I find myself yet again trying to wrap my head around Linux. More specifically, I’m trying to set up a server so I can learn how to configure and secure it.
I found a site that purports to have a beginner’s guide to using Debian. It looks pretty good on the surface, but I’m not sure if it is or not. After all, according to Rule of Acquisition #59, free advice is seldom cheap.
So if any of the Linux gurus on here would mind taking a quick look at aboutdebian.com and tell me what they think, I would sincerely appreciate their feedback. If it’s not a good site, perhaps they could direct me to something better. Keep in mind I have already downloaded about four DVDs of the newest version of Debian–which just got released literally two days ago–so if you’re going to suggest a different distro, I’d appreciate a reason why.
Also, could someone point me toward a resource for securing an Internet server? This is what I really need to learn to do, and I would also like to figure out how to do it “the hard way” (i.e, without a GUI, since I like to understand the theory behind things, and I don’t mind taking my time to do it).
I find myself yet again trying to wrap my head around Linux. More specifically, I’m trying to set up a server so I can learn how to configure and secure it.
I found a site that purports to have a beginner’s guide to using Debian. It looks pretty good on the surface, but I’m not sure if it is or not. After all, according to Rule of Acquisition #59, free advice is seldom cheap.
So if any of the Linux gurus on here would mind taking a quick look at aboutdebian.com and tell me what they think, I would sincerely appreciate their feedback. If it’s not a good site, perhaps they could direct me to something better. Keep in mind I have already downloaded about four DVDs of the newest version of Debian–which just got released literally two days ago–so if you’re going to suggest a different distro, I’d appreciate a reason why.
Also, could someone point me toward a resource for securing an Internet server? This is what I really need to learn to do, and I would also like to figure out how to do it “the hard way” (i.e, without a GUI, since I like to understand the theory behind things, and I don’t mind taking my time to do it).[/quote]
Debian is a mature, well-maintained, stable as hell distro. Debian is what Ubuntu is based on. Debian has the apt-get package manager which is first rate. Debian is an excellent choice for a server in my opinion.
The next time you install Debian I would go with the net install ISO which is only about 160-180 MB. The net install ISO is a viable way to install Debian if you have a good broadband connection; it allows you to quickly pull down what just what you need to have a working desktop or web server. You can install with a GUI or use a text-based install.
On first glance the web site seems fine. I will let the other Linux people speak to hardening a server as I don’t currently maintain a home server ( I have in the past though).
howtoforge.com has a huge library of linux tutorials for string up servers or desktops in almost any distro & configuration.
You have to be prepared to ask your own questions at some steps. I printed out the tutorials at first and checked off the steps to keep track of where I was, then when I wanted to know ‘why’ or details, I could research it on another computer.
These are the ppl who wrote ISPConfig, as good as CPanel or Plesk for hosting.
I’ve done many based on their stuff, and tossed in some customized or extra stuff along the way. More or less settled on using Ubuntu for all my servers (10.04 the current LTS) as I had a mix of Debian, Fedora, Gentoo at first, PITA to try and learn everything.
Then just to piss off the Linux uber-geeks, I double the ram and apt-get install ubuntu-desktop (and re-kill app-armor).
That was actually very helpful advice from both of you. Thanks!
Unfortunately, I think I just managed to get myself stuck. I was following a tutorial from howtoforge.com ("The Perfect Server - Debian Squeeze (Debian 6.0) With BIND & Dovecot [ISPConfig 3]). I got as far as page 2 (bit.ly/pTcfyc), but now I can’t seem to get any further. Whenever I try to run apt-get install for anything, it says that it cannot connect to the server.
I shut down my computer, so I don’t have access to it, but I did enter in what they told me to in order to configure the network. That worked fine, and running both hostname and hostname -f got the results I needed. But after that, nothing would download in order for me to be able to install it. Any idea what the cause might be?
Did you turn on a firewall? Add an exception for port 80? Or did you change your DNS settings?
Can you ping your router?[/quote]
I changed my DNS settings, like the guide told me to. But then I changed them back to the original settings and it gave me the same problems.
If I were to follow the Ubuntu route and simply install the lamp server, what if any changes would I have to make in order to make it secure?
Another somewhat unrelated question: I want to get a cheap domain name (i.e., .info). How do you go about buying it and then associating it with a particular machine? If my IP address changes, how would I go about making sure that the domain name gets associated with the new IP?
Thanks again for all the help folks. Much appreciated as always.
This is basically how the guide told me to edit /etc/network/interfaces:
I’m at work now so unfortunately I can’t check anything out until I get home. I might take one more crack at Debian, but I’m starting to get the feeling that the guide I found is a bit more advanced than I’m ready for, and that Ubuntu is the better choice.
If I were to run everything from the command line, how big of a difference is there between Ubuntu and Debian? I know that the former is based on the latter, but what’s the difference between the two? The reason I want to learn everything via the command line is because I am planning on getting a virtual server with a hosting company over here, so the only way to work with it would be via an ssh connection. And the reason why I’m trying to build my own server is because I want to be able to understand how a server works from the ground up. I don’t want to mess around with the server and wind up messing up my website in the process, hence the server I’m building.
(Edit)
I think I just might deserve a smack upside the head for this! I googled how to ping your router, and was told to run IPCONFIG, and that the default gateway would be the router. Looking at the above code for /etc/network/interfaces, it has an address of 192.168.0.1 for the gateway. I take it this is supposed to be the router’s address? (he says, looking down in shame)
Ok, so is this actually your router’s address? In your Windows or whatever machine you’re using on the same network, what is the router or gateway?
In windows, run ipconfig /all and see if it’s the same network… You might have a different subnet already set up at home, and the tutorial you’re following may be assuming you’re starting from scratch.
So you need to know what your current computers IP settings are (IP address, subnet, subnet mask, router/gateway address). The Linux one should match that.
Also, is this Linux box meant to be a server? If so, you’ll have to get your router or gateway to forward the appropriate ports to it, or the outside world. If there’s a router between the Linux box and the outside world (with a 192.168.. address, there would be), don’t bother with a firewall on your Linux box.
[quote=“MiG”]Ok, so is this actually your router’s address? In your Windows or whatever machine you’re using on the same network, what is the router or gateway?
In windows, run ipconfig /all and see if it’s the same network… You might have a different subnet already set up at home, and the tutorial you’re following may be assuming you’re starting from scratch.
So you need to know what your current computers IP settings are (IP address, subnet, subnet mask, router/gateway address). The Linux one should match that.
Also, is this Linux box meant to be a server? If so, you’ll have to get your router or gateway to forward the appropriate ports to it, or the outside world. If there’s a router between the Linux box and the outside world (with a 192.168.. address, there would be), don’t bother with a firewall on your Linux box.[/quote]
Yeah, after poking around a bit I kind of had a feeling that was the problem, but this helps confirm it. Oh well, chalk it up to a lesson learned the hard way I guess.
Yes, this is meant to be a server. I really do need to get a proper router for this. Lucky for me, standard NAT routers are cheap enough these days that it won’t break the bank. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
You’ve only started… wait til you get to the ‘quota’ part of the tutorial. I still don’t understand that stuff.
But here’s a tip. If it errors on you on that part, don’t panic. sudo shutdown -r now. They don’t explain that it can’t do that while it runs, you need to restart.
here’s one diff: If you don’t want to sudo everything. Debian’s “su-” and Ubuntu’s “sudo su” to go root. “exit” brings you back to user.
Thanks again for all the advice. Things are going pretty well so far. Had a bit of a problem with MySql–said it can’t set the root password–but beyond that, things seem to be going smoothly.
bada-bing you’ll be set…