Member Avatar for olddocks

Build Your Own Web Server ~ Quick & Easy Do it Yourself Installation ~ All within 24 hours !!!!

After long hardwork and desperation searching web to prepare for a linux server on my VPS plan, i wrote my tutorial for somebody like me who is new to vps and dedicated server. Just felt that it could be helpful.

- Apache 2 - Linux Web server
- MySQL 5 - MySQL Database Server
- PHP4/5 - PHP Scripting Language
- PhpMyAdmin - Web-based database admin software.
- Webalizer - Website Traffic Analyzer
- Mail Server - Postfix (MTA) with Dovecot IMAP/POP3 + Sasl Authentication
- Squirrelmail - A web based email
- VSFTP - A fast ftp server to upload files
- Webmin - A freely available server control panel
- ClamAV - Antivirus software.
- A Firewall using IPtables.

I have outlined this in the signature link below as posting links not allowed in this forum

Please comment and any advice would be appreciated.

  • 7 Contributors
  • 14 Replies
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  • 11 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by maddog39

Dani AI

Generated

Practical reality check and a short, prioritized 24‑hour plan to turn the original outline into a working Debian/Ubuntu server. For an experienced admin a basic, functional stack can be standing in a day; for newcomers it’s ambitious. rightly flagged the time estimate, and correctly warned that mail services need extra hardening. The post by is a useful component checklist — the following focuses on order, safety and what can realistically be done in a single day.

  • 0–2 hrs: Provision the VPS, fully update the OS, create a non‑root admin account with SSH key auth, disable direct root SSH, and put in a minimal firewall that allows only SSH and HTTP(S). Enable automatic security updates.
  • 2–6 hrs: Install the core web runtime and database, deploy a single test virtual host, set strict file permissions and confirm the site serves a static page.
  • 6–10 hrs: Get TLS working (requires domain + DNS), enable HTTPS and automatic certificate renewal.
  • 10–14 hrs: Lock down the database: remove remote admin access, create per‑app DB users, and schedule backups and snapshots.
  • 14–18 hrs: Decide mail strategy. Self‑hosting mail reliably requires DNS records and spam/virus filtering and usually takes longer than a day; using a reputable outbound relay is a pragmatic day‑one option.
  • 18–24 hrs: Harden exposed services, add basic intrusion mitigation, configure log rotation and simple monitoring, test backup restores, and take a final snapshot.

Quick commands for essentials:

# quick essentials (Debian/Ubuntu)
apt update && apt upgrade -y
adduser deploy && usermod -aG sudo deploy
mkdir -p /var/www/example && chown deploy:deploy /var/www/example

Test after each stage and inspect logs. Keep admin interfaces off the public internet or protect them with network restrictions. Heed on realistic timing, follow ’s caution about mail hardening, and use ’s pointers to longer how‑tos when moving beyond a day‑one build. Under time pressure, prioritize a secure web stack and backups; plan a full weekend for production‑grade hardening or consider managed services for mail and delivery.

Recommended Answers

All 14 Replies

Member Avatar for vilmantasm

thankyou

Member Avatar for TheNNS

this isn't a tutorial, it's nearly a list of software used in dedicated servers, and unless you've done it before, this will take days to complete.

commented: Please read people's posts more carefully. Thank you! -2
Member Avatar for John A

this isn't a tutorial, it's nearly a list of software used in dedicated servers, and unless you've done it before, this will take days to complete.

People who skim over posts, reply without any clue to what the poster is actually talking about just might agree with you. People who actually read posts, now that's a different story.

Member Avatar for TheNNS

and what is that supposed to mean? You freaking rep nazi, just because you don't like my post I get bad rep.

commented: don't call people nazis... It only shows what you are yourself -3
Member Avatar for Sturm

Did you actually click on the link?

Member Avatar for TheNNS

what link?

Member Avatar for Sturm

>what link?

So I take it you didn't read his post?

Member Avatar for John A

I rest my case.

Member Avatar for TheNNS

you are both idiots.

commented: wow, you are retarded. +0
Member Avatar for Sturm

You're calling us idiots? At least Joe and I can read.

Member Avatar for TheNNS

well, you're both jerks. You really should look at you threads. You're constantly putting people down.

commented: Name-calling is very immature. If any of my posts are in violation of the rules, then you need to report them. -2
commented: You call people 'Nazi' and expect them to be nice to you? +21
Member Avatar for John A

well, you're both jerks. You really should look at you threads. You're constantly putting people down.

That is not relevant to the discussion. If you have issues with either of us, then you should report them to a moderator. Here is not the place.

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

not a very detailed tutorial there. and all this is available on sites like howtoforge.com with much more detail.

without even starting to go through your configs, one look at the postfix install shows you will be flooded by spam and malware emails within the first couple of days. there is no antivirus, no security, nothing.

anyhow, if you want a simple and very fast howto on how to setup any kind of linux server - just go to howtoforge. another good place to look is and qmailrocks.org (for those who prefer qmail to other MTAs)

my point is - for someone who wants to use a howto to setup such a server, this one is very undetailed. and someone who already knows how to do it doesn't need a howto

cheers :)

commented: Good post. +12
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