Where do I start or "set a new home linux server"

Where do you start setting your new Linux VPS ? Well let's start with which distro should i be using ?

For me it was my old friend Ubuntu .I'm an Ubuntu user for a couple of years now  , I'm used to the shell commands and some environment settings so i choose Ubuntu 8.04 LTS server.

It came bare naked !

Just an openSSH server installed

So i had installed :

• LAMP ,apache ,mysql ,php5
  
• wordpress on it
  
• postfix as MTA
• mailscanner + spamassin for mail filtering
  
• dovcot for pop3s
• and some basic shorewall predefined rules
• MRTG for traffic
  
• and as a mistake clamav
  

All went smoothly without any issues except clamav lib which turned up to be too much resource consuming and had it removed from the VPS.

I had to have  a fall back for my mail so i set up a Google apps account and added a MX record with higher number so in case my mail server will be unavailable all mail will be routed to Google apps

Step 3 Xen or Open VZ

Long time since i had this one publish ,sorry

Well next is to decide which technology should my VPS be hosted on .
I decided to go for Xen technology rather then a OpenVZ.
You should google for differences ,but for me it is mainly preferring stability over performance .


Edit :A year after that decision ,had proved it self since i hadn't got a downtime except un expected power interruption.

Choose (suitable ,reliable and cheap) VPS provider

Choosing the suitable VPS provider was the second step .I first had to define what were the priorities i want for my VPS.
I decided that they are :
1) Cheaper then ADSL line. Previous post explains it
2) Reliable. I don't want to be frustrate for unavailability
3) Low network latency
4) Nice to have: Linux geeks operators

After some Googling i found those options :



Well XenVZ was suiable for the praiorities I've set and just had a nice sale which duobles the RAM size and cuts by half the price .
More than that ,this renting conditions are not time limited .

I had 2 more tasks before signing up :

• Decide which visualization technology suites my needs ( OpenVZ or Xen )
• Check the minimum virtual hardware needed

My choice for visualization technology was Xen ,i will elaborate more on the next post .
For the hardware I've set a small ubuntu 8.04 ( i moved all my linux machines to Ubuntu after 4 years of CentOS 'ing ) VMware with the XenVZ Bronze package ( 10 Gigs of disk ,128 MB RAM ) and install my wordpress LAMP including all the plug-ins .Added Postfix MTA + dovecot +mailscanner and run it for 2-3 days for stability. I've tried loading it to simulate the highest load (which it is quite low since it is a home server :2-3 mails a minute+ 2 concurent web site viewers ).

Well it did it quite well :-)

So I've signed up for the bronze package with 10 gigs of disk space 256 MB RAM (double RAM offer ) for £6.99 a month.
After 6 moths I'm quite happy for that decision.They are professionals ! no networks glitzes ,High availability ,Good support when needed ,no low resources.
I still cautious so I'm paying month by month (which it is also a nice feature of not being obligated to pay for long time in advance)

Home linux to hosted linux -the decision

For some time now I'm hosting my own personal home Linux server ,how surprisingly,at home .
Using a ADSL of 2.5 MB/256 KB line.

For the last 10 years it served me well ,mainly for the reason it was almost only a personal unlimited space mail server (well disk space limited.just a quick reminder :Before Gmail 1 giga space ,mail used to have a very low quota)

It all started when my picasa space run out , and i thought "ooh ,I'm having a web server with only disk space limitation why should i pay picasa for a few extra gigs ?" So I've renewed my word press installation on my home Linux ,had a couple of plug ins for the gallery and there i had my own picasa.

It could have been great if my upload link could have support this amount of media .
So i set down and did some calculations :
ADSL + fix IP cost me about 33 us $ ( about 130 ILS , 20 GBP ).
VPS that could hold a small home Linux server is 10-15 US $ .
Since my work is paying for my home internet ( My ADSL line was extra for the server ,but even if i had payed for the ADSL without fix IP and this upload i could cut down my fees by half )

So for the same price or less i could have a small VPS near the backbone .
After some reasearch i decided that it is time to go on a new advanture

My very own personal VPS




I will try to add one of my favorite pictures ( One of my hobbies is photography ) at every post. This picture is of an Oak tree fruit closeup

Why did i choose to write this blog in English

Well ....
I best express my self in Hebrew .
I was born and raised in Israel.
I live in Israel . It is my language (It is not my mother tongue in a manner of speaking ,which is Portuguese :-) ) . I prefer using Hebrew

Despite it , i will try to handle this blog in English for the following reasons :

• I believe that using Linux is universal and no politics ( of any kind) should stop people from sharing knowledge
• In the internet it is best to share knowledge by using the English language
  
• I hate to stumble upon the exact problem that i encounter and can't read the solution which is published in a language which i don't understand
  
• Having that said , i love helping others solving their Linux problems and will try to that in any language which we can communicate ( For me it's Hebrew ,English , Portugase ,spanish , a bit of French ,Java and C# ) please feel free to mail me .