Ubuntu 14.04 LTS has been out for a while now, and it offers some nice enhancements over 12.04 in its default repos: Apache 2.4, PHP 5.5, and MySQL 5.5.3x. Starting from a bare server image, here’s how to get an Ubuntu 14 web server up and running for PHP. Install the Web Server Note: If […]
Update April 2018: I’d suggest using Let’s Encrypt for this instead. I do this just infrequently enough to forget the details. So here’s the process for purchasing and installing a SSL certificate for https on your Linux/Apache web server (using Ubuntu 12.04 and Apache 2.2 here): Generate Local Key/CSR, Purchase SSL Certificate Generate your key […]
So you’re running an Ubuntu server in a virtual machine, and now you need to add 20 GB of disk space to root (/). There are quite a few ways to do this, and fortunately you’re running the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) in Ubuntu, so the process isn’t too bad. (This example uses Ubuntu Server […]
—————Update, August 2016: This article refers to Nginx 1.5.x. As of version 1.9.11, Nginx supports loading modules dynamically at runtime, so I’d suggest that route instead. If you still want to recompile Nginx, an updated tutorial for recompiling Nginx 1.9+ installed with Apt on Ubuntu 16.04 is available here. Meanwhile, an updated tutorial for compiling […]
A quick summary of the major Linux/Unix Apache multi-processing modules. Prefork Default MPM in Apache < 2.4 Consumes more RAM than threaded MPMs like Worker or Event Threadless design is safe for non-thread-safe modules like mod_php Spawns child processes that each deal with one request at a time Performs poorly on high-traffic servers with many concurrent […]
The Fail2ban monitoring utility tracks your server logs and temporarily adjusts your firewall rules to block IP addresses that originate suspicious behavior. Out of the box, though, Fail2ban ignores some annoying activity. For example, in your Apache error logs, you’re seeing a lot of entries like this: These are bots or script kiddies attempting to […]
Sermon: Why DRM Is Bad Like many people you own an Amazon Kindle device for reading e-books. And like many companies that trade in digital intellectual property, Amazon includes digital rights management (DRM) software in their e-books. The stated purpose is to prevent piracy, and for that DRM is modestly effective. But DRM also inconveniences […]
————— Update July 2017: SquirrelMail seems to have been abandoned by its developer. I’d strongly consider using Roundcube instead. ————— So now you have an Ubuntu 12.04 mail server set up with Postfix, Dovecot, virtual users, and a spam filtering system. But you have another problem: your IT department at work won’t let you add […]
——————–Note: This article pertains to Ubuntu 12, and it applies to versions of Ubuntu or Debian that use init rather than systemd. To install SpamAssassin on Ubuntu 15+, see the instructions here.——————– In our previous installment, we set up a Postfix and Dovecot mail server with virtual domains and users on Ubuntu 12.04. It works […]
————— Update November 2021: Added instructions for using Dovecot and Postfix with Let’s Encrypt. Also adjusted Postfix config to block auth attempts over port 25. This setup will get you 90%+ on mail server security tests. ————— ————— Update November 2020: If you’re on Ubuntu 20.04, these instructions still mostly work as written. There is […]