This SSL-secured server is now powered by Bytemark Symbiosis!

EDIT: This server is now SSL-secured, thanks again to Symbiosis and free SSL certificates from StartCom!

I’ve finally got my act together and migrated technicalfault.net’s WordPress installation to a Bytemark BigV server that’s running Symbiosis.

Ever since I started working at Bytemark, I’ve hosted this blog on BigV, but I used the convenience of Turnkey Linux to rapidly create a working WordPress installation.

But many of the things that Turnkey took care of for me were easily available on Symbiosis, with the added convenience of it being fully documented to help with the occasional fumbles. My Symbiosis server now happily manages a few different website installations on just one box and setup for email is taken care of automatically.

So too are backups, pretty much. Following my colleague Nathan’s blog post, I finally have a backup approach, though I am missing an offsite component. But since Symbiosis is free/libre open source software, I can even install it on my home server and use it to manage backups. One of Bytemark’s clients has even done a write-up for this use case.

Moving away from Turnkey has also meant I can stop using Webmin and offering a remote web shell. Both of these things were convenient when I was newer to administering a server, but now I personally see them as unnecessary when Symbiosis handles most tasks. I also use SSH without passwords. That said, it was definitely a convenient way to get going quickly and I have another WordPress installation using it that doesn’t need to move anytime soon.

I’m glad that I’ve finally moved across and I’ll be documenting it fully in due course. But for now, it’s safe to say that the migration was surprisingly easy as I was able to copy my entire blog between servers and import the database straight into MySQL. A bit of fiddling with wp-config.php, resetting permissions and I had a working installation.

To conclude, I’ll quote my former colleague Steve: Symbiosis is wonderful. For me, it’s unlocked the power of Linux to achieve complex tasks with just a few terminal commands. I look forward to talking more about it with the wider web community at MozFest later this month.