Join us for a VPS and Virtualmin Installfest at Droplabs on Saturday, April 21, 2012. We're going to discuss VPS (virtual private server) hosting, when and why you should be using it, and we'll have a brief presentation on Virtualmin, a free, open-source control panel.
The second part of the workshop is a hands-on installfest. We'll be getting as many people up and running with their own VPS servers, and optionally install Virtualmin for those who want it.
For any changes to our agenda, stay tuned to this workshop announcement or click the Sign up button below (or both!) to be notified when the agenda has been updated.
Agenda
10:00am
Projector and tables / chairs setup
10:30am
Introductions
Presentation: Smart VPS Management for Smart People, by Christefano Reyes
Questions and answers
12:00pm
Lunch! This is potluck-style, so please bring something for yourself and another
12:30pm
Hands-on VPS and Virtualmin Installfest
2:30pm
Wrap-up, clean-up and close-up
A Note About VPS Hosting
Please note that running ones own server isn't for the faint of heart. If you're happy with shared hosting or have limited time and resources, then this workshop is probably not for you.
This workshop is intended for people who want to further their knowledge and are ready for — or already have — VPS or dedicated hosting and all the power and performance options that come with that.
Introducing Virtualmin: Smart VPS Management for Smart People
At this workshop, we're going to help you take your Drupal sites to the next level with the free, open-source Webmin control panel and its powerful Virtualmin plug-in. Add as many features as you want, including unlimited domains, mail accounts, Subversion and Git repositories, mailing lists, and more with a point-and-click web interface.
Webmin and Virtualmin are similar to cPanel and WHM, respectively, and can manage dozens or even hundreds of domains. They are the perfect tools for creating test and development sites, hosting client websites or even managing a full-blown online infrastructure for running a business.
Did we forget to mention, Webmin and Virtualmin are free* and open-source? Compared to site licensing costs of cPanel, WHM, Plesk and other proprietary control panels, Webmin and Virtualmin cost only as much as a basic $10-20/month VPS account.
* There is a commercially supported version of Virtualmin, but this not a sales-oriented presentation and Virtualmin Pro will not necessarily be covered in this session. There is a Virtualmin referral program and any referrals from this session directly benefit Droplabs and not the presenters. ^
What to bring
Our presenter will be demonstrating Debian 6 (Squeeze), but you can use whatever Linux distribution that you're comfortable with. If you are staying for the installfest, you'll need your own VPS. You can use any VPS provider that you'd like, whether it be RimuHosting, SoftLayer, Linode, etc. but be sure to do this in advance of the workshop.
Beyond that, just bring your laptop, your business cards or whatever else you need. You're also welcome to bring some light food, sodas or beers to share with others at the workshop.
Please note that our guest wireless network is limited to 1Mb per client, so bring your MiFi router or a phone you can tether with if for some reason you need a lot of bandwidth. Access to our high-speed network is included with a Droplabs membership.
Join us on Twitter, Google+ and IRC!
During the workshop, several of us will be in the regional #drupal-la channel on IRC and the LA Drupal hangout on Google+ and all are welcome to join us. The event organizers will also be monitoring Twitter for feedback and questions that mention @DowntownDrupal, @ladrupal or use the #ladrupal hashtag.
Location and directions
Droplabs
651 Clover St.
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Droplabs is in the Mission Junction neighborhood of Los Angeles at Big Art Labs, just 1 mile down Main St. from Philippes (the first-ever venue for LA Drupal meetups!) and Union Station. We're one block west of The Brewery, the largest live-and-work artists' colony in the world.
Free parking in our large parking lot is first-come, first-served. After parking in the lot, follow the yellow signs that point to Droplabs. (If our lot is full, you can park for free on Clover St.)
Droplabs is a brief walk from the Main St. / Lamar St. stop on the the Metro Local 76 bus line. To carpool or catch the Droplabs shuttle from Union Station, post below in the comments.
About Droplabs
Droplabs is a collaborative Drupal event and coworking space in Downtown Los Angeles. Created in 2011 by LA Drupal members for the LA Drupal community, we are focused on serving the greater LA Drupal community, enriching the Drupal skills and lives of its members, and bringing joy to our Drupal practice. Our founders represent several local area businesses that have deep roots in the Drupal and open source communities.
We've been open to the public since May, 2011, and the use of our equipment and facilities, including conference room, tables and chairs, is free until our official launch. See http://groups.drupal.org/node/145934 for more details about our open beta period and http://droplabs.net/prices for our list of free amenities and member perks, including our high-speed WiFi, an espresso machine, printer and scanner services, and more.
Droplabs is the host of the monthly Downtown LA Drupal meetups, LA Drupal's weekly Pro Drupal 7 Development book study group and special events including the Varnish 3 Release Party, a Leave GoDaddy Day workshop and LA Drupal's job fairs. To learn more about Droplabs, follow @Droplabs on Twitter, sign up at Meetup.com/Droplabs or like DroplabsLA on Facebook!
About Downtown Los Angeles Drupal
Downtown Los Angeles is one of the most active areas for Drupal in Los Angeles and LA County. We've been meeting regularly on the 3rd Tuesday of every month since early 2010 and now schedule up to 4 regular meetups a month and occasional trainings and social gatherings. Downtown LA Drupal members also produce special events, code sprints, and the annual Drupal Design Camp LA conference
Attending Drupal events in and around Downtown Los Angeles is one of the best ways to meet and talk with other Drupaleros and we encourage you to attend as many meetings and special events as you'd like. Whether it's to find solutions to problems you've been having, sharing something you've learned or just meeting interesting like-minded people, the Downtown LA Drupal events are an essential resource for Drupal professionals and hobbyists alike.
If you aren't already a member of Downtown Los Angeles Drupal, it's easy to join our community. Our community calendar is on our "Events" tab on our home page at http://groups.drupal.org/node/219129
Comments
Nice introduction to Virtualmin
Thanks for organizing this introduction to Virtualmin. Fun venue and useful information made for a win/win day at Droplabs.
yes, the Virtualmin workshop was excellent
I learn a lot in workshops like this one which Christefano led about VPS and Virtualmin. He tailored it to the knowledge of the group and didn't hesitate to answer questions. I got exactly what I needed: an understanding of the terms (virtual machine, server, etc.) as well as hands' on practice with setting up a VPS and the Virtualmin panel. Thanks! Now I can leave my shared host comfortably and concentrate on Drupal.
Susan
Thank you, smichelle and
Thank you, smichelle and joyseeker! I'm excited that our first in a series of sysadmin workshops was a success. Our next workshop will be on SSH and will include tips and tricks with rsync, keys and tunneling.
For anyone who couldn't make it to last week's VPS and Virtualmin workshop, I'm doing a recap at tomorrow's High Performance Drupal meetup:
High Performance Drupal Meetup at Droplabs on May 1, 2012
http://groups.drupal.org/node/223324