webjames

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EC2 + nginx + Wordpress + Varnish + Ubuntu

AWS EC2 + Nginx + Wordpress + Varnish + Ubuntu, or how to host a Wordpress blog for free for one year with an AWS EC2 micro instance using nginx, Varnish caching, and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

First spin up a fresh instance of Ubuntu 12.04, this should only take a few minutes. Right click on your new instance and click 'Connect'. This should give you a few different ways of ssh'ing into your new instance. I use a Mac, so I chose the 'native' option, but if you are on Windows you can use PuTTy.

Note: The username amazon provides you is 'root' this should actually read 'ubuntu'.

Step One - MySQL

We're going to install nginx first. We're using nginx because it seems faster than Apache, especially on lower memory instances. As we are going to be running most of these commands as root run the following to switch to root:

sudo -i

And then install MySQL with:

apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client

This will prompt you to set, and confirm your 'root' SQL password - remember this.

Step Two - nginx

Engine-x or nginx is gaining popularity and is used by some fairly huge sites. Let's install nginx using the following:

apt-get install nginx

You can start nginx after it's installed: 

/etc/init.d/nginx start

You should now be able to see your 'Welcome to nginx!' page by visiting your Public DNS URL, mine looked like this:

ec2-XX-XXX-XXX-XX.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com

A note on firewalls Now we've started nginx we should start a firewall. I use 'ufw', you can configure it with the following commands to allow SSH, and HTTP traffic:

ufw allow ssh
ufw allow http
ufw enable

And you can check the status of it by typing:

ufw status

You also need to add a rule to allow HTTP traffic on your EC2 security group. This is simple using the AWS web interface.

Step Three - PHP

We can install PHP through PHP-FPM, and we'll also install the mysql extension. Run this to install it:

apt-get install php5-fpm php5-mysql

Step Four - Configuring nginx

nginx hosts are configured much the same as apache's, this is using configuration files. The defaults in Ubuntu are:

/etc/nginx/sites-available/
/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

You should edit and create your configuration files in the 'sites-available' directory, and then symlink them in the 'sites-enabled' directory.

Lets take a look at the default configuration. Run this command to open it up:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

There's a couple of things we need to add/edit to make nginx work with PHP. Add 'index.php' to this line, like so:

index index.html index.htm index.php;

And then uncomment the following so the lines below are active, like so:

location ~ \.php$ {
  fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
  fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;
  fastcgi_index index.php;
  include fastcgi_params;
}

We also need to change the PHP configuration to use the Unix Socket as specified in our default configuration. 

nano /etc/php5/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

And then find the line:

listen = 127.0.0.1:9000

and replace it with:

listen = /var/run/php5-fpm.sock

Now we've made these changes it's time to restart php5-fpm and nginx:

/etc/init.d/php5-fpm restart
/etc/init.d/nginx restart

At this point we can test if php is working by adding the following:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

Into a file using this command:

nano /usr/share/nginx/www/info.php

Now you should be able to see the PHP info page by going to:

ec2-XX-XXX-XXX-XX.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/info.php

We're now confident that we're got nginx working with PHP and we can see the results! WOO!

Step Five - Installing Wordpress

This is where we will install Wordpress.

Creating a host

We'll assume that you don't want to use the default nginx configuration, so we'll create our own. I'll use the example 'www.example.com', you just need to change this to match your domain. Lets create a configuration file with this command:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/www.example.com

And then copy this configuration into it, after changing the domain:

server {
   listen 80;
   server_name www.example.com example.com;
   root /var/www/www.example.com/public_html;
   if ($http_host != "www.example.com") {
             rewrite ^ http://www.example.com$request_uri permanent;
   }
   index index.php index.html;
   location = /favicon.ico {
            log_not_found off;
            access_log off;
   }
   location = /robots.txt {
            allow all;
            log_not_found off;
            access_log off;
   }
   # Deny all attempts to access hidden files such as .htaccess, .htpasswd, .DS_Store (Mac).
   location ~ /\. {
            deny all;
            access_log off;
            log_not_found off;
   }
   location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
   }
   # Add trailing slash to */wp-admin requests.
   rewrite /wp-admin$ $scheme://$host$uri/ permanent;
   location ~*  \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|css|js|ico)$ {
            expires max;
            log_not_found off;
   }
   location ~ \.php$ {
            try_files $uri =404;
            include /etc/nginx/fastcgi_params;
            fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
   }
}

Enabling the host

Now lets sym-link the site to enable it, and we'll also remove the default configuration:

cd /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/www.example.com www.example.com
rm default

And reload nginx

/etc/init.d/nginx reload

Note: There's no need to restart nginx when adding another host.

