plexus [-c config] [-d topdir] [-i | -I sockfd] [-l log] [-p port]
[-P pidfile] [-D diag]
-p port Specify port to open (/etc/service name or number)
Without -i or -I plexus will start in daemon mode,
[-p port] is only useful in this mode.
-d topdir Override default directory (/usr/local/www)
-c config Override default config file (server/plexus.conf)
-l log Override default log file (log)
-P pidfile Override default pid output file (plexus.pid)
-D diag Specify diagnosic output file (enable debug)
-i Use stdin/stdout (e.g., running under inetd)
-I sockfd Use specified socket (mostly for server restarts)
Plexus contains the main loop that accepts incoming HTTP
connections and forks a process to handle the transaction. The main server
can continue to accept other connections while the child processes the
request in the background. The child vectors though the associative array
%method, defined in plexus.conf, to one of the
method routines (e.g., GET is handled by &do_get).
If started as a normal user, the default port is $http_userport
and is defined in plexus.conf. It can be changed on the
command line using the -p option. When started as root, it
will open the standard HTTP port which defaults to
$http_defaultport from plexus.conf. However, the
port assignment can be overridden either on the command line using the
-p option or in /etc/services by adding a line
for the http protocol e.g.: http 80/tcp. Command
line options always override internal defaults.
Topdir defaults to /usr/local/www, the
config file defaults to server/plexus.conf, and the
log file defaults to log.
Plexus also assumes that perl lives in /usr/bin/perl.
If this is not the case then it's best if you create a symlink for it.
If you can't do that then you will need to edit a bunch of files. To get
the list run find . -type f -print | xargs grep -l /usr/bin/perl
from the top level Plexus source directory.
local.conf that affects this file is
locking, which is set in local.conf. It should
be set to either flock or fcntl; the default is
flock.
plexus.conf
agree with your local system configuration.
There shouldn't be much need to change
this file unless you are adding new features. The notable exceptions
are $http_chroot, which controls whether or not to
chroot to the top of the tree; $http_user and
$http_group which define the user and group to switch
to if started as root; and $hostname, which should
contain your fully qualified domain name (it defaults to /bin/hostname).
Finally, run plexus in server mode using the following command: /usr/local/www/server/plexus -D /dev/tty &. Once plexus is running, test it using your browser. If you run plexus as root, it opens port 80; if you are running it as a normal user, it opens port 8001.