See previous sections:

Installing Ubuntu Operating System

Basic Ubuntu Server Configuration

Putty

Putty is a free SSH client used to log in to remotely manage your server. It can be downloaded from: here

To connect to your server open putty and enter your server’s IP address.

Press Yes to accept your server’s key

enter your username and password to log in

WinSCP

WinSCP is a Secure FTP (ftp over ssh) client used for file transfer. It can be downloaded from: here

To connect to your server open WinSCP and enter your server’s IP address, your username and password.

Press Yes to accept your server’s key

Use the GUI controls to navigate directories and drag and drop files

Apache Web Server

To verify that apache is running, at the command line type:

ps -ef | grep apache

If apache is running you will see a number of apache processes running

To make sure the apache server is accessible open your browser and enter your server’s IP address.

The default web home directory is: /var/www. This where web content and php files will be placed.

Apache log files are written to the directory: /var/log/apache2/

The Apache Configuration file apache2.conf is located in the directory: /etc/apache2/

PHP

The PHP configuration file php.ini is located in the directory: /etc/php5/apache2/

To find out details about this PHP build, we will use WinSCP to create a new file in the apache home directory named info.php. Navigate to the folder /var/www and right click inside the right file window. Select New and File

In the file enter the following code and save:

<?

phpinfo();

?>

Open your web browser and enter your ip address followed by /info.php

MySQL

To verify MySQL is running type ps -ef | grep mysqld

You will see mysql process running

The MySQL configuration file my.cnf is located in the directory: /etc/mysql

To manage MySQL database, I recommend installing either PhpMyAdmin or Webmin.

See Installing Webmin on Ubuntu 9.04

Set Root Password

At this point in the installation the root password is blank, and therefore there is no way to log in as root. Although most administrative tasks can be performed using the sudo command, it makes things easier to have the ability to become root.

Log in to the console using the user account created in part one and type the following command and press Enter:

sudo passwd root

You will first be prompted to enter your current user password (the one you just logged in with). Next you will be asked to enter a new password for the root account, and type it again to confirm. When complete you should see a message indicating that the root password was successfully updated.

To become root, type the su command and press enter:

su

Enter the root password you just created and press enter

Configure Static IP Address

During the installation in part one, the system automatically configured the IP address of the server using DHCP. However, since this will be a web server, it is a good idea to set a static IP address.

To see the current ip address type the following command and press enter:

ifconfig -a

Current network configuration is displayed. Notice the ip address set for your nic card (probably eth0)

The following shows how to edit the network interface configuration file using the vi editor. Make sure you are still logged in as root and enter the following:

vi /etc/network/interfaces

The file will be opened by vi. Notice that the network card is set to dhcp and there is no address defined.

If you have never used vi before, be forewarned that it takes some getting used to. If you make a mistake, just remember the following sequence to escape and not save changes:

ESC :q! ENTER (press escape key, type colon, lowercase q and an exclamation mark, and press ENTER)

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor up/down/left/right. Position the cursor underneath the d of dhcp.

Press the x key four times to delete the word dhcp

Press the i key to start insert mode (when in insert mode you can insert text. to escape insert mode press ESC). You will know you are in insert mode because it says INSERT at the bottom of the screen.

Type the word static and press ENTER to go to the next line

Next enter address and the server’s static ip address, netmask and the subnet mask, and gateway and the server’s gateway/router

Once finished, press the ESC key to escape from insert mode and enter the following command to save and exit:

:x! (colon, lowercase x, and an exclamation mark)

Changes are saved

We will follow the same procedure to edit DNS. Enter the following command to open the dns configuration file:

vi /etc/resolv.conf

Edit the IP address following nameserver to your primary DNS server, and optionally add a second nameserver line with your secondary name server

Enter the following command for the networking changes to take effect

/etc/init.d/networking restart

Verify that your changes took effect by once again typing ipconfig -a

You should see your new ip address for the primary network card

After you complete the setup, you should also review part 3:

Getting to know Ubuntu LAMP Server

If you have questions or problems with this build doc please leave a comment below.

This build will be broken up into 3 parts:

Part 1: Installing Ubuntu Operating System
Part 2: Basic Server Configuration
Part 3: Working with Ubuntu LAMP

In this build we will be using ubuntu-9.04-server-amd64.iso, which can be downloaded via BitTorrent or from the Ubuntu website.

After downloading the iso file, you must either burn it to a CD or if this is a virtual machine you may mount the iso file to your VM’s CD-rom drive.

To begin installation, insert CD and boot server. When installer boots, select English.

At Ubuntu welcome screen, select Install Ubuntu Server and press Enter

Select English and press Enter

Select Country and press Enter

Select No to skip keyboard detection

Select Country / keyboard layout

Install begins and runs for a few minutes

Enter a hostname for your server

Select Timezone

Choose disk partition method. In this build we will select guided – use entire disk and setup LVM (Logical Volume Manager). If you wish to setup a custom partitioning scheme choose Manual.

Select your hard drive / disk

Select Yes to write changes to the disk

Verify you want to use the entire disk, press Enter to continue

Select Yes to write changes

Install continues

Enter your username

Enter your password (and once again to confirm)

When asked to encrypt home directory select No

Enter proxy server if any (in this build we leave blank)

Install continues

Select install security updates automatically

Select Software to install. Use up/down arrows and space bar to select. Select LAMP server, mail server and openssh server. Press Enter

Enter root password for MySQL database (and type again to confirm)

For mail configuration, select Internet Site and press Enter

Enter hostname/domain name for mail server

Last of install files get installed

When done, press Enter to finish. System will reboot. Make sure to remove CD-rom

Next Section: Ubuntu Server Configuration

If you have questions or problems with this build please leave a comment below.