This page shows how to install and configure Ubuntu Server. Download the ISO image and follow the instructions to burn a CD or write to USB-stick. Boot from the CD and complete the Installation Guide.

Setup

Network

If you want to assign a static IP address just edit this file.

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# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
  address 192.168.0.10
  netmask 255.255.255.0
  gateway 192.168.0.1

DNS settings in /etc/resolv.conf and hostname in /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts.

Type service networking restart to apply the changes.

Create a user

Creating a new user and provide sudo access:

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adduser myuser
adduser myuser admin          # Add myuser to admin group

adduser --ingroup admin admin # Create and add to group (one-liner)

An alternative way is to run visudo. Go to the end of file and add the following line:

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sh myuser ALL=(ALL) ALL

Tired of running sudo -s -H to stay in the shell and update home path when sudoing? Add this to sudoers file:

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Defaults        shell_noargs
Defaults        set_home
Defaults        always_set_home
Defaults        env_reset

SSH remote access

Install OpenSSH and permit SSH-traffic through firewall.

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aptitude install openssh-server
ufw allow OpenSSH

Generate a SSH key on your local computer (if you not already got one):

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my@pc:~# ssh-keygen -t rsa

Copy your public key to the server:

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my@pc:~# scp .ssh/id_rsa.pub myuser@server:local_rsa.pub

On the server we want to add the SSH key to the authorized_keys file. We must also verify the file permissions.

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cat local_rsa.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keys
rm local_rsa.pub
chmod 700 .ssh
chmod 600 .ssh/authorized_keys

Diable SSH login via password. Change sshd_config to read:

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PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no

Configure the Firewall

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ufw logging off
ufw default deny
ufw allow 22/tcp  # by port and protocol
ufw allow OpenSSH # ... or by service name
ufw enable
ufw status

Type service ufw force-reload to apply the changes.

Set locale

List installed locales, generate new and set:

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cat /var/lib/locales/supported.d/*
locale-gen sv_SE.UTF-8
update-locale LANG=sv_SE.UTF-8

Cron

In order for users to have their cron jobs executed, they must be added to the /etc/cron.allow file. Or if there is no /etc/cron.allow file then the /etc/cron.deny file must exist and the user can’t be in that file.

In the case where neither file exists, only root cron jobs get executed.

Install and configure SNMP

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aptitude install snmpd

Edit snmpd.conf to contain this single line:

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rocommunity public

Make SNMP listen to all interfaces:

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# SNMPDOPTS='-Lsd -Lf /dev/null -u snmp -I -smux -p /var/run/snmpd.pid 127.0.0.1'
SNMPDOPTS='-Lsd -Lf /dev/null -u snmp -I -smux -p /var/run/snmpd.pid'

Don’t forget to open the firewall and restart the SNMP service for settings to apply.

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ufw allow 161/udp
service ufw force-reload

service snmpd restart

Test the SNMP service by query for information (preferably from outside the firewall):

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snmpwalk -v 1 -c public localhost

Notes

XenServer user?

Create a VM using the Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 64-bit template. Install from http://archive.ubuntu.net/ubuntu. After installation completes install the XenServer Guest Tools and reboot.

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mount /dev/xvdd /media
/media/Linux/install.sh

Filesystem

Force filesystem check next time you boot:

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sudo touch /forcefsck

Remove unneeded packages

This is just an example how to list and remove unwanted packages.

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dpkg --get-selections
aptitude purge wireless-tools wpasupplicant pppoeconf ppp pppconfig ntfs-3g reiserfsprogs