{"id":1692,"date":"2013-09-01T13:55:26","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T13:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sitekickr.com\/blog\/?p=1692"},"modified":"2017-12-08T19:42:50","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T19:42:50","slug":"provisioning-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sitekickr.com\/blog\/provisioning-server\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting up a new linux web server"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time: 13 minutes<\/strong> – okay, that’s after doing this half a dozen times \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Setting up a server, also called provisioning<\/em> by the gurus, is an exciting first step after purchasing a new VPS or dedicated machine. It’s a time when we can experiment, learn and explore all of the latest offerings by the open-source world. It’s our opportunity to configure the server to our needs without needing to cross our fingers as we make changes, hoping not to disrupt the services currently running on the box.<\/p>\n

Depending on the hosting provider you chose, your server will be pre-provisioned to an extent. Some providers will configure a server to your exact specifications, some install the LAMP stack only, while others provide you with nothing but a root password and the ability to SSH in to the machine.<\/p>\n

If you are in the last bucket, essentially you have been given keys to a car that has an engine, but no gas pedal, steering wheel or radio. Depending on your point of view, this could been seen as a disadvantage. I encourage you to be more excited about your new skeleton of a server.<\/p>\n

Having a server fully provisioned for you is a time-saver, no doubt. But for the most part, you will be getting a server that has a cookie cutter configuration that is not only out of date, but consumes more disk space and memory that you’ll need.<\/p>\n

So let’s see what it takes to put some meat on that skeleton. It should be noted that the instructions below are geared towards a CentOs distribution. Although, many apply to all distributions.<\/p>\n

Choosing a Server Template<\/h3>\n

If you’re provisioning a VPS or Cloud instance, you might be given the option to apply a “template” to the server. This template indicates which distribution to install, but also can offer installation of other software, such as the LAMP stack.<\/p>\n

I’d encourage you to avoid installing anything except for the bare-bones distribution itself. I’ve struggled to “clean up” after these templates have installed packages far too many times.<\/p>\n

Creating a non-root superuser account.<\/h3>\n

The very first thing you should do is say goodbye to that root login. Don’t ever use it again. It’s not worth ever putting the root password at risk. Okay, but how will I gain admin privileges to the server?<\/p>\n

useradd myusername<\/em>
\npasswd myusername<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (then choose a password)<\/code><\/p>\n

Great, you have a new user account. Now let’s give it superpowers:<\/p>\n

visudo<\/code><\/p>\n

Locate the line that looks like this:<\/p>\n

root\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ALL=(ALL)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ALL<\/p>\n

Then, create another similar looking line directly under it:<\/p>\n

myusername<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0 ALL=(ALL)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ALL<\/code><\/p>\n

What is this program, I can’t type anything! You’re using an age-old tool called vi<\/strong><\/em>, it’s not user-friendly at all, but there are die-hard linux fans that would dive in front of a bullet for it (yes, I have tried to physically harm the software program vi<\/em><\/strong> from time to time).<\/p>\n

Press the i<\/kbd> key on your keyboard to allow editing.<\/p>\n

When you’re done, press the Esc <\/kbd>key, then colon<\/kbd>, then the letters w<\/kbd>, then q.<\/p>\n

Indexing the filesystem search database<\/h3>\n

While you’re provisioning the server, you’ll probably find yourself using the locate<\/em> command to find utilities. Depending on your host, they may or may not have setup a cron job to auto-index the search database daily. If not, you’ll need to do this before issuing your first locate command.<\/p>\n

updatedb
\n<\/code><\/p>\n

Yup, that’s it!<\/p>\n

Well, unless you don’t have the mlocate tool installed. Not to worry:<\/p>\n

yum install mlocate<\/kbd><\/p>\n


\n<\/kbd><\/p>\n

Install the Remi Repo for CentOS 7<\/h3>\n
\r\nsudo yum install epel-release\r\nwget http:\/\/rpms.famillecollet.com\/enterprise\/remi-release-7.rpm\r\nrpm -Uvh remi-release-7.rpm\r\nEdit\u00a0\/etc\/yum.repos.d\/remi.repo\u00a0 \u00a0and set enabled = 1\u00a0 \u00a0under the PHP56 repo block.\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Installing your web server, development tools and database<\/h3>\n
Otherwise known as the LAMP stack, Apache, MySQL and PHP (or Python\/Perl) are your most common installs for a web server. Being so common, it’s not a real heavy lift to get these installed.<\/p>\n
There are a few ways to install packages, the two most common are:<\/p>\n