I needed to build a small home server for the following tasks:

1. Printserver
2. Backups of several home machines (a couple of laptops, one and a half desktops).
3. Photo archive storage
4. Music storage
5. Document storage

In the future, perhaps a few more USB devices will be hooked up, such as webcams and thermometers, but this is so, for a very future ...

It will not be a router - another computer is doing this. And this server will handle only internal needs. Plus, for complete happiness, you will hang on a different phase (and ideally, it is also connected via wifi n, but this is also for the future).

Iron

It looks ironically like this: an Intel board on a 330 atom (dual-core), a gigabyte of RAM, an Inwin 639 ITX case, a pair of screws - 250 gigabytes and 640 gigabytes (this is temporary, then I will replace it with more). Such iron was chosen because of its small size. The case allows you to put only two hard drives, but that will suit me - very large volumes are not expected. Even the current 640 + 250 will last for a long time. But iron is not interesting, they constantly write about it here. And all about the same thing. :)

And I'd rather write about the software stuffing of the server - what I chose, why I chose it. Well, I'll write about my impressions too. Later. :)

OS selection

Options.
Well, first free and open source:

1. FreeNAS. Free, but inside frya with all its shortcomings in terms of iron support. USB thermometers do not light up. :) Yes, and the functionality is not very interesting.
2. ebox - a thing, no doubt, interesting and worthy of attention, but inside it is neon Linux. That is, either take what is given by default, or - a lot of manual work, because what is given by default rarely suits me in Linux ... For example, I do not like Linux file systems.
3. Any Linux distribution. See previous point.

After I went through open sources, proprietary options went, but free (in my case):

1. Windows XP Home (the distribution kit with a sticker is lying around). I will say nothing here. Only from poverty or complete non-support of the necessary equipment by Linux. Other than that, it's no better than Linux. The file system is more pleasant, except perhaps (from the user's point of view - you can recover accidentally deleted files, for example :)). But if there was a choice of Linux or XP Home, then I would choose Linux.
2. Windows Web Server 2008. I have 3 of them - MS handed out at one time at every opportunity. Maybe it would stop there, but WWS does not know how to share a printer, for example. Checked.

Somewhere at this stage, I remembered a product called Windows Home Server, promoted by MS just as an OS for home servers. After reading the description, I realized that this is almost what I need.

What WHS is all about: it's a server operating system from MS based on Windows SBS 2003 SP2. That is, inside it is almost a full-fledged Windows Server with some additional features.

What I personally liked:

• Collection of information about all home computers - originally only complaints from the security center, but this is expanded with plugins.
• Automatic full backup of all home machines. That is, if the hard drive is covered, you can install a new one, boot from the CD, which will merge the backup from the server and deploy it to the computer. To save space, identical files that are located on several computers are stored on the server in only one copy. Not particularly important data can not be backed up - there is an exception setting. Any swap files, hibernation files, etc. entered there immediately.
• Unified storage (all disks are combined into a single array, something like JBOD). But there is one very useful feature here - replacing disks in an array (Drive Extender). That is, you can connect a new disk, include it in the array, then click on the “Extract from array” button on one of the old disks and all information from it on the removed disk will be automatically shoved across all other disks. It can be said that for this alone, in my eyes, WHS has no competitors - maybe Linux can be finished to the desired functionality (digging towards LVM, mhddfs, etc.), but this is all the time, plus ease of use.
• Possibility for important data to assign storage on two disks. Those. select the folder, click "Duplicate" in the properties - and it will be physically stored on two different disks. Those. when one of them takes off, the information will not be lost. True backups are not duplicated. On the other hand, it rarely happens that both the original and the backup are covered at the same time.

There, of course, there is some other functionality, but in this case I needed this one.

OS mining

And here it is necessary to stop in more detail. I prefer to use legal software, because in this case, torrents were closed to me. You can try it legally. 120 days, it seems.

But with the purchase there are some problems. Just coming to the store and paying $ 100 will not work - it is not sold at retail (I am in Russia, if suddenly someone decides to tell me the address of the store :)).

