First off, I'm a total noob, I mean seriously starting from square 1 here, so please don't feel like you might be talking down to me if you're giving me way more detail than you'd normally give someone who knows the basics.

That being said, I have a website hosted on linode. It's Apache, running on Ubuntu 9.04 (I guess Ubuntu is the operating system and Apache is a program running on Ubuntu that handles my site?)

The site is programmed in Ruby on Rails. In the past, I always had a programmer do the work on my site, but I did some basic HTML design and VERY basic java programming in college (ions ago) and liked it, so I recently decided that I would start working on my site myself and getting back in to programming, but it's seriously been so long and what I DID do was so far removed from what I'll be doing now, that it's like I'm starting totally from scratch.

The first thing I need to do that's urgent, is upload an SSL certificate that I purchased from register.com for my server. I'm used to Dreamweaver (when I did do web design in the stone age) and I'm gathering that I think I need to use the Terminal on my mac to do everything in Ruby on Rails and on my server... which is like Dos it seems. No GUI at all, so I feel like I'm trying to feel my way around in a dark cave with almost no knowledge of the commands. Is this what all RoR programmers use? Seems pretty archaic.

Linode has a help file for installing an SSL certificate here http://library.linode.com/web-servers/a ... ertificate but I can't figure out if it's taking in to account that I purchased my SSL certificate at register.com already. I also can't seem to figure out how you upload a file to your server using the terminal. In dreamweaver, you'd just drag files from one folder to another. In Terminal, again, it's like I'm in Dos.

I'd seriously appreciate some input from anyone who knows how to deal with my SSL issue, but I feel like I could also benefit from a general overview of how this industry works (the A,B,C's of "this is the program everyone uses to work with their server, here's what you need to read to know how to use it, etc). Again, starting from scratch here, don't feel like you're offending me if you address me like a 5 year old who knows squat.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has the patience to answer this question.

I can't really help you with the SSL certificate or Ruby questions.

As far as interacting with your Linode, yes, you'll likely want to become familiar with the command line. This is not to say that there are no alternatives (Webmin is one, for example), but that learning how to administer via the command line will pay off. There is a learning curve for sure; a piece of good news is that most of the UNIX utilities are already available on your Mac to practice with. If you choose to climb the learning curve, you'll find that the UNIX command line offers power and flexibility that the MS-DOS command line did not.

Keep in mind that when editing files on your Linode (either Ruby source, configuration files, or whatever), you do not need to actually run vi or whatever editor on the Linode. You can copy the file to your local machine, use your favorite editor, then copy it back to your Linode. Some editors have the capability to operate on remote files built in (don't know which ones for Mac can do this).

The scp command on your Mac can be used in the Terminal to transfer files, but there are also graphical clients. I have heard Cyberduck mentioned favorably; FileZilla is another which as a cross-platform project is probably less Mac-like. There are also non-free clients that some people swear by.

Also, you are correct that Ubuntu is the operating system and Apache is the web server. Ubuntu 9.04 is no longer receiving updates, including security fixes, and you should move to a newer version. I tend to not try upgrading a system (especially over five versions); my approach would be to deploy a new Linode with a currently-supported LTS version and copy the web files and configuration over. This does require some knowledge as to what configurations can be copied verbatim and which may need some modification for new versions of software. Others may have practical experience with upgrading Ubuntu to provide - it might be smoother than I think.

This may not have been exactly what you needed, but I hope it was at least somewhat helpful.

Hi Vance,

Thanks a lot for your response. No worries about the SSL part, I'll keep plugging away then and see if I can figure it out. I'll also check out those apps you mentioned.

About upgrading to a new linode... I wouldn't even know where to begin. Short of pushing a button that says "Upgrade Your Linode", I'd be completely lost. I think that's something I would do after I understood where I am.

I think the best way to describe what's going on with my site (and my linode) is that I feel like a blind man who was driven in to the middle of the desert and pushed out of the car. I didn't even want to move at first or touch anything regarding my linode for fear of running in to a cactus (crashing the thing). Now I'm trying to muster up the courage to do something small without it blowing up.

It's kind of funny because I'm really good with some parts of technology. But when it comes to other parts of technology that I haven't been exposed to, I just feel like a total retard and my site is most definitely one of those parts.

Anyway, I'll keep going at it today. Thanks for all the tips.

Your desert analogy is apt in an interesting way - your current position is not indefinitely sustainable. Eventually some unpatched security flaw on your setup will be exploited, so you need to move from your current spot.

The easiest approach may be to move your site from Linode to shared hosting and let someone else worry about maintaining the operating system. Of course, there are reasons why everyone doesn't just use shared hosting - some hosts have questionable policies and practices (hint: there is no such thing as "unlimited"), you may need to run other applications that are not available on shared hosting, or you may need to have things configured in a specific way. A lot of people here are refugees from shared hosting, so it's not always a good choice.

If you want to learn more about managing your own server, you'd do well to check out forums/mailing lists/whatever communication tool applies for the software you're using. The Ubuntu forums are active, although much of the content is about desktop usage. I'm sure there's something similar for Ruby on Rails.

One major question to consider is how important/valuable your site is. If it's supporting a business that can't operate without it, then you need to minimize your risk. If it's a hobby site that can afford some downtime, then you can be more willing to experiment.