Now we’re going to start looking into some of those SSH commands.  Today we’ll be going over the commands pkgacct and restorepkg.

Backing up and restoring cPanel account’s is, in my opinion, faster by using the command line as you don’t have to wait for a sometimes sluggish web interface to load.

Let’s get started then, shall we?

Nearly everything that you can do in the WHM backend can be performed via command line.  These scripts are located in your server’s /scripts/ directory.  Only use scripts that have been verified by cPanel, or that you know yourself are safe as an unsafe script may damage your server.

Long list of scripts after the break…

To use any of these scripts, prefix it with /scripts/, for example, to package an account for backup you would type:

/scripts/pkgacct accountusernamehere (replacing that with the account name on your server that you wish to backup)

• build_maxemails_config — Sets limits on the amount of email that users can send from domains on your server. For more information about configuring limits with this script, see our documentation here.
• easyapache — Upgrades and reinstalls Apache.
• phpextensionmgr — Manages PHP extensions.
• *up — Updates a service. We currently provide the following update scripts for the services noted:
  • bandminup — Bandmin application.
  • courierup — Courier mail server.
  • cpaddonsup — cPanel’s addon scripts.
  • dovecotup — Dovecot mail server.
  • eximup — Exim mail exchanger.
  • ftpup — FTP servers (ProFTP and Pure-FTP).
  • imapup — IMAP mail server.
  • mysqlup —MySQL service.
  • nsdup — BIND nameserver.
  • phpup — Current version of PHP.
  • suphpup — SuPHP tool for handling PHP requests.
• restartsrv_* — Restarts a service. We currently provide restart scripts for the following; simply replace the asterisk (*) in restartsrv_* with the term in bold:
  • apache — Apache web server.
  • bind — BIND nameserver software.
  • chkservd — cPanel’s TailWatch log processing service.
  • clamd — ClamAV anti-virus software.
  • courier — Courier mail server.
  • cpdavd — cPanel’s WebDAV server.
  • cppop — cPanel’s POP server.
  • dovecot — Dovecot mail server.
  • entropychat — Entropy chat client.
  • exim — Exim mail exchanger.
  • eximstats — Exim mail statistics tracker.
  • ftpserver — FTP server.
  • httpd — Apache web server.
  • imap — IMAP server.
  • inetd — Super-server daemon for managing Internet services.
  • interchange — Interchange e-commerce software.
  • ipaliases — IP aliasing software.
  • melange — Melange chat client.
  • mysql — MySQL database server.
  • named — BIND nameserver software.
  • nsd — Open-source NSD nameserver daemon.
  • postgres — PostgresSQL database service.
  • postgresql — PostgreSQL database service.
  • proftpd — ProFTP server daemon.
  • pureftpd — Pure-FTP server daemon.
  • rsyslogd — Open-source log forwarder daemon.
  • spamd — Spam-deferral daemon.
  • sshd — Secure shell daemon.
  • syslogd — Log forwarder daemon.
  • tailwatchd — cPanel’s TailWatch log processing service.
  • tomcat — Apache Tomcat service.
  • xinetd — Open-source super-server daemon.
• addpop — Adds a POP account.
• delpop — Removes a POP account.
• wwwacct — Adds a cPanel account.
• killpkg — Removes a package.
• restorepkg — Restores a package.
• cpbackup — Backs up all accounts.
• pkgacct — Handles cPanel packages.
• upcp — Updates cPanel and WHM.
• setupmailserver — Allows you to switch between mailservers.
• setupftpserver — Allows you to switch between FTP servers.
• setupnameserver — Allows switching between DNS servers.
• checkperlmodules — Contains a list of standard CPAN modules to install on cPanel servers. This script is used in conjunction with realperlinstaller, below. This script can be used with the following arguments:
  • –force will reinstall everymodule regardless of whether or not it is working.
  • –full will ensure that all modules are present as opposed to only checking for essential modules.
• realperlinstaller — A wrapper script that automates the installation of Perl CPAN modules.
• suspendacct — Suspends an account.
• unsuspendacct — Unsuspends an account.
• runweblogs — Updates statistics for a user.
• runstatsonce — Updates statistics for all users.
• makecppphp — Re-installs cPanel’s internal PHP.
• portsup — Updates ports (FreeBSD® systems only).

