Installing Debian as a Web Server

I recently explored OpenSuse as a web server but I found it was was too bloated for my minimal needs so I turned to Debian for a smaller solution. It has long been my distro of choice as I admire it’s ‘minimal’ approach and subsequent lack of system requirements. However, not being a Linux guru I admit I find the lack of documentation difficult.
There is an official guide to installing a Debian Web server here:http://www.aboutdebian.com/internet.htm
Below are my notes.

NB:This is only a 'bare bones' install guide to get a Debian instance  running and by no means a guide to producing a fully fledged production ready secured system.

Installing the OS

1. Download it from: http://www.debian.org/
   e.g. debian-7.1.0-ia64-netinst.iso via bittorrent
2. Mount the iso or burn the image to disk and boot from it.
3. Read the introduction to the installer here: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch06s01.html.en
4. Answer the questions when asked. I answered:
   • Primary network interface eht0 or 1
   • Hostname (computer name)
   • Domain name (network name or localdomain)
   • Root password (something memorable!)
   • User full name and username and password
   • Disk partition, I used:
     • Guided, use full disk
     • Separate /home /usr etc partition
   • De-select Graphical desktop and choose: Web Server; Mail Server (for scripts to use); SSH Server (and leave standard system utils).
   • Install GRUB boot loader in root: yes.

Root Access
Install sudo so you can run root commands as normal user:

• Login as root then run:
apt-get -y install sudo
• Add [username] to Sudoers:
adduser [username] sudo
• Logout and login as [username]: logout

Network
Check configuration with:
sudo ifconfig
NB: If you get command not found then check /sbin/ is in your $PATH variable: echo $PATH. If not add it with: PATH=$PATH:/sbin/
If you need to add a network device:

• sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
  Enter the MAC address etc
• Then add it to the interfaces list:
  sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
• Add a new entry:
  auto ethX
  Then either DHCP:
  iface ethX inet dhcp
  OR static:
  iface eth0 inet static
         address 192.168.1.10
         netmask 255.255.255.0
         network 192.168.1.0
         broadcast 192.168.1.255
         gateway 192.168.11.
  But changing your IP numbers accordingly.
  Where X is the number e.g. eth1
• Then fire it up and restart networking:sudo ifconfig ethX up
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Updates

1. Log in as root and do updates:
   sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude dist-upgrade
   To get the latest updates and install them.
2. Enter Y when prompted then reboot: sudo shutdown -r now

Hostname

1. Set the hostname if not already set (should have been done during install):
   sudo echo "[hostname]" > /etc/hostnamesudo hostname -F /etc/hostname
2. Add an entry for the site into /etc/hosts if it doesn’t already exist:
   sudo vi /etc/hosts127.0.0.1 localhost[server IP] [site domain name] [host name]

Remote Access (SHH)
See previous post.

Secure it

• Edit hosts.allow to include default Linux box
  sudo vi /etc/hosts.allow
  Add line:
  ALL: [your ip prefix eg. 192.168.0.]
• sudo cp /etc/hosts.deny /etc/hosts.deny.YYYYMMDD
• sudo vi /etc/hosts.deny
  Add line:
  ALL: ALL EXCEPT localhost

FTP
I wanted to install FTP so I can upload files to the web server:

• sudo apt-get install vsftpd
• Select standalone installation
• stop the service with: sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd stop
• Edit the config: sudo vi /etc/vsftpd.conf
  • Restrict users to their home directory. Uncomment the line: chroot_local_user=YES
• Start it: sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd start

Mono
Mono is the ASP.Net project for Linux: http://pkg-mono.alioth.debian.org/
To install: apt-get install libapache2-mod-mono mono-apache-server2

Add Accounts for Each Website

I want per website user accounts so they are locked into their own folder:

• adduser [domain_name] (I replaced dots in the name with underscores)
• Logout and login as the new user
• make a directory for the user to store their www files:
  mkdir public_html

Miscellaneous

• Check Open Ports: netstat –an; or netstat –p
• Remove package: sudo apt-get --purge remove package-name
• Remove unecessary packages: apt-get autoremove
• Shutdown: sudo /sbin/shutdown –h now
  (-h = halt)