Linode Forum

[the_guv]

Hey y'all,

When I joined up with Linode, setting up my first VPS, I researched the options and got stuck into Nginx. Thing was, the docs were a bit sparse or, rather, not very newbie-friendly.

So, initially for my own ongoing reference, I put together a guide for folks that could barely spell Linux, let alone feel at home using the terminal.

The series intro is linked in my signature.

The objective was and remains ..

Quote: Serve multi sites & blogs on a budget .. at the fastest possible speed .. with the least downtime .. in the most secure environment .. and future-proofed for easy admin.

The bible covers from weighing up web host types to command line administration, and hopefully will encourage those of you that, like I was and frequently still am, are a little dazed by some of the options, and by lots of the syntax.

It's not quite finished .. initially it was gonna be about a half dozen posts, but is nearer 40 now. My plan is to keep upgrading and improving it, and adding to it with further relevant topics.

.. it's in two distinct sections; Setup 4 Newbies and Admin 4 Newbies.

For those of you that can appraise, I'd appreciate that. Your feedback is most gratefully received, as are suggestions for subsequent topics, thank you. The folks at Nginx have already been putting me right on a thing or two.

Finally, a big thanks to Linode for helping me with this guide .. Tom and Co at support are splendid, totally top chaps.

Here's the index and, like I say, I hope it's encouraging to some, at least ..

Set Up Unmanaged VPS (4 Newbies) .. The V-P-S Bible

1. VPS (Virtual Private Server) vs Shared vs Dedicated
2. Set Up a VPS Linux Distribution *
3. Set Up the Command Line Interface (CLI) using PuTTY *
4. Create a Linux User & Set Permissions *
5. Encrypt Data with OpenSSH & Auto-Login with PuTTY *
6. Harden the Secure Shell (SSH) & Create a Firewall *
7. Edit bashrc for User-Friendly Linux, plus System Updates *
8. PHP5, MySQL, Xcache, Subversion (for Platforms like WordPress) *
9. Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS *
10. Prepare Linux Server for Email with Postfix *
11. Nginx (better than Apache) Web Server *
12. Setup FileZilla for Secure FTP (SFTP) *
13. Serve Multiple Sites & Blogs with Virtual Hosts *
14. Set up WordPress on Nginx with Pretty URLs & WP Super Cache *
15. WordPress Setup & Updates from the Command Line *
16. Nginx Control Panel
17. Nginx Control Panel Workarounds
18. Google Apps for Domain-Specific Email *
19. Moving Day! How to Move Your Blog or Site
20. Blogroll, Links, Credits, Resources

* includes video

Maintain Unmanaged VPS (4 Newbies) .. V-P-S Admin

1. Add Web Sites Nginx Cheatsheet
2. Adding Sub-Domains with Nginx
3. Setup openSSH for Linux-to-Linux
4. Add/Delete MySQL Database from Command Line
5. phpMyAdmin & Nginx to Maintain Databases
6. Backup/Export MySQL DB with CLI & mysqldump
7. Import Data to MySQL Database from Terminal
8. Batch Replace/Delete Data in MySQL Database
9. Reset a Lost MySQL Password
10. Backup or Upload with Secure Copy SCP (Linux/Linux)
11. Backup or Upload with PuTTY PSFTP (Windows/Linux)
12. Gain Benefit From Parked Domains
13. Password Protect Nginx Web Files/Directories
14. Redirect Web Pages with Nginx Rewrite Rule
15. Create Custom Website Error Page
16. Access Web Site Error Logs
17. Set up Cron Jobs
18. Using Network Tools
19. Hotlink Protect (Bandwidth)
20. IP Deny to Block Access with Nginx
21. Subversion vs Fantastico - Platform Update

Er, now I'm having a play with Cherokee too. HAHA! Will let you know.

[linodeTail]

I'm reading your site...it's pretty awesome :)

I wish it had commands for Centos , or other variations instead of only ubuntu.

[the_guv]

linodeTail wrote: I'm reading your site...it's pretty awesome :)

I wish it had commands for Centos , or other variations instead of only ubuntu.

hey linodeTail, darn kind, Sir, thank you, (clearly a well chosen adjective ;) )

Indeed, I have been thoroughly populist, choosing Ubuntu's Hardy Heron LTS (8.04) rollout. Runs awfully nicely tho, have to say. But ..

Am planning to play with some other distros now, having benched other servers (well, nginx vs lighty vs cherokee), so who knows what will come out of that. Will keep this forum informed.

All suggestions gratefully received.

Mighty thanks again, good to hear.

[Baudouin]

I'm eager to see the Cherokee tutorial. It looks like right now there is none on vpsbible.

[the_guv]

me too Baudouin ;) .. Cherokee is mighty interesting.

Did you catch my recent PHP benchmarking .. quite something:-

PHP BENCHMARKED: PHP-FPM vs Spawn-FCGI vs FastCGI

[vds]

hi the_guv
where is the link for V-P-S Admin ?

[vds]

btw, when I click Subscribe,
your site redirect me to paypal:

vpsBible.com "New Site Offer" (this is a NON-RECURRING payment)Total:$15.00USD

non-recurring... hmmm so this is one-time payment and never expires?

[the_guv]

hey vds,
vds wrote:
where is the link for V-P-S Admin ?


good point! (and thank you for the tip) when i forked from guvnr I re-mastered the docs entirely, but less masterfully the nginx admin guide is now buried. will sort that now and post here when done .. search is good tho too

vds wrote:
non-recurring... hmmm so this is one-time payment and never expires?

it's annual (hey, there are new tuts, benchmarks and - er, starting today! - cross-vps-provider stackscripts, every few days) .. it's not auto-recurring cos I reckon people will re-sub if they're genuinely happy with the docs and updates.

the support forum is free, subbed or not, and I try to get in there daily.

.. so it's kind of a compromise between an opensource attitude and, you know, having to eat :P

[the_guv]

vds wrote: hi the_guv
where is the link for V-P-S Admin ?

hey vds .. just for you, Sir :)

Manage Nginx from Command Line: The Nginx-Ubuntu Admin Index Page

(and thanks again for the tip-off)