Use Aegir to Deploy Drupal Sites on Ubuntu

Introduction

Learn how to install and use Aegir to deploy and manage a network of Drupal sites on Ubuntu 14.04. Aegir is a popular and fully extensible tool built on Drupal and Drush, which can scale across many server clusters.

Aegir serves as a single management interface for as many Drupal sites as you want to launch and host. With Aegir, you can create and launch a Drupal site on your server with just a few clicks. You can also manage all of your Drupal websites from the Aegir interface, including creating backups, updating plug-ins, managing users, and more.

Install Aegir

To begin, add the project's repository with the command:

Requirements

• At least one server running Ubuntu 14.04.
• A functioning domain name (like aegir.example.com) pointed to that server.

sudo echo "deb http://debian.aegirproject.org stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/aegir-stable.list

Next, add the key:

wget -q http://debian.aegirproject.org/key.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Update the packages list:

sudo apt-get update

Then install Aegir with the command:

sudo apt-get install aegir2

The installation process will prompt you to enter the hostname (domain name). It will also ask for the MySQL root user password twice.

At the end of the installation process, Aegir will give you a one-time login URL.

Copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar. It will log you into Aegir, and you will be prompted to change your password.

Add a Site

There are two elements to adding a site in Aegir: the platform, and the site itself.

Create a Makefile

In order to add a site using Aegir, you need to create a platform. This is a .make file which Aegir uses as reference.

First, create a directory where these files will be stored:

 sudo mkdir /var/aegir/platforms/makefiles

Add the following content to this file:

Next, create a platform file for your project. This file can be used as a platform to build multiple websites. Let's begin by creating an all-purpose test.make file as an example:

sudo nano /var/aegir/platforms/makefiles/test.make

Add the following content to this file:

api = 2
core = 7.x
projects[] = drupal
projects[] = views
projects[] = pathauto
projects[] = wysiwyg
projects[] = token
projects[] = admin_menu

Save and exit the file, then fix the permissions so that Aegir can access the directory and its contents:

chown -R aegir:aegir /var/aegir/platforms/makefiles

Create a Platform

Back at the Aegir administration page in your browser, click the Platforms tab.

Then click Add Platform.

Fill in a name for this platform, the full path to the .make file on the server, choose a Drush make option ("Normal") then click Save.

Wait for Aegir to process this task. When it is complete, the task in the queue will turn green.

Add Site

Now that the platform is ready, click the Add site tab to add a site.

Fill out the site details and click Save.

Wait for the Install task to turn green. When it does, your site will be live.

Click View for the install task to find your reset password link.

Scroll down to the bottom to find the link.

Copy and paste this one-time login link into your browser's address bar. You will be logged into the new site's admin panel, which will prompt you to reset your admin password.