What I did know was what needed doing, specifically, setting up a LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) server and somehow getting everything to work properly. For working this out, the Ubuntu documentation (both official and unofficial) was invaluable. I've found the unofficial docs to be more comprehensive since they do a better job of covering command-line and server material, while the official stuff seems more focused on the desktop GUI. Obviously, since the server version doesn't have a GUI, that's not especially useful.
Thanks to the magic of Ubuntu, a LAMP server needs only one command to install. Obviously, there's a bit of fiddly configuration that follows, but it's still a walk in the park compared to the downloading and compiling some OSes would have you doing. The masochists that prefer that sort of thing are welcome to it, and it's certainly true that the customization available during compile makes for a faster and more effective install... but I can still have my server online hours before you, and that's a matter of days if we're using beginner timeframes here.
The bottom line is that Ubuntu is a good choice for an introduction to Linux server administration. It's be messy at first, but Google is a great place to find tutorials that can walk you through just about anything. Once OnionRings came onto the scene, he was able to help me out with a lot of the more complicated stuff, although it took even him days to figure out how to set up a proper mail server. Trust me, Google Apps is the way to go for email.
Since Linux still isn't my strong point, I'm not going to go into any more detail here, but some of OnionRings' eventual posts should be a little more helpful in that regard.
4 comments:
im pretty sure you can add gui to server ubuntu i think the command is
apt-get ubuntu-desktop
and i guess for kubuntu and xubuntu u would just change the name
That may be the case, but I wouldn't want to waste precious server resources on a X server desktop environment. You would also have to set up X11 forwarding over SSH or another remote access solution.
oh i dont know about all the technicalities but i just kno that if use the server disc of ubuntu and do apt-get ubuntu-deskto you get the are minimum for a gui ubuntu without all the extras hats actual where i heard about it from. it might help some people manage their servers because the assistance of a gui that we've all become so accustomed to and ubuntu is pretty lightweight to where it shouldn't take to many resources, however, the xtra work to be able to see whats on the server may not be worth it.
Besides, you're going to have to know your way around the command line sooner or later...
Post a Comment