• Option one: Buy a piece of iron based on WHS. Not suitable - I do not know companies that sell such pieces of iron in Russia.
• Option two: Order a piece of iron abroad. Stops the price of such pieces of iron (especially considering delivery and customs).
• Option three: Buy a box on ebay (~$130). It would be possible to try, but I still have not got a normal bank card.
• Option four: www.softkey.ru. In principle, the most real and convenient, but not without pitfalls, whose name is the license for WHS, which allows it to be distributed only as part of finished devices. That is, you can’t buy, put it on a self-assembly piece of iron and use it. The assembled computer must be sold. No problem. I need to sell. Yourself. :)

A friendly firm that sells iron is taken. Ask to order it in the WHS softkey (the cost is around 3800 rubles + delivery). Then you order from this company the assembly of a system unit from the components you are interested in. When buying, enter WHS on the same check. Everyone is happy.

A couple of notes:
Components, in principle, can be bought elsewhere, and the company simply gives sales receipts - they will pretend that they bought it, then they will sell it to you. :)

WHS in a softkey can only be paid for by a legal entity, a private one is not allowed. After ordering, they called me back from there and warned me about the above license restrictions.

Conclusion

In principle, everything is about choosing and buying.
I don’t see the point in doing a description of the WHS installation - the server is like a server. I have already said everything about iron.
And here is an overview of the management interface (WHS Console) and the add-ons I liked.

PS. Everything I write is my personal opinion. If I'm wrong somewhere, please point out the mistakes. But it is desirable not in the variant “you are wrong, MS paid you”, but approximately “in this place you are wrong, here is a prooflink”.

November 29, 2010

linux

I'll try to be brief. linux is a free, affordable, reliable operating system. linux they are used for many purposes, from mobile phones to servers. Since at the moment I am touching on the topic linux server, I will explain why Linux deserves our attention, on real working examples !!!

linux windows

linux windows ? No need to rack your brains! All is decided! linux server - save money, nerves and time.

And to convince you of this, I will give a couple of facts:

• The cost of a Windows server will cost a pretty penny, to put it mildly, and if you are not strong in servers, then God himself ordered to put linux server, and with the money saved from buying Windows, you can easily hire a professional. Without going into the cost, I will say this: one Windows server without installation will cost you the cost of a call from 6 to 11 tuners.
• You do not need to look for a Linux server distribution kit in stores, you can simply download it on the Internet on official sites.
• FROM linux server you will forget about reboots without being distracted from important matters.
• If you want to set up your own Linux, I advise you to go to www..

Well, the phrase Linux Windows is still spinning in my head. Then here's more for you:

• Linux is not so demanding on the characteristics of hardware. Like it or not, the graphical interface will take its toll.
• Linux usually comes with its own set of drivers and will suit almost any hardware configuration.
• Additional Linux software packages are either already on your system or automatically downloaded from the Internet.
• You will install additional programs as free as Linux itself.
• For fans to put not a license, especially in organizations. Don't be surprised by a fine of 500 thousand rubles for just one Windows server. ( fine amount current as of 2010.11.29)

I hope that the question of Linux Windows has already disappeared, then let's move on.

Linux server

Linux server - fundamentally no different from any other server with the same type of function. I’ll immediately bring it to the point and tell you which servers can be easily implemented:

File server is a server for storing files, it is simple and clear how additional features it is the management of downloads to the server, access, load, as well as users. Customize this linux server You can for example according to the article Installing FreeNAS in Russian.

Linux for server

There is a lot of debate about which Linux distribution to choose. Actually the answer is the same. The one that makes it easier for you to work. And if you have not yet had time to get acquainted with Linux, then choose the one for which there is a description, and even better, a clear instructions from installation to launch .

• If you understand and difficulty is your middle name, your choice is FreeBSD
• If you are one of those who scrolled the thought in your head linux windows , You will like CentOS, Fedora more, and someone even for the sake of experiment will want to leave the graphical interface, your right :)))
• If you think that the server is overly graphical solution. Ubuntu server is not only understandable, but also very popular, you will find not only a user manual and an article on how to create Ideal Server - Ubuntu 10.10

Oh Lord, I have sinned. FreeBSD is not Linux, but those who have already worked with FreeBSD will understand me :)))

Linux server download

Having decided on the Linux operating system, we are left with download linux server using all the methods known to us for this. To begin with, let's visit the official website of this operating system, from where we will not only download it, but we will definitely find out the latest version.

