Ruby on Rails is a framework for developing database-backed web applications. This talk will cover the fundamentals of running your Rails applications on Ubuntu 7.04, the Feisty Fawn. Presenting a solid foundation to developers and administrators, topics include installation and configuration of the application stack, automated deployment, and beyond.

In order to understand Rails deployment, it is necessary to understand the layers of a Rails stack including the web server, the application, and the database. The role of each layer will be discussed including best practice configurations for different kinds of web applications. The installation and configuration of a stack consisting of Apache, Ruby, Ruby Gems, Mongrel (including mongrel_cluster), Rails, Subversion, and MySQL will be used as an example.

Once the Rails stack is installed and configured, the next step is to deploy an application in the new environment. Although various approaches exist, an automated method involving revision control increases efficiency and reduces errors. To simplify the configuration of an automated solution, Capistrano and Subversion provide a framework for defining recipes for configuring, deploying, and updating your application. As an example, a simple application will be configured and deployed on the new stack.

During the lifetime of an application, it is inevitable that problems will arise in the various layers of a running system. The impact of these problems can be reduced by following a system approach to analyzing and debugging the stack. The talk will conclude with a discussion of commons problems and their solutions.