Have any questions about any of these commands, what they are or what they do, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and we’ll get back to you!

Note:  This tutorial is written as of RKHunter v1.3.4.  Always make sure that you’re installing the latest version for best results.

First we’re going to download the script, extract it, and begin the installer.  Copy this code and paste it into your SSH window.

wget http://garr.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/rkhunter/rkhunter-1.3.4.tar.gz
tar -zxvf rkhunter-1.3.4.tar.gz
cd rkhunter-1.3.4
./installer.sh

Hard right?  Guess what, that’s it for the installation!  Next you can run a scan by pasting the following line into your SSH window:

/usr/local/bin/rkhunter -c

Updating RKHunter is just about, if not easier than the installation.  Updating RKHunter retrieves the latest database from the rootkit.nl central server and matches your server OS to help prevent false positives.  To update just execute the following command:

/usr/local/bin/rkhunter –update

Now lets set it up so that it scans daily and emails you a copy of the results.  Let’s start by setting up a daily cron job:

nano /etc/cron.daily/rkhunter.sh

That created a new empty cron job, now let’s give it something to do.  Copy these lines into the new file you just created, making sure to replace your email address:

#!/bin/bash
(/usr/local/bin/rkhunter -c –cronjob 2>&1 | mail -s “Daily Rkhunter Scan Report” email@domain.com)

Now we’ll save the file we just created by doing the following:

ctrl-x to close the file, Hit “y” to accept the file changes, and hit enter to overwrite the file.

And we’ll finish off our cron job by executing the following command:

chmod +x /etc/cron.daily/rkhunter.sh

And that’s it!  Keep in mind, RKHunter is only a small tool in a very large array of server security tools.  That’s for another post though.

The session.save_path setting in your php configuration file (php.ini) is not set or is set to a folder which did not exist. You might need to set the save_path setting in php.ini or verify that the folder sets in save_path exist.

It’s a pretty simple fix in the servers php.ini. First thing you need to do is locate your servers copy of the php.ini by running the following command via SSH.

root@lolwut [~]# php -i | grep php.ini
Configuration File (php.ini) Path => /usr/local/lib
Loaded Configuration File => /usr/local/lib/php.ini
root@lolwut [~]#

Once you’ve found the php.ini, use your favorite editor and locate the following line.

root@lolwut [~]# grep ’session.save_path’ /usr/local/lib/php.ini
; session.save_path = “N;/path”
;session.save_path = /tmp
; (see session.save_path above), then garbage collection does *not*
root@lolwut [~]#

In this case, simply remove “;” which will uncomment the line. If you are missing the “/tmp” part of the line, you will need to add it. Make these changes and save the file, then restart apache and you’re good to go.

One of the most common issues when installing fantastico is a buggy wget install on the server, so a working wget version will need to be installed. Another common issue is cPanels internal php may break, but we will discuss the fix to that later on. To install the working version of wget run the following commands:

rpm -qa wget ;
wget ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/5/i386/os/Fedora/RPMS/wget-1.10.2-3.2.1.i386.rpm
chattr -ia /usr/bin/wget
rpm -e wget ;
rpm -ivh –force wget-1.10.2-3.2.1.i386.rpm ;
rpm -qa wget ;

First thing is downloading the Fantastico files to the server.

/scripts/upcp
cd /usr/local/cpanel/whostmgr/docroot/cgi
wget -N http://www.netenberg.com/files/free/fantastico_whm_admin.tgz
tar -xzpf fantastico_whm_admin.tgz
rm -rf fantastico_whm_admin.tgz

Once the files have been downloaded, log into WHM with your root account and select “Fantastico De Luxe WHM Admin” under the plugin section on the left side of WHM at the bottom.

You will then go the Fantastico main page, where you will select “Click here” under ‘Version Information’ in the middle. Now select the stable version from the drop down menu.

