Server?

[jbennet]

Ok i got a new server but need some help settting it up

firstly:

Debian?
CentOS?
SuSE?

secondly:

How do I actually set up webmin, apache, ssh and ftp?

i want to be able to use ssh /webmin for remote admin and have one homepage which then has links to individual familiy members areas - the 3 members should have a folder with passworded FTP access to put thier site in. The main page link to thier area should point to /var/www/(name)/index.html

Im not a newb so fell free to get in depth with me - i know how to use theese tools , just not how to configure them properley

[John A]

All I can say is: go with Debian. I know you have experience with it, it's solid and not full of crap like some other distros I know. SuSE is too graphical, which is not needed when you've got a server, and CentOS is pretty similar, too.

As for setup... SSHD is pretty painless (just setup the daemon to start automatically, and you're fine). FTPD is fine, although I do have to point out that SFTP is easier to setup (nothing, it's the same as SSH ;)), but FTPD doesn't require much configuration either. I've never used Webmin, so I can't really advise you on that one.

Apache is the only one you might have problems setting up. Just make sure to follow Apache's documentation for the httpd.conf file, and read the much-commented lines. You'll basically want a virtual host directive pointing to a main /var/www directory for the homepage, and then additional virtual host directives for each individual user (which will of course, have to be added manually). You can then link to these from the home page.

Good luck! :)

[DimaYasny]

the best advice for choosing a distro I've ever heard sounded something like "choose the distro best known by the closest *NIX guru to you".

Actually there are good sites like howtoforge.com and rocksproject.org that would guide you through setting up several different server types fitting your purpose. Since all distros are slightly different, setting up daemons is different as well. In Debian webmin, FTP and SSHd can be installed by apt-get, in CentOS yum is your friend, but it doesn't include webmin (you have to download the RPM from webmin.com).
In any case, whatever distro you choose, solutions are available in abundance :)

[jbennet]

yeah this is fairly new to me (ive only ever used samba and nfs before)

i hate suse too i was just throwing ideas about :)

debians apt-get is good, i like that alot but i think ill go with CentOS as i like its graphical utilities for configuring services, firewall, apache, ftp etc... as well as the long release cycle

Also, how can i set up local DNS? I want to be able to go to http://server.local or something instead of to its IP

[DimaYasny]

Also, how can i set up local DNS? I want to be able to go to http://server.local or something instead of to its IP

http://www.djbdnsrocks.org/

Webmin has a pretty good GUI for BIND dns

[jbennet]

well ive installed centos and got Apache 1 and VsFTPd working but im having a but of trouble with IP's. I need DHCP as my PDA cant do static and i need it to have wifi access

[DimaYasny]

yum install dhcpd
the rest is very easy to configure in webmin

[jbennet]

seems to be working fine
installed webmin etc

went and baught a networking book (FC1 but suitable for centos 4.4)

gonna play with mail server now get local lan mail set up

[DimaYasny]

I'd optimise the server first - remove unneeded stuff, recompile the kernel etc.

[John A]

well ive installed centos and got Apache 1

Why in the world did you install Apache 1? Apache 2 is superior to version 1 in nearly all ways - there's no reason to use old outdated software.

I'd optimise the server first - remove unneeded stuff, recompile the kernel etc.

I disagree. Get your main services working first (DHCP, DNS, FTP, etc). Once that works the way you want it, and only then, reoptomize your server and remove the fluff.

If you have all sorts of problems, how in the world are you supposed to know where it's coming from? If you know that your services were working fine before, then you can trace it down to what you did last (for example, recompiling the kernel).

[jbennet]

apache 2 doesnt play nicely with my PHP code. i have tried this under windows

[John A]

apache 2 doesnt play nicely with my PHP code. i have tried this under windows

The latest version of Apache 2 often doesn't work with PHP 5, but if you use a different version (I've had the best success with 2.0.58) it will work.

[jbennet]

hmm ill have a look into it

just fixed the ftp now ive got it all fixed, server is running good

setting kerberos and NIS for my linux clients now - windows ones are ghoing on the Samba PDC

[DimaYasny]

I disagree. Get your main services working first (DHCP, DNS, FTP, etc). Once that works the way you want it, and only then, reoptomize your server and remove the fluff.

I guess our approaches differ. I really like *nix systems for the flexibility, and the opportunity to build a system I want, without all sorts of unneeded stuff. If I'm installing a server, I don't want it to be like MS SBS - two hours installation, 22 hours for clearing out the unneeded :)

If you have all sorts of problems, how in the world are you supposed to know where it's coming from? If you know that your services were working fine before, then you can trace it down to what you did last (for example, recompiling the kernel).

My point exactly. Recompiling the kernel isn't done for troubleshooting purposes, but for optimization. After everything is running the best it can, you can set up your services a needed, and troubleshoot as you go along. Same goes for Windows, by the way. You wouldn't run dcpromo BEFORE you install all the hardware drivers, would you?

[jbennet]

okay the server is sorted., got rid of my wifi router and installed 2 network cards, one wired and one gigabit. It provides:

authentcation
mail
dns
dhcp
ftp
webmin
apache
ssh
telnet
samba
squid

im very happy. one question though. When im gettibng a new kerel do i need SMP and bigmem support? I have quad CPU and 2gb

[DimaYasny]

I'd say SMP. missing out on using all that quad power is a crime :)

[Infarction]

You'll want SMP. You might as well get bigmem, though I don't think it's needed for less than 4GB of memory. If you intend on upgrading to 4GB at some point, get it. I don't recall how memory-mapped I/O interferes with the memory space without bigmem...

[jbennet]

i think 4gb is the server max as its 4x 32 bit PIII era xenons

im using plain smp (no bigmem) and it works good