You can also download the Linux server on the official website, but if your speed allows you to download faster than the site allows, I advise you to contact rutracker.org. you not only download linux server faster, but also help others by staying on the distribution :)))

Linux server installation

If you still reached this point, then you yourself want to install linux server , or you have prepared the system for further remote configuration of the system. No matter how it was. I will not breed scribbling and answer directly. Linux server installation in most cases, an individual approach, and depends on its role. During the installation process, as a rule, you will be asked to select the main components (programs) to continue with the installation.

Linux server installation not a complicated process comparable to installing Windows. The only difference from a simple installation of a personal computer is that when installing a Linux server, the main thing is setting up the network, so before disconnecting the monitor from our server, we will make sure that the server is accessible from the network at one unchanging address, it is advisable to use a static IP address.

Are you having difficulty with Linux installation, a search on the Internet will open hundreds of pages for you at your request, but it’s better not to even read, but to watch, youtube our savior :)

Setting up a Linux server

And here is the finish line! As mentioned above, it is better to call a specialist than to waste precious time, but I don’t think that launching server on your own at home you will want to hire a specialist. You just have to be patient and surf the entire Internet or visit the site what is the server for in order to find the material we need in a couple of minutes and start linux server setup .

Setting up a Linux server it is better to do it while sitting at a personal computer connected by a network to our server. The SSH protocol is used for communication. It is mainly used for remote control, but not everyone knows that with it you can manage files not only on the server itself, but also transfer files from a connected computer directly to the server. To begin with, the program itself for managing from under Windows:

PuTTY- a simple, small program, but with truly powerful capabilities for setting up a Linux server, it will become your only friend, at least for the first installation of the system :)))

It's all about hosting. discussion of hosting and servers, as well as their choice, reviews of hosters, discussion of hosting tariffs.

Updated: September 16, 2014 Views: 35759

As is clear from the name itself, it is the main shell for the connecting link between the central software or firmware part of the local or global network and child client terminals. The understanding of this term has a broader interpretation, so it is worth dwelling on some theoretical and practical issues. At the very least, you need to find out the purpose of the server operating system, as well as some aspects of its installation and practical application. Users who believe that this issue belongs exclusively to the prerogative of system administrators should immediately be given a little advice: do not be alarmed, you can install and configure it yourself. These processes are not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. But first, some theoretical information should be taken into account.

Server operating system: what is it?

Let's start with the very essence of this software. Actually, operating systems of this type are used exclusively in local or virtual networks when there is a certain number of child terminals.

The server room can be installed in two ways, but its functional purpose is the same - ensuring the operation of common applications on the network and the interaction of connected terminals with each other. Accordingly, we are talking about user groups that have access rights to a particular tool, resource or document.

Features of building server operating systems

In terms of installing a server-type OS, one should take into account the scheme for combining computers into a single network. This is the so-called network topology.

The best option is the "star" scheme and derivatives based on it. Here, thick technology can be used and when the installation of the server operating system will be carried out exclusively on the central computer, which ensures the operability of all other machines and the corresponding software when the OS is loaded over the network, or there is a partial installation of child OS components on network terminals. The point is not that.

The main and most basic purpose of the server operating system is precisely to ensure maximum performance of all machines on the network and installed software, plus full control in terms of administering local terminals and the entire network as a whole.

Even the use of modern online games involves installing the OS on a central server. Many may disagree with this statement, believing that from the home terminal you can go to the game site and use all the features. This is not true. The fact is that home computer still connects to the game server, and the load in terms of using the computing capabilities of the local computer falls on it only partially (the main operations are still performed on the central server, and the game client can be partially downloaded to the machine from which access is attempted).

