mono-apache-server for Debian -------------------------- mod-mono-server is a backend server that allows you to run ASP.NET web applications in conjunction with Apache (1.3 or 2.0) and the mod_mono Apache module. In Debian, mod-mono-server is provided in the package mono-apache-server. mod-mono-server creates a socket in /tmp, and mod_mono communicates with mod-mono-server through that socket. Apache will pass the HTTP request via mod_mono to mod-mono-server, and mod-mono-server will pass the result back to Apache via mod_mono. So you need this package to run mod_mono, and vice versa. When mod_mono is installed, it will create a link to /etc/mono-server/mono-server-hosts.conf. This file contains the configuration for mod_mono. Among other things, it makes sure that aspx pages are handled by mono_mono, and it defines all your ASP.NET web applications and the mappings between URIs and the file system. However, you should NOT EDIT THIS FILE by hand. Instead, you can manage the mono-server-hosts.conf file with the administration scripts provided by mod-mono-server. The administration scripts work on a directory structure in /etc/mono-server -- this is what it looks like: /etc/mono-server <- The root of the configuration structure /etc/mono-server/conf.d <- VirtualHosts Config Directories /etc/mono-server/conf.d/monodoc <- MonoDoc Config Files To create an ASP.NET virtual host, you create a new directory under conf.d, such as the monodoc example above. Then, you place configuration files for that virtual host in the directory. Every file is marked by a number, an underscore, and the alias name for that ASP.NET application. For example: /etc/mono-server/conf.d/monodoc/10_monodochttp You then need to run mono-server-update, which will read the directory structure and rebuild the mono-server-hosts.conf file. mod-mono-server will automatically detect the changes in the file, and adjust its configuration accordingly. The mono-server-update script will also create a debian.webapp file, which is needed for the ASP.NET applications. Packages that wish to install ASP.NET web applications can just follow the above procedure. If mod-mono-server is running, the application will be automatically activated. You don't need to start mod-mono-server. If it's not running when a request comes in, mod_mono will start it (unless you have disabled mod_mono). Note that mono-server-update can start Apache. Happy Hacking! -- Pablo Fischer , Wed Mar 2 11:08:17 2005