Ubuntu Linux Server Tutorial February 16, and its semi uncomplicated organization. We are also going to install an OpenSSH server.

Transcription

1 Introduction In this tutorial we are going to install Ubuntu Server. I chose Ubuntu because of its simplicity and its semi uncomplicated organization. We are also going to install an OpenSSH server. OpenSSH allows you to administer your server from remote computers. For security we are going to install a firewall to help protect your server. Main Ubuntu Server Install and Setup The first thing we want to do is to go to Ubuntu.com and download the latest version. 1

2 Once downloaded you can burn the.iso image to whatever blank media your cd/dvd burner can handle. Once completed place the Ubuntu Server OS into your cd/dvd-rom drive and start your computer. You should now be prompted with a screen that prompts you choose your language. Once you have selected your language, press enter. Now you ll be brought to this screen: Select the first option and just follow the rest of the on-screen instructions. 2

3 After a few minutes, Ubuntu will ask for a host name. You can name this option to anything; I say for conveinence set it to web-server. Ubuntu will ask you to set the time zone for your clock. Be sure to choose the one that applies to you. The system will detect more hardware, and you will be prompted to partion the disk(s). Select Guided use entire disk option. 3

4 Select the disk you want to partition. Ubuntu will ask if you want to write the changes to the disk. Select Yes and hit enter. The installer will now continue the partitions setup. Now that Ubuntu Server is fully installed, it will need a login account created. First, give it your name and hit continue. After that another screen will show up asking for a username. Normally it is your first name, but you can name it whatever you want. The only one name you may not use for a username is root. You will then be directed to provide a password. It is vital that you choose a well-built password, or your server will lack some security potential. You will need to re-enter your password again for verification. Ubuntu will attempt to configure the Package Manager. Leave it blank if you don t use a proxy, and select continue. 4

5 Ubuntu will now scan numerous servers searching for updates and configuration settings. After this process has completed, you will be displayed with seven options to install. Select the OpenSSH server, and press the spacebar, NOT ENTER. If you press the enter command, the install will continue without installing the OpenSSH server. Once you make sure the OpenSSH option is selected press the continue button. 5

6 Ubuntu will now install you re the selected software, and other system components as necessary. Finally, the install process will be finished. Remove the media, and press enter. The system will to reboot. As the system reboots you will be brought to a screen that looks like this: Now that the difficult part is complete, it is time to transform this into a dedicated web server. Now login by typing in your username and password. Do not worry that you can not see your password being typed in, this is the way it was created. Once you are fully logged on you will brought to a command prompt which should display something along the lines of this: daniel@web-server:~$. At this prompt type in the following command to download the latest updates: sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude dist-upgrade. Type in your password and press the letter Y when it prompts. Your screen should look similar to this: 6

7 After all the necessary updates have been downloaded and installed the system will need to be rebooted. To do this from the command line type in the following: sudo shutdown -r now. This will tell the system to (-r) restart (now) at this very minute. Once your server restarts it will be completely updated. Firewall installation We are now going to install a good firewall to help with the security of our server. Me personally I would recommend shorewall. Shorewall ranks third in the top five best firewalls for Linux distributions (thegeekstuff, 2012). To download and install shorewall type this command in the command line: sudo aptitude install shorewall. When you first install shorewall it comes with zero sets of rules. We need to change this promptly. We need to bloack all connections to everything except port 80 for HTTP purposes and port 22 which is for our SSH. Be sure to watch what you are editing so you do not make mistakes. To open up 7

8 the set of rules to make corrections and additions type the following command: sudo nano /etc/shorewall/rules. Go to the sentence that states #LAST LINE ADD YOUR ENTRIES BEFORE THIS ONE DO NOT REMOVE. Add the following lines of code above where it states that last sentence: HTTP/ACCEPT net $FW SSH/ACCEPT net $FW To save in NANO press the Ctrl+O first and then Ctrl+X to exit out. Shorewall is now setup to accept only HTTP and SSH traffic. This is not all we do. We need to have our firewall begin at startup. To do this we need to edit the shorewall.conf file. Back to NANO we go. Type in the command prompt sudo nano /etc/shorewall/shorewall.conf. Scroll to where it states STARTUP_ENABLED=NO and change NO to YES. Do as we did before when saving Ctrl+O and then Ctrl+X. Our last thing we need to do in shorewall is to edit the configuration file. Type in this command sudo nano /etc/default/shorewall be shore to change the STARTUP=0 to STARTUP=1. Save and exit. The final thing to do to get it running is to restart your firewall. Type in sudo /etc/init.d/shorewall start. There you have it, a working firewall protecting your server. 8

9 SSH Setup OpenSSH allows you to login to your server from any location as long as you remember the servers IP address. If you are trying to gain remote access to your server using a windows platform you will need a program called putty to do this. If you are trying to access your server from another Linux platform type this command in the terminal: ssh yourusername@youripaddress for example if I was to do this for myself it would be ssh kermit@ Once you type in your password, and you are successfully logged into your server you can do anything you want to do just as if you were sitting in front of the server itself. To logout of ssh simply type in exit and hit enter. System requirements The table below lists recommended hardware specifications. Install Type RAM Hard Drive Space Base System All Tasks Installed Server 128 megabytes 500 megabytes 1 gigabyte Finale I hope you have enjoyed this demonstration of how to successfully create a working and secure server. You can add other features to this server if you like such as making it a dedicated , LAMP, or FTP server. All you need to do is type in the right commands, know what you are doing, and you are good to go. I leave you with a quote from Dubash from ZDNet in which he stated, As ever, common sense and a willingness to google for answers always yields results. Linux is ideal, and the experience you gain will reap dividends in the future. What's more, the availability and enthusiasm of the open source community for answering questions, plus the fact that the software is free, neatly blend the economic and personal justification for the task. 9

10 Product Site Ubuntu.com Official Online Documentation Professional Review Manek Dubash. ( , April). Build your own Linux server. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from About.com: 10

11 References Ramesh Natarajan. (2010 February 15). Top 5 Best Linux Firewalls. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from thegeekstuff.com: Shorewall. (2012). Iptables made easy. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from Shorewall.com: Dave Clark. (2012). The Port Forwarding Progression. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from portforward.com: Kenneth Hess. (2010 March 11). Ubuntu Server: The Linux Server Operating Systems Dark Horse. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from ServerWatch.com: Server-Operating-Systems-Dark-Horse.htm Michael Jang. (2009). Ubuntu Server. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from VTC.com: Timothy Morgan. (2010 April 20). Ubuntu Server primed for the bigtime. Retrieved on February 17, 2012, from theregister.com: 11