Urchin Configuration

The default installation of Urchin is configured for your main host and any subhosts listed in your httpd.conf file (whether or not they have separate log files). There are, however, several changes you can make to the default configuration to suit your personal needs.

Urchin Configuration File

The primary configuration file for Urchin is in your ~/usr/local/urchin/ directory and is named config. The format of the config file is similar to your apache httpd.conf file, and contains instructions on what the listed directives mean. You can use the urchin configuration file to set up automatic logfile rotation, DNS resolution , and reporting styles. The file also contains important license information.

The LogDestiny directive is used to determine whether Urchin should archive, delete, or leave logfiles alone.

The second section of the urchin configuration file contains the individual report settings. There must be a Report configured for each domain you want Urchin reporting done. The default install sets up a report for each of the hosts listed in your httpd.conf file, and configures the reports to be stored in the urchin directory off the host's DocumentRoot directory.

The following is an example of what a Report configuration should look like:

<Report>
ReportName: YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME
ReportDirectory: /usr/local/LOGIN/usr/local/etc/httpd/vhosts/YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/htdocs/urchin/
TransferLog: /usr/local/LOGIN/usr/local/etc/httpd/vhosts/YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/logs/access_log
ErrorLog: /usr/local/LOGIN/usr/local/etc/httpd/vhosts/YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/logs/error_log
</Report>

Urchin Settings in the httpd.conf file

The default installation of Urchin will add Directory configurations for the locations where urchin reports will be located. If you make changes to any reports in the urchin configuration file, you need to make sure that the appropriate changes are also made in the httpd.conf file also.

Urchin requires that CGI execution be enabled in the directories where reports are located, and that symbolic links are followed by the web server so that the program files only have to be in one place on your virtual server. These settings are configured inside specific Directory configuration directives in the httpd.conf file. The Directory settings should look something like this:

<Directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs/urchin/YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME>
AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
DirectoryIndex index.html index.cgi
Options FollowSymLinks ExecCGI</Directory>

The only part of the directory settings that you would normally need to change is the path indicated in the opening tag. If you change any of the other settings, it is possible that Urchin will not work properly.