perfect setups".

Thank you
ispcomm

[kendel]

Yes it is possible you can have ISPConfig pick the webserver... but there are 2 problems you will be faced with. One is the FTP, the the other is having the DNS records point to the right web server.

Now the second can be solved easily by using a ReverseProxy (in which if you router is forwarding port 80 to the first webserver, then you add information of domains located on the second webserver using the ReverseProxy feature).

So the idea is you use the first webserver as a base and domains located on the second webserver are being proxied through the first.

As for the ftp, I would be unable to tell you how to split that kind of traffic, I am sure there is a way (maybe even use the same method by defining records in the DNS then defining proxy of those records to the right server)

[till]

I have a question I wonder about ispconfig: Is it possible to install a cluster of two or more webservers and two or more mailservers ?

Yes, thats possible.

I want to be able to have an nginx and apache servers running on different physical servers and direct certain sites to the nginx web server while others to the apache webserver.

Thats possible as well.

For similar reasons I'd like to be able to host mailboxes on two or more servers for space and load balancing purposes.

Thats also possible.

I cannot see similar setups in the ispconfig "perfect setups".

The guides are available on ispconfig.org: See here:

http://www.howtoforge.com/multiserve...th-ispconfig-3

http://www.howtoforge.com/installing...th-ispconfig-3

Just combine the two guides.

Regarding kendels post: A proxy is only required if your servers dont have external IP addresses. If all servers are reachable over the internet, then you have to point the dns records for the apache sites to the apache server and the nginx sites to the nginx server without needing any kind of proxy.

[ispcomm]

So, I must install a first server running all services and then configure one or more slave servers for the specific services (web/mail) and connect them to the master server.

The first server will be running the ispconfig panel while the others will only have required services only.

is this correct?

[till]

If the first server shall provide only the controlpanel and no services, then you you dont have to install all services on it. For a controlpanel only server you need just mysql, php and apache and fail2ban.

[ispcomm]

Originally Posted by till

If the first server shall provide only the controlpanel and no services, then you you dont have to install all services on it. For a controlpanel only server you need just mysql, php and apache and fail2ban.

Ok, I think I'm getting the basic idea. You install the services and then use ispconfig to configure them. There are 2 options for a server: Being stand-alone and being a slave to some other server.

When a server is a slave it mirrors data from it's master (as in DNS primary/secondary server). A slave webserver can be used to HA using haproxy or some other cache (varnish etc).

When a server is a master, it can be used to install a site for a domain, host a mailserver (postfix+dovecot) and so on.

I have another question regarding DNS service. Looking at a minimal setup of 2 servers (bare metal with no VM installed) I envision the need to run all services on both servers, where one of them will be running also the ispconfig web interface, while DNS will be shared.

I agree that the above setup is less than optimal and that a better setup would be using openvz containers to isolate different services talking to each other on a private network while exposing only the bare services outside on a public network.