Conditional rating

The rating of server operating systems given below should not be considered absolutely accurate. The problem is that some operating systems are already outdated and used very infrequently, others are difficult to configure. In general, there are a huge number of criteria by which the priorities in the list can be easily changed

However, among all existing operating systems, the most popular are the following:

• FreeBSD.
• Windows Server (Windows server operating system families based on NT, 2003, 2008 R2, 2012 and higher).
• CentOS.
• Debian.
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• ubuntu server.
• Gentoo.
• Fedora.
• OS X Server.
• OpebBSD.
• solaris.
• HP-UX;.
• AIX (IBM).
• NetWare (Novel).

It goes without saying that the first and last places are not set here, but only a list of the most popular server systems is given. Further, some of them will be considered in a brief description of their capabilities, advantages and disadvantages.

FreeBSD

This OS is, although a fairly popular system, nevertheless hopelessly outdated and losing world ratings in terms of use and performance.

The main problem is that too few software products have been developed for this OS in the form of commercial applications that could function on the basis of its platform. But the undoubted advantage is the ability to fine-tune the kernel and the availability of sufficiently powerful tools for working with memory, not to mention the I / O system.

CentOS

This server operating system is almost a complete analogue of Red Hat, but it has enhanced support capabilities.

Its advantage is that the system has a fairly fast package manager, as well as almost all hosting control panels.

Debian

This system is one of the offshoots of Linux. It is this OS that has become very widespread due to its versatility.

It is considered to be the most stable of all existing systems and in the installation package, along with KDE and GNOME, it also contains the LibreOffice office distribution. In addition, when installing this OS, you do not need to worry about installing additional audio and video codecs and decoders, since they are included in the package itself.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

The popularity of this system is clearly not denied. It can be used as a reliable corporate operating system with all the ensuing consequences.

Not surprisingly, even most of the world's exchanges use this particular system to organize their applications. Here you can also mention financial structures, and telecommunications companies, and animation studios. The only negative with all the pluses is the rather high cost.

ubuntu

Another variety of Linux (or rather, UNIX-like systems), which has firmly established itself in the ranking.

Although its use is mainly associated with home computers, nevertheless, it is believed that for installing a home server (if the user is limited in financial capabilities), this OS is best suited. In principle, this system is very similar to Debian, although, unlike its progenitor, the source code in this system has been somewhat redesigned.

Gentoo

Before us is another modification of Linux. This platform is interesting because it is based on the GNU license.

There are no problems with stability. But here, as noted by many experts, in terms of security, the system suffers a little. Even with the use of the LAMP bundle, security holes are found in the system.

Solaris

Solaris is considered to be one of the highest performing server-type operating systems ever developed.

Yes, what to say? One has only to look at its possibilities. This OS supports about 576 GB of physical "RAM", about 4 billion network connections, can serve one million simultaneously running services and processes, and also has an open network environment. And that's not all...

OpenBSD

This system, according to most experts, is the most secure. Perhaps its speed is not as high as that of other modifications of Linux or UNIX, but if you learn how to use it, many will find it a very interesting solution even compared to the most popular Windows systems.

Installation looks a little complicated, use and setup - too. But as long as the user is at least somewhat familiar with this type of operating system, using the command line should not be particularly difficult.

Windows Server (2008 R2)

Finally, consider the Windows server operating systems. Oddly enough, despite the popularity of desktop versions, these solutions have not received much distribution in the world. The most basic problem is that Windows server operating systems, since the modification of NT, do not have the necessary security features.

And this is recognized by all experts in the field of administration of systems of this type. So, for example, an antivirus for the Windows 7 server operating system must be installed without fail. In connection with the latest hacker attacks, which were mainly directed specifically at computers running the seventh version of Windows (not to mention how long it took to install various updates that were supposed to prevent the virus from working), the same built-in Defender service (or Microsoft Essentials) simply does not cope with its duties.

The administration of Windows server operating systems is, of course, terribly simplified. For example, one does not need to be an omniscient system administrator to reassign an IP, change or proxy, establish a connection with a child terminal based on network boot or using activity tracking through an RDP client. Sometimes it is enough even to launch the built-in network connection diagnostic tool, after which a notification will be issued about a problem or error, if any, in the system.

