Web Services

TIG offers and maintains a variety of web publishing options for our community. For help getting started, contact help@csail.mit.edu.

Static vs. Dynamic Sites

We recommend static sites wherever possible because they are:

• More secure (less vulnerable to defacement or compromise)
• Faster loading
• Easier to migrate to other hosting

However, dynamic sites are sometimes necessary for web forms, collaborative editing, database frontends, and other advanced features. We can help you choose between pre-made solutions (CMS like Drupal/WordPress) or custom frameworks (Django, Rails, etc.).

Shared Web Hosting

Hosting options:

• Web server architecture — cluster capabilities, including:
  • Shared websites for static content (no TIG coordination needed)
  • Custom domains for websites (supports dynamic content)
• Shared websites for static content — includes personal pages on people.csail.mit.edu
• Distributing data sets from NFS
• Web server logs — troubleshooting and statistics
• Granting web server write access
• Sending redirects for individual pages (or whole websites)
• Restricting web access with .htaccess and OIDC

Self-Hosted Web Servers at CSAIL

• Automatic HTTPS with mod_md
• Apache OIDC Authentication

External Hosting

Options for hosting outside CSAIL:

• GitHub Pages
• MIT Sites (WordPress, via IS&T)
• Other hosting options

Databases

• MySQL: Create databases on mysql.csail.mit.edu (login required)
• PostgreSQL: Available on postgres.csail.mit.edu for users and applications (request via help@csail.mit.edu)
• SQLite: Do NOT use in AFS (home directories, web roots) — AFS file locking incompatibility causes corruption

SSL Certificates

Use [mod_md for automatic Let’s Encrypt certificates]. For commercial certificates, see InCommon SSL documentation.