Setting up the web directory

Now we need to set up the web directory as we specified in the host configuration file:

mkdir -p /var/www/www.example.com/public_html

Setting up MySQL

We'll now create and setup the database and create a Wordpress username/password, in this example I will call the database 'wordpress' the username will be 'wpuser' and the password 'wppassword' - please replace these with your own values when configuring yours.

Creating the database:

mysqladmin -u root -p create wordpress

Adding the User

Log onto the mysql command line with your password which you chose earlier and this command:

mysql -u root -p

Run these lines to add your new wordpress user:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'wp_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost.localdomain' IDENTIFIED BY 'wp_password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
quit;

Installing Wordpress

We'll finally install Wordpress! YAY! First lets download it into a temporary folder, and then move it to the right place:

cd /tmp
wget http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar xvfz latest.tar.gz
cd wordpress/
mv * /var/www/www.example.com/public_html/

Now we'll allow nginx able to write to the directory so Wordpress can modify its configuration files:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/www.example.com/public_html/

Wordpress comes with a sample configuration file, we'll use it, but we just need to move it into place with:

mv /var/www/www.example.com/public_html/wp-config-sample.php /var/www/www.example.com/public_html/wp-config.php

Now let's add our sql setting:

nano /var/www/www.example.com/public_html/wp-config.php

Now add your credentials:

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress');
/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'wp_user');
/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'wp_password');

Step Six - Launching Wordpress - First Time

To run the first time setup on Wordpress you should now visit:

http://www.example.com/wp-admin/install.php

BOOM - you should see Wordpress, enter the site name, username (don't use admin) and password. You should now be able to log onto Wordpress.

Step Seven - Varnish

Now when we set up nginx, and we're got Wordpress setup it's now time to get Varnish installed. By default nginx will be running on port 80, however we want Varnish to sit infront of Wordpress, we need to change our nginx configuration to listen to a different port:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/www.example.com

And edit so it reads:

listen 127.0.0.1:8080;

This now means that we can run Varnish on port 80.

Installing Varnish

Install Varnish with the following:

curl http://repo.varnish-cache.org/debian/GPG-key.txt | apt-key add -
echo "deb http://repo.varnish-cache.org/ubuntu/ lucid varnish-3.0" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update
apt-get install varnish

Configuring Varnish

We need to set Varnish to listen on port 80:

nano /etc/default/varnish

Then change this line so it reads like so:

DAEMON_OPTS="-a :80 \

Now we edit the default Varnish configuration file:

nano /etc/varnish/default.vcl

Add edit the file so it looks like this:

backend default {
.host = "127.0.0.1";
.port = "8080";
}
# Drop any cookies sent to Wordpress.
sub vcl_recv {
    if (!(req.url ~ "wp-(login|admin)")) {
        unset req.http.cookie;
    }
}

# Drop any cookies Wordpress tries to send back to the client.
sub vcl_fetch {
    if (!(req.url ~ "wp-(login|admin)")) {
        unset beresp.http.set-cookie;
    }
}

Now Varnish is configured we need to restart it and nginx with this command: /etc/init.d/nginx restart /etc/init.d/varnish restart

Finishing up

I would suggest that you install the W3 Total Cache Wordpress plugin which will purge the Varnish cache when you publish a post. You should enable the following to get best results:

  • Page Cache: Enabled - Opcode: Alternative PHP Cache (APC)
  • Object Cache: Enabled - Opcode: Alternative PHP Cache (APC)
  • Browser Cache: Enabled
  • Varnish: Enabled - Varnish Servers: localhost

Conclusion

Hopefully this should get you going with your set up. There is lots left out of this guide in terms of configuring Wordpress, and more advanced Varnish configurations with support for a wider array of setups however this is all out of the scope of this guide. Google is your friend for taking this set up further.

Keep in touch

If you find anything wrong, or are having trouble shoot me an email and i'll try my best to keep this up to date with your comment and suggestions.

Rancilio MD 50 - a dirty grinder made good again.

This should hopefully aid anyone who has purchased a old (or new, they haven't changed much at all) Rancilio MD 50, or Rancilio MD 40, or perhaps even a Rancilio Rocky - as i would imagine that they are somewhat similar in design.

