2012 - GWAN web server

category: howtoz/archive · date: 2013-12-19 · source: old.linuxor.sk/WWW/LH_2012_GWAN_howto.txt

The Slovak original of this document: 2012 - GWAN web server (slovensky).

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 [0] Basic terms
=================

 Host and virtual host
-----------------------

        /opt/gwan/0.0.0.0_8080
        ----------------------
        The server listens on all network interfaces on port 8080
        ----------------------
        Ex:
        /opt/gwan/192.168.254.11_80
        ----------------------
        The server listens on the IP address 192.168.254.11 and port 80

        /opt/gwan/0.0.0.0_8080/#0.0.0.0
        -------------------------------
        Hostname (domena.sk) or IP address (192.168.254.11)
        -------------------------------
        #domena.sk        -  root host
        $ina.domena.sk    -  virtual host
        $dalsiadomena.sk  -  virtual host

        Complete example
        ----------------
        listener 1: / gwan / 192.168.254.11_80  / #client35.example            (root host)
                                                / $ares.client35.example       (virtual host)
                                                / $domena.sk            (virtual host)

        listener 2: / gwan / 192.168.254.11_443 / #client34.example            (root host)
                                                / $domena.eu            (virtual host)

 Alias for a host or a virtual host
------------------------------------

        listener 1: / gwan / 192.168.254.11_80  / #client35.example                            (root host)
                                                / #client35.example:client13.example             (alias for root host)

        listener 1: / gwan / 192.168.254.11_80  / #client35.example                            (root host)
                                                / $ares.client35.example                       (virtual host)
                                                / $ares.client35.example:alias.client35.example       (alias for virtual host)

 [1] Basic installation of GwAN
================================

        Download and unpack the latest version of GWAN (32 or 64 bit)
        -------------------------------------------------------------
        # cd /opt
        # wget http://www.gwan.com/archives/gwan_linux32-bit.tar.bz2
        # wget http://www.gwan.com/archives/gwan_linux64-bit.tar.bz2

        Unpack the GWAN server (remove the original package)
        ----------------------------------------------------
        # cd /opt
        # tar -xvf ./gwan_linux64-bit.tar.bz2
        # rm ./gwan_linux64-bit.tar.bz2
        # mv ./gwan_linux64-bit ./gwan

        GCC - needed to run ANSI C scripts
        ----------------------------------
        # apt-get install gcc

 [2] Basic installation of GwAN - optional packages
====================================================

        GOBJC++ - needed to run Objective C and C++ scripts
        ---------------------------------------------------
        # apt-get install gobjc++

        JAVAC - needed to run JAVA scripts
        ----------------------------------
        # apt-get install openjdk-6-jdk

        SQLITE LIB - needed by scripts that use sqlite3 as their database engine
        ------------------------------------------------------------------------
        # apt-get install libsqlite3-dev

 [3] Post-installation preparatory work
========================================

        (1) Create the user (gwan) under which the GWAN server will run
        (2) Forbid the user "gwan" to log in to the system
        -------------------------------------------------------------------
        # useradd gwan
        # usermod -s /bin/false gwan

        (1) For the basic (prepared) configuration, which listens on "0.0.0.0:8080"
        (2) and the virtual host "#0.0.0.0"
        (3) we turn logging on (the default is OFF)
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        # cd /opt/gwan/0.0.0.0_8080
        # cd ./#0.0.0.0
        # mv ./_logs/ ./logs

 [4] Starting the GWAN server
==============================

        Start the GWAN server under the user "gwan" in daemon mode
        ----------------------------------------------------------
        # cd /opt/gwan
        # ./gwan -d::gwan

 [LINKz]
==========

        RioTC - Rio Template Compiler
        -----------------------------
        http://riotc.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome.html

Current practice (checked 2026-10)

noteThe article above is kept as it was written in 2012. This section lists what has changed since and what to do instead today.

Download: both archive URLs in step [1] returned 404 when checked. The vendor's site still exists but answers on plain HTTP only (nothing listens on port 443), so the binary tarball it offers cannot be fetched over an authenticated channel. Do not put a binary obtained that way on an Internet-facing machine.
Choice of server: for normal use install a web server from your distribution's repositories (nginx, Apache httpd), where security updates arrive through the package manager. Treat the G-WAN steps above as a record of how it was done in 2012.
Java: openjdk-6-jdk no longer exists in Debian. The current JDK is installed through the default-jdk package.
Service account: useradd gwan followed by usermod -s /bin/false gwan is done in one step today, as a system account with nologin as its shell.

bash

$ # useradd --system --shell /usr/sbin/nologin gwan

Sources: