# Rails deployment/mongrel\_cluster question

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-deployment-mongrel-cluster-question/125769>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [January 11, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-deployment-mongrel-cluster-question/125769 "2008-01-11T21:38:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/acampos)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-deployment-mongrel-cluster-question/125769/1 "2008-01-11T21:38:19Z")

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I’ve almost got my first Rails deployment up and running, but I’m a  
bit confused about the mongrel configuration. The AWDWR book talks  
about generating mongrel\_cluster.yml and I’ve done that, but some  
other information I’ve read points to the spin script used by  
Capistrano for defining/starting the mongrel cluster. My Capistrano-  
based deployment seems to be correctly invoking spin to start the  
mongrels, but I’m wondering if the mongrel\_cluster.yml file is  
relevant anymore. Of course I’m asking this because my Apache setup  
doesn’t seem to want to redirect to the mongrels so I’m wondering if  
I’ve messed something up somewhere 🙂

TIA,  
– bb

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**Author:** ![acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/acampos)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-deployment-mongrel-cluster-question/125769/2 "2008-01-12T13:58:58Z")

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did you compile apache (2.4+) with the mod\_proxy\_balancer option?  
you’ll need that to use mongrel\_cluster. In your apache config you  
need to add the balancer configuration and a few other declarations.  
Note that Apache 2.x and below don’t have a mod\_proxy\_balancer. Try  
nginx if you’re looking for a different front end web server.

I’ma afraid i don’t have my usual mongrel + apache conf files here to  
paste but this was the tutorial that got me started the first time

[http://blog.codahale.com/2006/06/19/time-for-a-grown-up-server-rails-mongrel-apache-capistrano-and-you/](http://blog.codahale.com/2006/06/19/time-for-a-grown-up-server-rails-mongrel-apache-capistrano-and-you/)

good luck!

Joe

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@acampos](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/acampos)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rails-deployment-mongrel-cluster-question/125769/3 "2008-01-12T17:16:15Z")

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On Jan 12, 4:58 am, Wildtangent [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> good luck!
> 
> Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for the help. I did have a back-level version of  
Apache without the mod\_proxy\_balancer support. Upgraded Apache and  
all is working now. Thanks again.