Beginning Ubuntu Server Administration

378 Pages·2007·4.6 MB·English

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Beginning Ubuntu Server Administration:
From Novice to Professional Beginning
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Dear Reader,
Beginning
For the past few years, many have hailed Ubuntu Linux as the best chance to b
finally sway the computing masses toward the Linux desktop. And it’s easy to
u
see why: it offers an amazingly user-friendly interface, intuitive installation
and configuration process, and an enormous choice of applications. Indeed, n
Author of it’s become so popular that system administrators are rapidly adopting Ubuntu t Ubuntu Server
The Definitive Guide to SUSE Server Edition to configure, deploy, and manage network services more effective- u
Linux Enterprise Server ly than ever before.
Pro Novell Open Enterprise Whether you’re interested in using Ubuntu within a Fortune 500 environment
S
Server or just managing your home network, you hold in your hands the only book
you need. While writing it, I kept your daily administration tasks constantly e
in mind, and I’ve included chapters on how to set up and run Ubuntu Server
r
as a file and print server, a virtualization server, and a web server. I also show Administration
v
you how to perform many other tasks that you’ll frequently encounter as an
Ubuntu Server administrator, such as automating installation, configuration, e
and deployment processes, and managing the kernel.
r
Along the way, this book will help you become a more proficient administra-

tor as you learn to take advantage of little-known shell-related features, tips, A
and tricks. Efficiency is a major theme of this book, and you’ll also learn how to
optimize, troubleshoot, and remotely manage your server. d
Reading this book will help you master every aspect of Ubuntu Server, from From Novice to Professional
m
both the command line and the graphical interface. Whether you’re about to
manage your first server or are interested in expanding your knowledge of
i
Ubuntu Server, this is the book for you!
n
Sander van Vugt
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9233fm.qxd 11/13/07 2:51 PM Page i
Beginning Ubuntu
Server Administration
From Novice to Professional
Sander van Vugt
9233fm.qxd 11/13/07 2:51 PM Page ii
Beginning Ubuntu Server Administration: From Novice to Professional
Copyright © 2008 by Sander van Vugt
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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-59059-923-5
ISBN-10 (pbk): 1-59059-923-3
ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-0509-8
ISBN-10 (electronic): 1-4302-0509-1
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This book is dedicated to Alex.
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Contents at a Glance
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
About the Technical Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
■ CHAPTER 1 Installing Ubuntu Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
■ CHAPTER 2 Getting the Most Out of the Command Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
■ CHAPTER 3 Performing Essential System Administration Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
■ CHAPTER 4 Performing File System Management Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
■ CHAPTER 5 Configuring Your Server for Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
■ CHAPTER 6 Setting the System to Your Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
■ CHAPTER 7 Running It Anyway You Like. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
■ CHAPTER 8 Making Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
■ CHAPTER 9 Configuring Network Infrastructure Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
■ CHAPTER 10 Using Ubuntu Server As a File and Print Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
■ CHAPTER 11 Setting Up Web Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
■ CHAPTER 12 Multiplying Your Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
■ INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
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Contents
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
About the Technical Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
■ CHAPTER 1 Installing Ubuntu Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Preparing for the Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Starting the Ubuntu Server Installation Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Configuring the Server’s Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Completing the Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
■ CHAPTER 2 Getting the Most Out of the Command Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Working As root?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Working with the Shell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using Bash to Best Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Managing Bash with Key Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Performing Basic File System Management Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Working with Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Working with Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Viewing the Content of Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Finding Files That Contain Specific Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Creating Empty Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Piping and Redirection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Piping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Redirection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Finding Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Working with an Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Vi Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Saving and Quitting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Cut,Copy,and Paste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Deleting Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
vii
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viii ■ CONTENTS
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using man to Get Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using the --help Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Getting Information on Installed Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
■ CHAPTER 3 Performing Essential System Administration Tasks. . . . . . 47
Software Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Software Repositories and Package Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Package Management Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Installing Software from Tarballs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Configuring a Graphical User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Creating Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Making File Backups with tar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Making Device Backups Using dd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Configuring Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Configuring syslog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Logging in Other Ways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Rotating Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
■ CHAPTER 4 Performing File System Management Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Mounting Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Using the mount Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Unmounting Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Automating Mounts with /etc/fstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Checking File System Integrity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Working with Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Why Use Links?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Working with Symbolic Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Working with Hard Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Configuring Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Comparing File Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Creating File Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Working with Logical Volumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Doing Magic on Your File Systems with dd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105