I purchased my grinder, the Rancilio MD 50, from a popular auction site, then went to collect it. It was made in 1994, but had been left unused for at least 5 years. Most of the parts were present, but it was very dirty and the burrs had seized during their time of storage.

Steps to disassemble

  • 1. First remove the top hopper, this is simple, remove the four visible screws within the hopper, there is a bit of plastic which sits within the hopper which has a magnet on the underside - i guess to catch any screws which might fall deeper into the machine, or to stop any magnetic metals which might find themselves in your beans. This is the first indicator of how well made this machine is.

  • 2. Scoop out any remaining beans from the grinding mechanism - this should reveil the brass top burr housing complete with arrows directing you in the direction in which you should unscrew this top burr, before taking off the top burr you will need to remove the circlip from the grinder ajustment wheel and pop that off. The top burr housing was completely fused due to heavy usage then dormancy for a few years prior to the grinder coming into my ownership - i found a quick tap with a plastic hammer jolted it free.

Note: The top burr unscrews in a normal anti-clockwise way, not, as i'm led to believe clockwise which is normal in the Mazzer grinders.

  • 3. Once you have this top burr off you will now be able to see the extent of the grinding mechanism - when i peered down into this i knew that a deeper clean would be needed. If you are just replacing the burrs you are nearly done. The next step is to remove the large nut which secures the lower burr, this is made slightly difficult as the botton burr is free to rotate, i found that by placing a screwdriver into the mechanism into the exit chute you could jam the grinder from turning, and therefore loosen the nut and washer. Once the nut is removed the lower burr and housing should come out.

Note: At this stage if you are just performing a burr replacement then this is all you need to do. Simply unscrew the bottom and top burrs from their housing and replace them. I found that it is worth clearing the screw heads of muck before trying to unscrew the burrs as not to risk rounding off the heads.

  • 4. At this point we've got the burrs off - for most this will be enough to service the machine, and replace the burrs. You will be able to see three alan key type bolts now that you have the burr housings out. These secure the motor - leave these bolts for now, we will remove them later. For now flip the machine so that the bottom is exposed.

  • 5. Unscrew the mesh which protects the machine innards. Two screws are visible, and two are joint use, securing the rear rubber feet.

  • 6. At this point you will be able to see four threaded rods. These rods are how the whole machine fits together. The electrics are secured to a metal plate, this is threaded onto two of the rods and bolted down, remove these two bolts next.

  • 7. I used a camera at this stage to take photographs of any wires which i disconnected. I managed to leave most of the wiring in tact however i did detach the mains input into the machine, this is three wires: the earth, ground and live. Disconnect these wires next and remember how the connect them back to the connector.

  • 8. There are four switches used:

  • In the doser at the top there is a paddle which when pushed stops the grinder, this is used to stop the machine when the doser is full.

  • In the bottom of the doser there is a microswitch which starts the grinder every six doses.

  • The manual rocker switch - this starts the grinder going, on mine is it orange on the left on the front of the grinder body.

  • The main power switch, this is on the right side of the grinder.

  • 9. To remove the casing, which is the next step, you need to disconnect the wires from the orange rocker switch, make sure that you take a photograph of how the wires connect into this before taking them out.

  • 10. The next switch to disconnect is the one in the bottom of the doser, i found it best to disconnect the wires inside of the unit rather than at the other end in the doser. To do this i had to trace the wires back, then unscrew a crimp style connector, this released one wire, and simply unplug the second from a connector.

  • *11. * With all this disconnected it should be possible to, unscrew the mains power switch from the base of the unit and remove the base, and then slide the cover off, gently feeding in the wiring loom and doser switching wire through the holes in the casing. You should now be able to see the motor and attached wiring.

  • *12. * With the casing off you can unscrew the motor mounts on the top casing, these are alan type bolts.

Finishing up

Hopefully these steps will have given you enough information to disassemble enough of the grinder that the rest becomes obvious. What struck me was how well made the whole unit is, and how large and heavy the motor was. I reassembled mine and it's grinding coffee with haste and consistency.

Conclusion

I'll give the grinder 10/10

It should be noted, it is big, it is heavy, and it is tall (so tall in fact it wont fit under a standard kitchen cabinets).

However if you want and absolutely fantastic grinder which will last for years then you can do a lot worse than the Rancilio MD 50, and for the price i paid it was cheaper than a new Rancilio Rocky, albeit a little more work to get into a usable condition.