The Perfect Setup - Ubuntu 6.10 Server (Edgy Eft)

Version 1.1
Author: Falko Timme <ft [at] falkotimme [dot] com>
Last edited 12/01/2006

This is a detailed description about how to set up a Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) based server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters: Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server with SMTP-AUTH and TLS, DNS server, FTP server, MySQL server, POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc. This tutorial is written for the 32-bit version of Ubuntu Edgy Eft, but should apply to the 64-bit version with very little modifications as well.

I will use the following software:

• Web Server: Apache 2.0
• Database Server: MySQL 5.0
• Mail Server: Postfix
• DNS Server: BIND9
• FTP Server: proftpd
• POP3/IMAP: I will use Maildir format and therefore install Courier-POP3/Courier-IMAP.
• Webalizer for web site statistics

In the end you should have a system that works reliably, and if you like you can install the free webhosting control panel ISPConfig (i.e., ISPConfig runs on it out of the box).

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

Requirements

To install such a system you will need the following:

• the Ubuntu 6.10 Server installation CD (the list of mirrors is available here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download - I downloaded this one: http://ftp.cw.net/pub/linux/ftp.ubuntu.com/releases/6.10/ubuntu-6.10-server-i386.iso)
• an internet connection.

Preliminary Note

In this tutorial I use the hostname server1.example.com with the IP address 192.168.0.100 and the gateway 192.168.0.1. These settings might differ for you, so you have to replace them where appropriate.

2 The Base System

Insert your Ubuntu install CD into your system and boot from it. Select Install to the hard disk:

The installation starts, and first you have to choose your language:

Then select your location:

Choose a keyboard layout:

The installer checks the installation CD, your hardware, and configures the network with DHCP if there is a DHCP server in the network:

Enter the hostname. In this example, my system is called server1.example.com, so I enter server1:

Now you have to partition your hard disk. I will create one big partition (with the mount point /) and a little swap partition so I select Erase entire disk: