Apache and Root- Can i have one user running as root?

[andy7t]

Hi,

I am trying to make a few perl scripts to adminsister my server with.
Unfortuantly, lots of them need root access.
Is there anyway to run just one VIRTUALHOST in apache as root, and the rest as normal?

 

[ericbrunson]

First of all, the answer to your question is, you can run two different processes, one as root, but they'll have to run on different ports.

That said, I would seriously recommend against running apache as root. It's simply too large and complicated to be assured of security. In addition, it's popularity makes it a target for hackers.

It'd be far better to use something to write a simple HTTP Server and run your scripts from it. Far less code to subvert. Look at the Python SimpleHTTPServer and BaseHTTPServer classes. You can extend them and have pages up and running in a dozen lines of code.

 

[andy7t]

I can write Perl, and i know i can write one in there.

I tried it a while back, and it kind of worked. I got it to serve pages one at a time, but when it came to loading images at the same time, it couldn't.
Also, i have difficulty using the CGI module to grab input from forms when using my webserver.