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Ask HN: Why there's no a quick guide for setting up a VPS?

9 points by jozi9 12y ago

Is it just me, or are there other developers out there struggling with this every time, all the basic security and webserver configurations and so? Or everybody is just using PaaS?

colept 12y ago
Linode's tutorials for setting up a basic VPS and protecting it are wonderful: https://www.linode.com/docs/getting-started https://www.linode.com/docs/getting-started You don't have to have Linode to use the tutorials either. They're a great resource for learners.
nodesocket 12y ago
I'm the founder of https://commando.io https://commando.io. We provide a way to write scrips (in bash, perl, python, ruby, go, or node.js) and run those scripts against servers. This saves you time, but also provides a repeatable way to install packages and configure services on servers. Perhaps we can help you.
revorad 12y ago
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials https://www.linode.com/docs/ https://www.linode.com/docs/ http://articles.slicehost.com/ http://articles.slicehost.com/
saluki 12y ago
y, it's a pain setting up a VPS from scratch, each time you get faster but it still takes time. I've been developing with Laravel since last fall. I've been using Laravel Forge, it's $10/mo put well worth it as it handles setting up the VPS (on your linode, DO, etc) and code deployment, very nice. https://forge.laravel.com/ https://forge.laravel.com/ Watch the laracast, link is on that page.
whichdan 12y ago
Consider server administration to have the same learning curve as picking up a new language: everything will feel unfamiliar at first, but once you get used to it, you'll start recognizing patterns and similarities between each tool that you use. Let's say you're deploying a new Debian VM; at the bare minimum, you need to know: - Basic Linux commands (top, tail, cat, cp, mv, ls, cd, rm, mkdir, et cetera) - Casual vim/nano usage - Casual less usage (mainly Ctrl-B/F) - Knowing that `man [command]` and `[command] --h` are the easiest ways to decipher a tool - iptables/fail2ban (security) - Basic MySQL setup (almost everything can be done in a gui) - Basic Apache2 configuration (vhosts, enabling mods) - How to manage packages (apt-get update; apt-get upgrade; apt-get install [whatever]) At that point, you just need to read a few tutorials to fill in the gaps, and to figure out how to get Apache to serve files from your language of choice. The easiest way to go about all of this is to setup a VM locally, document each step you take while configuring it, then repeat that a few times until you feel comfortable. Then you can figure out how to automate everything!
h4waii 12y ago
Because things like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8478159 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8478159 happen. There is no quick guide, because you can't quickly learn system administration and security.

9 points by jozi9 12y ago

Is it just me, or are there other developers out there struggling with this every time, all the basic security and webserver configurations and so? Or everybody is just using PaaS?

colept 12y ago

Linode's tutorials for setting up a basic VPS and protecting it are wonderful: https://www.linode.com/docs/getting-started https://www.linode.com/docs/getting-started You don't have to have Linode to use the tutorials either. They're a great resource for learners.

nodesocket 12y ago

I'm the founder of https://commando.io https://commando.io. We provide a way to write scrips (in bash, perl, python, ruby, go, or node.js) and run those scripts against servers. This saves you time, but also provides a repeatable way to install packages and configure services on servers. Perhaps we can help you.

revorad 12y ago

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials https://www.linode.com/docs/ https://www.linode.com/docs/ http://articles.slicehost.com/ http://articles.slicehost.com/

saluki 12y ago

y, it's a pain setting up a VPS from scratch, each time you get faster but it still takes time. I've been developing with Laravel since last fall. I've been using Laravel Forge, it's $10/mo put well worth it as it handles setting up the VPS (on your linode, DO, etc) and code deployment, very nice. https://forge.laravel.com/ https://forge.laravel.com/ Watch the laracast, link is on that page.

whichdan 12y ago

Consider server administration to have the same learning curve as picking up a new language: everything will feel unfamiliar at first, but once you get used to it, you'll start recognizing patterns and similarities between each tool that you use. Let's say you're deploying a new Debian VM; at the bare minimum, you need to know: - Basic Linux commands (top, tail, cat, cp, mv, ls, cd, rm, mkdir, et cetera) - Casual vim/nano usage - Casual less usage (mainly Ctrl-B/F) - Knowing that `man [command]` and `[command] --h` are the easiest ways to decipher a tool - iptables/fail2ban (security) - Basic MySQL setup (almost everything can be done in a gui) - Basic Apache2 configuration (vhosts, enabling mods) - How to manage packages (apt-get update; apt-get upgrade; apt-get install [whatever]) At that point, you just need to read a few tutorials to fill in the gaps, and to figure out how to get Apache to serve files from your language of choice. The easiest way to go about all of this is to setup a VM locally, document each step you take while configuring it, then repeat that a few times until you feel comfortable. Then you can figure out how to automate everything!

h4waii 12y ago

Because things like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8478159 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8478159 happen. There is no quick guide, because you can't quickly learn system administration and security.