For the rest of the troubleshooting tools, for example, on the server itself, you can use the command console to clear the DNS cache or reset the general IP configuration settings.

For example, commands entered in the console might look like this:

• ipconfig /flushdns
• ipconfig /registerdns
• ipconfig /renew
• ipconfig /release.

Note: command line with commands of this type, it is equally good at fixing problems on both child user PCs and servers.

What is the result?

As the main conclusion, we can only note that, alas, Windows systems and most of the developments created by Microsoft, in comparison with UNIX systems and Linux variations that are based on them, clearly lose. The same FreeBSD OS is much more flexible both in installation and configuration, not to mention the fact that it is protected most fully in the form of an open source modification. source code, which anyone can change or modify. Actually, the question itself arises: “What to prefer?”. I do not want to give any advice, but it is fundamentally for organizing local networks using a central server that it is better to give preference to an OS based on UNIX (Linux) rather than Windows. It's cheaper, easier, and safer. True, users accustomed to the interface and this shell may seem, to put it mildly, not entirely clear. Nevertheless, it will not be difficult to deal with the interface. But with the setting you will have to tinker a little (and how without it?).

In turn, it should be noted that not all modern operating systems meet the requirements of today, although they have a fairly good potential for development and modernization. This primarily concerns FreeBSD, which, unfortunately, is not destined to develop, despite all the advantages. The developers just put an end to it. But other systems are not far behind. So, in the near future we can even expect an updated version of Windows 10, which already combines the functionality of both the stationary and server models (after a standard installation, the server can be configured quite simply). Even additional clients do not have to be installed. It is enough to use one of the components in the OS itself and in the BIOS settings (the same Hyper-V module for creating a virtual machine). With it, in terms of resource distribution between connected terminals, the server OS generally just “flies”.

This material is devoted to the basics of the operating system linux server. From this material you will learn why it is worth using Linux as a server, as well as get the necessary initial knowledge that will be useful to you to start working with servers based on this OS.

First, let's talk about why you should use Linux as your server operating system. Many people are so used to Windows that they don't even want to hear about Linux, I mean even custom Linux variants with beautiful and comfortable desktops. And to the question, why don't you want to use Linux? Everyone answers: yeah, he's kinda ugly!», « " and so on. But in fact, to all users who are so categorical about Linux, I want to say that Linux is a very friendly operating system, and you just need to understand it a little and everything will become clear to you.

Now I want to list some Advantages of Linux over Windows and dispel some myths:

• Linux is a completely free operating system ( except for some paid distributions), unlike Windows;
• Linux is virtually free of viruses;
• Everyone who says that Programs I use on Windows don't install on Linux”, You think about why they should be installed !!! After all, this is a completely different OS, it has its own programs! You can also say about Windows that " programs that run on Linux do not install on Windows”, for Linux, there are many of their programs that are not inferior to Windows, and many software manufacturers release their products for both Windows and Linux.
• Linux is more productive, especially the server version of the operating system. I explain that Linux server operating systems are without interface, but most of the resources ( more than a half!!!) just occupies the OS interface, i.e. visual shell ( are now widely used and Windows versions without GUI).
• Linux OS practically does not freeze, ( i mean myself operating system ). For example, everyone has met with a situation where everything freezes in Windows, you can’t move your mouse, you can’t even press ctrl + alt + del, and you have to reboot. Linux is designed in such a way that such a situation is excluded, except in one case when you yourself cause such a situation.
• With regards to the Linux server OS, it is quite simple to configure, unlike its Windows counterparts, in which there are a lot of different gadgets that are not so easy to figure out. The Linux system itself and all its services are configured by editing configuration files. These are ordinary text files, knowing their location and format, you can customize any distribution, even if you don't have any tools at hand other than a text editor.

I do not want to popularize the Linux OS and somehow belittle Windows, but in some cases there is no better option than using the Linux operating system. Until some time, I also thought that Linux was somehow not ours, but when I came across this OS, I was just pleasantly surprised.

Now let's go directly to the basics of Linux Server. For example, we will use the Linux distribution Ubuntu Server 10.10.

