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I was in a similar position about nine months ago. I was on a shared server, and now I'm rocking a VPS with a pretty good confidence level. Here's what I did.

I was in a similar position about nine months ago. I was on a shared server, and now I'm rocking a VPS with a pretty good confidence level. Here's what I did. First, I picked a Linux distribution. I went with Ubuntu because of ease of use. Second, I ordered a copy of "The Official Ubuntu Server Book" (http://www.amazon.com/Official-Ubuntu-Server-Book-2nd/dp/0137081332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280639886&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Official-Ubuntu-Server-Book-2nd/dp/013...) and read it from cover to cover. In some cases, I had to read chapters several times to completely understand it, but because I did that and took copious notes, I feel pretty good about things now. P.S. If you do read a book, take notes. I refer to them almost everyday. Finally, I picked a VPS provider. I tried Slicehost, VPS.net, and Dreamhost, but finally settled on Linode. I picked them because I heard great things about them, and they haven't let me down. Back then, it was something like 386mb of RAM for $19.95. Now, they're even better. They offer 512mb for the same price! With Slicehost, you only get 256mb for that price. At VPS.net, it's 376mb. So Linode is the best deal, hands down. Oh and Linode has an excellent user library with how-to articles on doing EVERYTHING. http://library.linode.com/ http://library.linode.com/ Hope that helps some!

AgentConundrum 16y ago
Thanks for the recommendations. I hadn't really looked a lot into which VPS to use yet; I saw a post recently which linked me to Slicehost, so I checked it out without really having yet had the chance to do much comparison yet. I just skimmed over the linode library that you linked, and I am impressed. I was going to ask you for more information about installing and securing Apache (nothing against ngenix; I just have more experience with Apache), MySQL, and PHP, but it seems they've beaten me to the punch. Though, if you do have recommendations for any of that, please do pass that along. More information is always appreciated.
- ubuntuftw 16y ago
  I do! A killer tip too. The Linode tutorials teach you one way of installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL... but there is another. If you're using Ubuntu and you run the command "sudo tasksel", that'll launch a program that lets you pick from a bunch of preconfigured options. Need a LAMP server? Just "sudo tasksel" and select LAMP. Need a mail server? Same thing. Need an SSH server? Well, you get the idea. In the past, I've had problems getting Apache, PHP, and MySQL to play nicely when installed manually, so this can sometimes be helpful. As far as security tips: 1. Use password-protected SSH keys to login as opposed to just using a password. SSH is the protocol you will use to manage your VPS. It is also what you should use (instead of FTP, which is insecure) to transfer files. 2. Use UFW (it's short for uncomplicated firewall) to block all traffic by default and allow only necessary ports (80 for HTTP, 22 for SSH, etc). UFW is one GREAT reason to use Ubuntu. With other distributions, you have to use iptables to setup a firewall, which is incredibly complicated. UFW is easy as pie. 3. Run the command "sudo mysql_secure_installation" to secure your MySQL server 4. Keep the software on your VPS up to date. Run the commands "sudo aptitude update" and "sudo aptitude safe-upgrade" to do this.
  - tasaro 16y ago
    As far as making installations easier, you can also check out Linode StackScripts: http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/ http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/ The LAMP and LEMP (nginx instead of apache) stacks are two of the most popular.

AgentConundrum 16y ago

Thanks for the recommendations. I hadn't really looked a lot into which VPS to use yet; I saw a post recently which linked me to Slicehost, so I checked it out without really having yet had the chance to do much comparison yet. I just skimmed over the linode library that you linked, and I am impressed. I was going to ask you for more information about installing and securing Apache (nothing against ngenix; I just have more experience with Apache), MySQL, and PHP, but it seems they've beaten me to the punch. Though, if you do have recommendations for any of that, please do pass that along. More information is always appreciated.

ubuntuftw 16y ago
I do! A killer tip too. The Linode tutorials teach you one way of installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL... but there is another. If you're using Ubuntu and you run the command "sudo tasksel", that'll launch a program that lets you pick from a bunch of preconfigured options. Need a LAMP server? Just "sudo tasksel" and select LAMP. Need a mail server? Same thing. Need an SSH server? Well, you get the idea. In the past, I've had problems getting Apache, PHP, and MySQL to play nicely when installed manually, so this can sometimes be helpful. As far as security tips: 1. Use password-protected SSH keys to login as opposed to just using a password. SSH is the protocol you will use to manage your VPS. It is also what you should use (instead of FTP, which is insecure) to transfer files. 2. Use UFW (it's short for uncomplicated firewall) to block all traffic by default and allow only necessary ports (80 for HTTP, 22 for SSH, etc). UFW is one GREAT reason to use Ubuntu. With other distributions, you have to use iptables to setup a firewall, which is incredibly complicated. UFW is easy as pie. 3. Run the command "sudo mysql_secure_installation" to secure your MySQL server 4. Keep the software on your VPS up to date. Run the commands "sudo aptitude update" and "sudo aptitude safe-upgrade" to do this.
- tasaro 16y ago
  As far as making installations easier, you can also check out Linode StackScripts: http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/ http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/ The LAMP and LEMP (nginx instead of apache) stacks are two of the most popular.