Author: Justin Palmer

Introduction

Ansible is an IT automation tool intended to facilitate the management of remote servers. Ansible requires Python (version 2.7 or 3.5 and higher) to run. Ansible is run from a centralized control node and can manage any server accessible over SSH. Remote servers that are managed by Ansible are called managed nodes.

What is Elasticsearch?

Elasticsearch is a distributed, open-source, full-text search engine which provides multi-tenant capabilities for analyzing multiple data types. It stores and indexes data shipped from sources like Logstash or Kibana. Elasticsearch can then be queried for specific data to return useful information about a particular application, log analysis, application performance data, or other information. 

If you are hosting more than one site on a server, then you most likely use Apache’s virtual host files to state which domain should be served out. Name based virtual hosts are one of the methods used to resolve site requests. This means that when someone views your site the request will travel to the server, which in turn, will determine which site’s files to serve out based on the domain name. Using this method you'll be able to host multiple sites on one server with the same IP. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to set up your virtual host file for each of your domains on an Ubuntu 18.04 VPS server.

IPython is a robust Python shell that handles indentation, syntax highlighting, tab completion, and more. In this tutorial, we will cover how to install IPython and walk through how to make use of some features it makes available. Python provides a default REPL or shell for users to run Python code in real-time and see the results. While this default REPL is extremely useful, it does not handle things like indentation, syntax, or highlighting. This is where Ipython shines.

If you’re using a Windows-based server to host your content, you may be using Microsoft’s database server product, Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL). However, licensing restrictions can make using MSSQL difficult, especially for small businesses. Microsoft offers a free version of MSSQL called MSSQL Express that will be suitable for many users, but this version does have limitations on database size and memory usage. If you need a more robust database solution but want to try something with a lower cost (like a free, open-source database server), you could try running MySQL database server on Windows.

Python is fast becoming one of the most popular programming languages worldwide. Its low entry barrier for new programmers and simple, elegant syntax makes it a fantastic language to start learning. Python is excellent for task automation, and thankfully most Linux distributions come with Python installed right out of the box. This is true of Ubuntu 18.04; however, the Python package distributed with Ubuntu 18.04 is version 3.6.8. This article will cover how to install a newer version of Python, specifically, the latest stable version 3.8.3.

Performing an upgrade to PHP on Windows Server

Keeping your software and applications up to date is a crucial part of maintaining security and stability in your web hosting systems. Unfortunately, updating system components and back-end software can sometimes be a frustrating and a difficult process. However, thanks to Microsoft’s Web Platform Installer, upgrading PHP on a Windows server with IIS is as simple as a few clicks.

Pyenv is an outstanding tool for managing multiple Python installations. Pyenv-virtualenv is a pyenv plugin that facilitates the creation and management of Python virtual environments with pyenv. This is a compelling proposition, making it possible to manage multiple Python versions with pyenv and provide the means to control the Python environment in a more granular manner.

What is Gradle?

Gradle is a high-performance open-source build automation tool that makes it possible to build just about any type of software. It is highly configurable and extensible via a well-developed plugin ecosystem. Because build automation is an integral part of the consistent delivery of software projects, Gradle integrates seamlessly with multiple IDE’s, including Android Studio. This tutorial covers the manual installation of Gradle on Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

What is Pyenv?

Pyenv is a fantastic tool for installing and managing multiple Python versions. It enables a developer to quickly gain access to newer versions of Python and keeps the system clean and free of unnecessary package bloat. It also offers the ability to quickly switch from one version of Python to another, as well as specify the version of Python a given project uses and can automatically switch to that version. This tutorial covers how to install pyenv on Ubuntu 18.04.