There are two ways to run a command as root. You can prefix each
command with sudo, or you can become root once and for all by typing
su. Different servers place different restrictions on these commands, but
one of them should work. The sudo command is more restrictive when it
turns you into a lesser non-root super-user who is able to run some
commands but not others. Both commands will ask for an extra password.
For example:
admin@server$ sudo /etc/init.d/httpd restartWhen you run su successfully, the prompt will change from a $ to a #, like
this:
admin@server$ su
Password:
admin@server#It might say admin@server or root@server. Either way, the # means
that you are powerful and dangerous — and that you assume full liability
for your actions.
Conclusion
This article has provided a few tips for recognizing and solving some of the
most common causes of a website going down. The commands require
some technical knowledge — or at least courage — but are hopefully not
too daunting. However, they cover only a small subset of all the things that
can go wrong with a website. You will have to rely on your hosting
company if it is a networking issue, hardware malfunction or more
complicated software problem.