Basic Linux Server Settings

Describe the process of installing Ubuntu Server 10.10. I will not, because it is not more difficult, and maybe even easier than Windows installation, the only thing I will ask you to do during the installation process is when " Choosing the software to install» mark installation « OpenSSH Server". This is so that you can later connect to this computer remotely using an ssh client ( e.g. PuTTY). And at the same time, you will have full access to the operating system from any computer on your network, since the monitor is usually not attached to the server and the server itself is located in a specially dedicated server room ( server room).

In the window " Setting up user accounts and passwords» Enter your username and set a password for it.

After installation, you boot for the first time, and the OS management console appears before your eyes. First, enter your login, press enter, and then the password in order to enter the OS itself. You will be logged in as the newly created user, which does not have root privileges.

Setting up users in Linux

ROOT is the standard superuser of Linux OS, which has maximum rights. By the way, unlike Windows, in which administrator rights are not the highest ( there are also systemic), but the root rights are the highest and if you work as root and perform any actions, no one will ask you " Do you really want to do this?"as in Windows, for example, but let's just say, kill the system, without any questions there. But, one way or another, we first need to activate this user, because in the future we will need superuser rights ( Tip: always log in as a normal user until you need to switch to root mode), root is disabled by default. Activating the root account is done as follows, just set a password for root.

sudo passwd root

The system will ask you to enter the password of the user under which you work, and only then you will enter a new password for the future root and repeat it.

Since we are talking about users, let's learn how to create them. It is done like this.

sudo useradd -d /home/testuser -m testuser

• sudo - a utility that provides the user with some administrative privileges;
• useradd - a utility that adds a user to the system;
• -d - option to set the home directory for the user;
• /home/testuser - home directory path;
• -m - option to create a home directory;
• testuser is the name of our new user.

Now set a password for the new user.

sudo passwd testuser

Network setup in Linux

Now that we have dealt with the users a little, we need to configure the network, it is quite possible that the DHCP server has already done this, but maybe you want to set static ip addresses, gateway addresses and DNS ( which in principle is natural for the server).

To do this, edit the following file.

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

• nano is the standard linux editor;
• interfaces is a file responsible for network configuration.

When you open this file, you will see something like this, or rather it will look like this in the end if you need static IP addressing on this computer.

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system # and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5). # The loopback network interface auto lo iface lo inet loopback # The primary network interface auto eth0 iface eth0 inet static address 192.168.1.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 gateway 192.168.1.1

Here eth0- it's yours network connection, there can be a lot of them depending on how many network cards you have, Static says that this is a static ip address, if it were dynamic, then DHCP was specified instead of static. Well, the rest, probably, everything is clear.

• Address - ip address of the computer;
• netmask - subnet mask;
• Gateway - default gateway.

Save the file by pressing ctrl+o and then exit the editor with ctrl+x.

Now you need to assign a DNS server, this is done by editing the following file.

sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

Enter or change the following.

Nameserver 192.168.1.100 nameserver 192.168.1.200

Where, 192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.200 are the addresses of our DNS servers, if you have only one dns server, then specify only one line.

When we have everything set up, we need to restart our network interfaces, this is done as follows.

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Installing programs on Linux Server

In Linux, programs are installed in a completely different way than in Windows, so the knowledge that you had while working with Windows will not help you here. Everything on Linux software is stored in the Repositories - a kind of repository of software packages specific to Linux, which is located on the Internet, and is freely distributed online, or on CDs. To update your repositories ( already installed in Linux OS), you need to run the following command ( provided that you have an Internet connection).

Sudo apt-get update

Now that we have updated the standard repositories, you can install something, I suggest installing a file manager, one of the most common in Linux is - Midnight Commander(MC). There is a slight similarity with FAR, which is used in Windows. Programs in server Linux are installed as follows.

sudo apt-get install mc

Where, mc is our program that we want to install, i.e. our file manager Midnight Commander.

After installation, you can try this program, it starts simply, enter the name of the program in the console, i.e. mc and hit enter.

I think this is enough for the basics, in the following articles (Basic Linux Ubuntu Server Terminal Commands) we will already talk more specifically about setting up any services ( demons). For now, that's all.

