Figuring out redhat-config-httpd

[Bevan C. Bennett]

Rodolfo J. Paiz wrote:

> Although I can configure httpd.conf by hand, I am deliberately sticking 
> with the redhat-config-httpd tool so that I can test it and provide 
> feedback. Having said that, this is the procedure I have followed with 
> no joy so far; I would appreciate any comments or suggestions as to what 
> I may have done wrong:

I can offer suggestions, but only based on your httpd.conf...
...but perhaps identifying the underlying issues will help identify 
where redhat-config-httpd is and is not doing the correct thing.

>         3. Verified that /etc/host.conf says "order hosts, dns" and 
> verified that there is no DNS server running on this machine.

More importantly, does 'host simpaticus' return 127.0.0.1?

>         4. Set up a name virtual host in redhat-config-httpd pointing to 
> /home/rpaiz/www.simpaticus.com. I can provide details, but honestly 
> don't see where something could possibly be misconfigured. The named 
> vhost is "simpaticus".
> 
> Based on my past experience with Apache, this really ought to be a 
> no-brainer, but then again perhaps the brain is off. Entering 
> "simpaticus" or "simpaticus.localdomain" in the browser URL window 
> always leads to a "Forbidden: You do not have permission to see / on 
> this machine" error. All file permissions are set to 644 and directories 
> are set to 755, with owner rpaiz.rpaiz.

I presume by "all file permissions" you mean 
/home/rpaiz/www.simpaticus.com/ and subdirectories.

I'd expect to find the following in your httpd.conf file, based on your 
comments, are these there?

NameVirtualHost 127.0.0.1:80
<VirtualHost 127.0.0.l:80>
     DocumentRoot /home/rpaiz/www.simpaticus.com
     ServerName simpaticus
     ServerAlias simpaticus.localhost
     ErrorLog logs/www.simpaticus.com-error_log
 

</VirtualHost>
<Directory /home/rpaiz/www.simpaticus.com>
     Order allow,deny
     Allow from all
 
      </Directory>

The '127.0.0.1:80' may also appear as '*:80'.