Linux Server Guide

Learn how to set up, configure, and manage production-ready Linux servers from the ground up.

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Choosing a Server Distribution

For servers, stability and long-term support are paramount. The most popular choices are:

  • Ubuntu Server LTS — 5-year support, massive community, excellent documentation. The most popular choice for cloud deployments and VPS hosting.
  • Debian Stable — Ultra-stable, thoroughly tested packages. Ideal for servers that need to run without intervention for years.
  • Rocky Linux / AlmaLinux — RHEL-compatible enterprise distributions with 10-year support cycles. Perfect for enterprise environments.
  • Alpine Linux — Ultra-minimal footprint, ideal for containers and microservices where every megabyte matters.

Initial Server Setup

After provisioning a fresh server (VPS, dedicated, or local), follow these essential first steps to create a secure foundation.

1. Update the System

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Rocky/Alma/RHEL
sudo dnf update -y

2. Create a Non-Root User

Never operate your server as the root user. Create a dedicated admin account with sudo privileges:

adduser deployer
usermod -aG sudo deployer

# Switch to the new user
su - deployer

3. Configure SSH Key Authentication

Password authentication is vulnerable to brute-force attacks. Set up SSH keys for secure, passwordless login:

# On your local machine, generate a key pair
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

# Copy the public key to the server
ssh-copy-id deployer@your-server-ip

# On the server, disable password authentication
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Set: PasswordAuthentication no
sudo systemctl restart sshd

4. Configure the Firewall

# Allow SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# Enable the firewall
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status
Important: Always allow SSH through the firewall before enabling it. Locking yourself out of a remote server means you lose access entirely.

Web Server Setup

The two most popular web servers on Linux are Nginx and Apache. Nginx excels at serving static content and acting as a reverse proxy, while Apache offers powerful module support and per-directory configuration.

Installing Nginx

sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

# Verify it is running
sudo systemctl status nginx
curl http://localhost

Nginx Server Block Configuration

# /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com www.example.com;
  root /var/www/example.com/html;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
  }
}

# Enable the site
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

SSL with Let's Encrypt

Secure your site with a free SSL certificate using Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

# Auto-renewal is configured automatically
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Database Servers

MariaDB / MySQL

sudo apt install mariadb-server -y
sudo mysql_secure_installation

# Create a database and user
sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE myapp;
CREATE USER 'appuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON myapp.* TO 'appuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

PostgreSQL

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y
sudo systemctl enable postgresql

# Create a user and database
sudo -u postgres createuser --interactive
sudo -u postgres createdb myapp

Process Management with Systemd

Systemd is the init system and service manager used by most modern Linux distributions. It manages services, timers, and the boot process.

# Common systemd commands
sudo systemctl start nginx      # Start a service
sudo systemctl stop nginx       # Stop a service
sudo systemctl restart nginx    # Restart a service
sudo systemctl enable nginx     # Start on boot
sudo systemctl status nginx     # Check status
journalctl -u nginx -f         # View live logs

Creating a Custom Service

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=My Application
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=deployer
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myapp
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/start.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Monitoring and Maintenance

📊 Resource Monitoring

Use htop for real-time process monitoring, df -h for disk usage, and free -h for memory. For long-term monitoring, consider tools like Prometheus and Grafana.

🗃 Automated Backups

Schedule regular backups using cron jobs and tools like rsync, borgbackup, or restic. Always follow the 3-2-1 backup rule: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite.

🕒 Unattended Updates

Configure automatic security updates to ensure critical patches are applied promptly. On Ubuntu, install unattended-upgrades and enable automatic security updates.

Automated Backups with Cron

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1

# Weekly database dump on Sunday at 3 AM
0 3 * * 0 mysqldump -u root myapp | gzip > /backups/myapp_$(date +\%F).sql.gz
Tip: Always test your backups by performing a restore to verify they work. An untested backup is not a real backup.

Docker and Containers

Containers have revolutionized server deployment. Docker allows you to package applications with all their dependencies into portable, isolated units.

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker deployer

# Run a container
docker run -d -p 80:80 --name webserver nginx

# Docker Compose for multi-container apps
docker compose up -d

Secure your server setup next.

Linux Security Guide →