Setting up dev environments for different users on the same server

Question

I am trying to set up a dev server that multiple developers will be sharing. I am rusty with linux server configs, but I remember a while back I set up a dev server in a way where each developer would access their own dev setup via [developerHandle]dev.somesite.com e.g. bobdev.somesite.com.

Is this the best way to set up a development server w/ multiple developers? Is there ab etter way? Any links to how to guides would be great.

Note this is a ruby on rails server.

Answer 1

It really depends on the application. If this is a simple ruby app and the risk of developers stepping on each other trying to use central resources isn't a concern you can do it this way.

I usually find however that when developers share a box they tend to try and come up with new ways of conflicting with each other. I'd strongly encourage using a chroot setup at a minimum (or virtualization like Xen or VMWare). This way if one developer breaks his app in a horrific way it doesn't impact other developers.

If you are also asking for help with the DNS or webserver config update the question for that too.