Set Up and Manage Your Virtual Private Server: Making System Administration Accessible to Professionals

Chapter 1: What is a Virtual Private Server?Chapter Goal: Go over basic terminology of how the internet operates, how servers run, and how virtualization allows individuals to have their own server for a very small cost per month.- How does the magic happen?o How does a webpage appear on my screen? How does email route through the internet to someone else? How do domain names work?- What options does someone have if they want to get into this?o Who provides services (data centers, co-locations, virtual servers, cloud computing)o How much does it cost?o How much do I have to do?o How much time does it take?- Am I ready for this?o Do I have the necessary skills and time to learn skills I need?o Am I OK with being my own system administrator?o Who do I call if I need help? Or can I call someone?
Chapter 2: Selecting a VPS ProviderChapter Goal: Walk the reader through identifying and selecting a VPS provider.- How do I find a provider? o Low-end, High-end, Cloudo Trust and Reliability, what is an SLA?o Warning signs- Resources & Budgetingo What do I really need? o How much does it cost?o Extras that can cost money.- Setting up a New Accounto Security of your account.o Extras you may or may not need.o Terms of Serviceo Choosing your Linux distribution: CentOS or Debian (Throughout the book, commands for both CentOS 8 and Debian 10 will be provided).
Chapter 3: Basic Linux Administration via Command-LineChapter Goal: Providing the basic commands to administer your server, finding files, and adding and configuring software.- Logging into your servero Shell accesso SSHo SFTPo Setting up your user account- Basic commandso Linux Directory Structureo Ls, cp, mv, and the most dangerous: rmo Finding fileso Su / sudo and file permissions.o Disk usage, memory usage, and overall server health commands.o How do I edit files: Vim and Nano- How your System Starts up and Shuts Downo Services, what they are and how to enable/disableo The right and wrong way to shutdown, and why it's important.o Graphical user modes versus command-line.o Files that you might want to keep copies of.- How do I install software? o Package managers (apt / yum)o Compiling from Sourceo Updating / upgrading / removing softwareo Configuring software through configuration files.
Chapter 4: Basic Linux Administration via GUI (Webmin)Chapter Goal: To provide a basic overview of the Open Source project "Webmin" for configuration of your server though a graphical interface.- Deciding if a GUI is needed or not. Pros and Cons- Downloading and installing Webmin- Setting up Webmin security, including SSL and 2 Factor authentication.- Delegating tasks to others using Webmin Users.- Basic walkthrough of the modules that you'll need to access, with an eye on settings you don't want to change.- Webmin's Usermin module: GUI for users to access files, mail, databases, and more.
Chapter 5: Basics of Linux SecurityChapter Goal: The basics of setting up security on your server, with a discussion of auditing and verifying files haven't changed.- What is a firewall and how do I set it up?- How do I give some users access to administrative functions, but not all?- Advanced File Permissions, and more on