Now follow the remaining steps using the default information, as all of it should be correct, though you may want to double check. Be sure to select “enable” next to suexec if it is installed on the server and also check the VPS section if you have installed this on a VPS.

If you receive cpanel_phpengine errors when logged into Fantastico as end user, run the following command via SSH.

/scripts/makecpphp

You may also run into an ioncube error when trying to log into Fantastico, which can be fixed by logging into WHM as root -> Tweak Settings -> Loader to use for internal cPanel PHP -> IonCube -> Save

If you have any issues with your install, feel free to comment this post.

2009-07-20 21:58:07 Failed to get write lock for /var/spool/exim/db/ratelimit.lockfile: timed out
2008-07-20 21:58:07 H=[xx.xx.xx.xx] temporarily rejected connection in “connect” ACL: ratelimit database not available

To fix such an error , the exim cache database on the server side needs to be clear off to stop this message.

Run the folllowing command on root :

root@lolwut [~]# rm -fv /var/spool/exim/db/*

Output :

removed `/var/spool/exim/db/ratelimit’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/ratelimit.lockfile’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/retry’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/retry.lockfile’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/wait-dk_remote_smtp’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/wait-dk_remote_smtp.lockfile’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/wait-remote_smtp’
removed `/var/spool/exim/db/wait-remote_smtp.lockfile’

Then run the following command on root:

root@lolwut [~]# service exim restart

If this doesn’t work , then run /scripts/upcp –force on the server and then check exim_mainlog for the changes.

How to create a compressed tar.gz file from a folder or file in Linux?

In order to create a compressed tar.gz archive from a folder/file we need to run the following tar command:

tar -czf new-tar-file-name.tar.gz file-or-folder-to-archive

Here is the command explanation:

• tar – the tar command.
• c – create new archive.
• z – compress the archive using gzip.
• f – use archive file.
• new-tar-file-name.tar.gz – the name of the tar.gz to create.
• file-or-folder-to-archive – the name of the folder we want to archive.

How to create a compressed tar.gz file from multiple files and folders in Linux?

In order to create a compressed tar.gz file from multiple files or/and folders we need to run the same tar command we used when we archived a single file/folder and to append the rest of the files/folders’ names to it.

tar -czf new-tar-file-name.tar.gz file1 file2 folder1 folder2

How to extract a compressed tar.gz file in Linux?

tar -xzf tar-file-name.tar.gz

Here is the command explanation:

• tar – the tar command.
• x – extract the archive.
• z – uncompress the archive using gzip.
• f – use archive file.
• tar-file-name.tar.gz – the name of the tar.gz to create.

The tar command will extract all the files/folders in the archive to the current directory.

How to extract a compressed tar.bz2 file in Linux?

Extracting tar.bz2 (bzip2 file) is very similar to the way you extract tar.gz file. Instead of using the -z flag you need to use the -j flag for the bzip2 format

tar -xjf tar-file-name.tar.gz

Here is the command explanation:

• tar – the tar command.
• x – extract the archive.
• j - filter the archive through bzip2
• f – use archive file.
• tar-file-name.tar.gz – the name of the tar.gz to create.

The tar command will extract all the files/folders in the archive to the current directory.

• Log into WHM

• Select “Tweak Settings”

• Uncheck the box next to “Disable login with root or reseller password into the users’ cPanel interface. Also disable switch account dropdown in themes with switch account feature”

• Click save

After hitting save, you can go back to the list account section and the cPanel icon will be back.

login as: root
root@server’s password:
Server refused to allocate pty
stdin: is not a tty

After a quick google search I came across the fix.

[root@node /]# vzlist -a
VEID      NPROC STATUS  IP_ADDR         HOSTNAME
1337         78 running 69.10.59.80     grumpy.thelinuxnoob.com
[root@node /]# vzctl exec 1337 /sbin/MAKEDEV ptyp
[root@node /]# vzctl exec 1337 /sbin/MAKEDEV tty
[root@node /]# vzctl exec 1337 /sbin/MAKEDEV pty

The issue should now be resolved and you can SSH into the VPS.