The first acquaintance with any new system starts with installing it. Despite the fact that this topic is rather hackneyed and only the lazy did not write about it, without a description of the installation process, our cycle for beginners will be incomplete. We will try not only to tell you how to install the system, but also why we choose certain settings and what they affect. We will also consider installing the server version of Ubuntu specifically, since our cycle is intended specifically for novice administrators so that they can eliminate gaps in knowledge and consciously approach the perception of the rest of our materials.

Since the main system for our solutions is Ubuntu Server, we will install it. The latest release can always be obtained from the page: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server . We strongly recommend that you use only LTS versions, as they are the most stable and have a long support period. Regular releases tend to be testing grounds for new technologies and can be unstable, not to mention that a 9-month support period is completely unacceptable for running server systems.

The first thing you will see when booting from the installation media is the language selection menu:

Not only the language in which the installer and the system will communicate with you depends on its choice, but also what locales will be generated. The set of locales affects not only how the symbols of national alphabets will be displayed, but also the operation of some programs and services that are critical to regional settings, for example, 1C Server.

After that, the system, already in the language of your choice, will prompt you to proceed to the installation and indicate the country that it offers, based on the selected language.

Automatic layout detection should be abandoned:

And select the required layout from the list, in most cases it is enough to agree with the choice of the system:

Then you should specify a key combination to switch it. We strongly discourage, unless this is your personal system, to specify anything other than the default Alt+Shift. Because it is extremely unpleasant, once in an unfamiliar system, to guess which combination the administrator who installed it chose.

In the next step, the system will try to get the network settings, since most networks have a DHCP server, then at this stage the system will configure the network and get access to the Internet.

If for some reason it is not possible to automatically obtain network settings, you can specify them manually or skip this step. We, for educational purposes only, will choose the item Skip network setup for now.

After that, you will need to specify the system name and username. Keep in mind that Ubuntu Account root is disabled and the user created at this stage is given the authority to elevate their rights to superuser using the command sudo. See our article for more details:. Also, don't forget that Linux is a case-sensitive system, so it's good practice to use only lowercase, including usernames.

The offer to encrypt the home directory should also be rejected.

Then enter your current time zone. This setting should be approached responsibly, since an incorrectly set time zone can lead to incorrect operation of a number of services or lead to the appearance of unreliable information in applications, for example, in a calendar or task scheduler, especially if the data is used by users located in other time zones. At the same time, it is important to choose your own time zone, and not the one corresponding to it in offset from GMT. This is necessary so that if the time zones in your country change, the system will correctly apply the updates.

In Russian realities, it may happen that the distribution was released earlier than the time zones were changed, and the current zone is not in the list, which we see in the figure above. In this case, you should choose the belt that was before the clock change and after installing and updating the system, use the recommendations from our article:

After setting the time, we move on to the most important stage - setting up the disk. The system offers several options, including automatic layout. In most cases, we choose this item. If we talk about a single disk, then we see no reason to partition it, with the exception of desktop systems, where it is worth making a separate partition /home.

In loaded systems, it makes sense to take out partitions with data, for example, /var/www or /opt/zimbra, on separate disk arrays. If you want to install the system on software RAID, then refer to the article:. In other cases, feel free to choose automatic partitioning without LVM, in which case a swap partition will be created on the disk ( swap) size in units of GB and the root partition on the rest of the space.

Another important issue is installing updates. On the one hand, updates allow you to close vulnerabilities in a timely manner and keep the system up to date, on the other hand, an uncontrolled update is quite capable of leading to serious failures. How to proceed - you choose. We prefer to install updates manually on critical systems after testing them on a dedicated system, but if you are configuring a router, then updates can be enabled.

After installing the base system, the installer will prompt you to select software packages for installation. You can select the necessary roles at this stage and get the system ready for configuration. Is it bad, especially for a novice administrator? Badly! And here's why: with this approach, the system remains a "black box" for the administrator, there is no idea about the purpose of individual packages, their role and impact on the system as a whole. Therefore, we recommend that you refuse the suggested options and install the required packages manually. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of the system and the interactions between its components. And when you begin to feel like a fish in water in a Linux environment, you yourself decide whether you need to install software automatically.

