Fun with Apache 2 and help from helpful sources

After I got the major work things out of the way and while I was waiting for a matter to come back to me I had some time to look at the major differences of running a Snort IDS sensor on Debian 5. First and foremost, I found I had a bit of a learning curve going from the webserver Apache 1.x to Apache 2. One of those was the modular setup that Apache 2 and how a seperate SSL package wasn't nessesary. But it was not without its problem to work out.

A half hour into a reload this evening I could only get regular HTTP web traffic to work, but no TLS/SSL-encrypted web sessions. Later today I had to watch Jason while dinner was being made and I can say he helped me figure out the problem.

While I was studying how to enable 'sites' in Apache 2, Jason was sitting on my lap and looking around the desk. I was lucky in getting a few nice pictures like this one at the time. Soon thereafter I made a breakthrough and I got the Apache2 SSL issue fixed.

I can also report that it may not be possible to pack in the standard Debian install, Apache 2, Snort, and MySQL and assorted networking tools into a 450-Mb parition. (Yes, I was trying to sqeeze in the install into a small compact-flash (CF) card, but it just means I need to use my 4 Gb CF card!)