Making the decision to start your own dedicated server can be both exciting and overwhelming. There are numerous aspects of the server you must consider, from security to total cost of ownership. It is not easy, but it can be very rewarding for your business, organization, club, or personal use. The following are six considerations [...]
Setting up a single server can teach you a great deal about system administration, and it can even be fun for those who love technology. But when you are placed in a position to deploy several servers, having to setup each one with the right operating system, software, network configuration, and security features can be [...]
Linux is one of the most popular server operating systems, and it has gradually supplanted Unix as the world’s server OS of choice. There is no single definitive Linux OS but rather several “distributions” based on the Linux kernel. Because of this, there are some functional differences; however, most of them have similar commands and [...]
For several years I leased an unmanaged dedicated server from a company that will remain nameless. I loved the experience, but there were plenty of times when I made horrible mistakes. The following are seven lessons I learned from having my own server.
1. Whatever I thought I knew was far less than what I needed [...]
Despite your best efforts, something has gone terribly wrong with your server. Perhaps it no longer boots correctly or is not accepting your password, even though you are sure you have the right one. Regardless of the problem, or the excuse, there are times when your dedicated server is in such a bad [...]
In a previous post, we explained how to change the SSH port on your Linux server from the standard port 22. In most cases, this works just fine, but if you are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, there is a good chance you received an error such as [...]
By default the Linux SSH server (usually OpenSSH) listens for connections on port 22. Everyone knows this, including hackers. If you have other security measures in place, it may not matter if would-be attackers know your SSH port. Nevertheless, having SSH on another port other than the default may add [...]
Free and open source software powers many of the world’s servers, and numerous high-traffic sites such as YouTube, Wikipedia, and Facebook use free software to keep their sites performing at extraordinary levels. Some of the most common free software applications for servers are: variants of the GNU/Linux operating system, Apache [...]
When you hear the term P2P (peer-to-peer), you probably associate it with file sharing technology like BitTorrent. You may even associate it with illegal file sharing and torrent sites like The Pirate Bay. Obviously, you are free to run P2P file sharing sites on your server if you want, but [...]
There is a great deal of buzz in the IT and business worlds about cloud computing or simply “the cloud”. There is a good chance you already use or have already used cloud software, possibly without even realizing it. Because the terminology for this new arena is developing quickly, you may not have a firm [...]
SSH stands for Secure Shell and is a secure method of accessing remote systems. Wit SSH, you can login to your Linux or Unix shell command prompt and execute commands as if you were sitting right in front of the server typing at the console.
Before SSH, people used Telnet to [...]
It is easy to make the decision to purchase or lease a dedicated server, but that does not mean you will automatically know what should and should not do with it once you have it.
I can remember being a beginner and thinking I knew quite a bit about running servers [...]
When picking web server software, you should use the same considerations you used when choosing an operating system. You will also have to consider compatibility with your operating system and the best overall efficiency for the type of site or sites you want to run.
The following are some of the factors [...]
Proponents of each operating system will always give you different answers to this question, but it is important for you to decide which one is best for your circumstances. Choices include the many variations of GNU/Linux, the numerous descendants of BSD, several versions of Windows Server, Solaris, Mac OS X Server, and several proprietary iterations [...]
Your mother probably once told you, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For many things, that is true, but if you think your dedicated server will always be running as smoothly as it might be right now, you are fooling yourself. When everything is going well, that is the time to take care of [...]
Major OS or software upgrades can be exciting for a system administrator, but they can also be a little frightening. What if something breaks? What if you lose everything and have hours or even days of down time? This can be especially troubling if you have web applications and are [...]
The recent outage of Amazon Web Services and the security intrusion of Sony’s PlayStation Network has reminded many dedicated server owners that even large corporations struggle with security and stability issues.
In some cases, there is little you can do to prevent outages caused by weather or security intrusions caused by massive DDoS attacks. When those [...]
Backing up your server should be a regular task for you, as routine as brushing your teeth. Your backup routine should include both automated backups and manual checks to make sure your backups are working properly. If, for some reason, you are skeptical or think it is not important, here are five reasons to keep [...]
Your dedicated server inevitably contains sensitive data, whether it is simply passwords or customer credit card information. Whether the data is highly classified or just something you do not want other people to see, it is important to keep it secure and also transfer it securely.
FTP is the tried and tested method for general file [...]
Installing software on a Linux dedicated server depends on several factors. Namely:
The Linux distribution you are using
The package availability of the software you want to install
The source of the software.
Linux distributions use package management systems to make installation of software easy. In most cases, these distributions have online repositories that allow you to quickly and [...]
When you deploy a new dedicated server, you sometimes need to migrate your users from an old system. While it is perfectly reasonable to manually add Linux users when there are only a few, adding a large number can be exhausting and time consuming. Fortunately, the “newusers” command gives you the ability to add multiple [...]