Therefore, do not select anything and (by pressing Tab) go to point Proceed.

While the system is being installed, you can quickly run away, pour yourself a cup of coffee, even on not very powerful systems, this operation does not take much time.

At the end of this process, the installer will prompt you to install the bootloader, you should agree with this proposal, unless you are planning a system with some kind of "tricky" boot system:

After that, you will be prompted to reboot the system, the installation will be completed on this and a full-fledged server operating system will be at your disposal.

So, the first login, we would not write about it if it were not for the reader's response, which showed that at this point many had difficulties. So, in Linux systems, the password entry process is not visually displayed in any way, you just need to type the desired combination of characters and press Enter, although outwardly the system behaves as if nothing is happening. This behavior is inherited from UNIX systems and is for security purposes so that an attacker cannot learn the length of your password.

Once you've logged in, the first thing to do is set up your network. As you remember, we did not make any settings at the installation stage, so we do not have the opportunity to install additional packages and we should get out of the situation with what is available. By default, the system has a text editor. nano, it is not as convenient as the built-in editor mc, but you need to be able to use it, just in case of such situations.

First of all, let's elevate our rights to superuser:

And open the configuration file with the network settings with the editor:

Nano /etc/network/interfaces

And let's bring its contents to the following form:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.44.62
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.44.2
dns-nameservers 192.168.44.2 8.8.8.8

First section auto lo specifies settings for the loopback interface and is already present in the file. The second section specifies the settings for the external network interface eth0 to work with a static address. The options are clear and do not require separate explanations, addresses, of course, are taken solely as an example. If your server has several network adapters, then you should register a section for each of them.

Suppose we want to receive the settings of the second network adapter eth1 via DHCP, for this we will add a section:

Auto eth1
allow-hotplug eth1
iface eth1 inet dhcp

Let's take a look at the options auto and auto-hotplug. The first specifies to initiate a connection on boot, and the second triggers the hot reconnect tracking mechanism and initiates address acquisition when this event occurs.

When you have finished editing the file, you should exit the editor by Ctrl + X, affirmatively ( Y) when prompted to write the file.

Then restart your computer:

If everything is done correctly, the system will gain access to the network and the Internet. You can check this with the ping command:

Ping ya.ru

The execution of the command should be interrupted with the combination Ctrl + C, remember this combination, it will come in handy more than once.

You can view the network interface settings with the command

ifconfig

With the same command, you can find out which network cards the system sees and under what names, for this, use the parameter HWaddr, which represents the MAC address of the NIC.

Before proceeding with further configuration, the system should be updated, for this we will increase the rights to the superuser again and update the list of packages with the command:

apt-get update

Then we update the system with the command:

apt-get upgrade

We carefully study the output of the command, as we see, for some reason three packages are not updated, in this case these are kernel packages. Therefore, we will try to update them manually. To do this, run the command:

apt-get install linux-generic

Which will install the new kernel and its dependency packages. It is also recommended to reboot the system after the update.

After the reboot, install the administration tools: package ssh for remote access to the server and file manager mc, which greatly simplifies the work with the system.

apt-get install ssh mc

To start mc use a simple command:

if you want to run it as root.

Working with it is quite simple, those who worked in DOS with the Norton Commander or Volkov Commander managers should not experience any difficulties at all.

Navigation is carried out with arrows, the transition between panels is carried out with the key Tab, and key selection Insert. The main actions are listed below, the numbers next to them indicate the number of the function key responsible for this action, for example, F4 - Edit, F8 - Delete, F10 - Exit. You can always collapse and then expand, mc keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O and access the console.

In the window that opens, use the arrows to navigate to the option Built-in editor and select it with the key Space. Press to confirm settings and exit. Further.

This will allow you to immediately use the built-in editor that is more convenient than nano for editing configuration files.

In conclusion, let's check the possibility of a remote connection, for this we will use the popular utility PuTTY(download). AT latest version just specify the IP address or domain name of the server:

However, just in case, check in Window - Translation