What operating system should I install on my dedicated server?

A lot of new dedicated server owners are not sure which operating system they should use. Unless you’re running an Apple server, you have two choices: Linux and Windows Server. Which one is better?

Because of its low cost, flexibility, better security, and faster speed, Linux is the operating system of choice for dedicated servers these days. Some common variants installed on servers include CentOS and Debian. Both distributions are free and have great documentation. Linux is needed to run Cpanel as well as a number of other popular server software.

You should only run Windows if your applications require it. Licenses for this operating system are quite expensive and Windows offers no real performance or security benefits over Linux.

What people should know about Windows servers

Aside from writing, I also develop websites for clients on a freelance basis. In the ideal scenario, I get contacted by an interested client who has neither a domain name nor a current web hosting company. I can then steer that client to the host and domain provider I think is best and will work well with Joomla or whatever content management system I use.

Unfortunately, many clients come with their own baggage. More often than not, it includes a domain hosted by a company like GoDaddy and possibly a current website that is less than stellar. The worst situation that I ever encountered was a client who had chosen to use GoDaddy’s hosting service with a Windows server. Anyone who has tried to use PHP content management systems with Windows is probably already cringing at the thought.

Aside from the usual problems with GoDaddy’s control panel, I had to content with Windows and its strange compatibility issues with PHP. Theoretically, it should work fine with Joomla, but that requires proper configuration, something GoDaddy failed to do. Mind you, the Joomla installation was automatic from their own control panel, but it still never worked quite right. In the end, the client settled for a less-than-perfect site. My advice to anyone who wants a website: ask those who know first before you make purchases.

Photo Source: Flickr

What is Mono?

As its website describes it, Mono is a “cross platform, open source, .NET development framework.” .NET is a framework originally created by Microsoft, and the Mono developers from Novell created Mono to be interoperable with .NET applications. The result is .NET compatibility across Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

With Mono, developers can create C# and .NET applications that will work on almost any platform. What this means for server administrators is the ability to provide their services to various clientèle without having to make multiple versions of their applications. It is also a way to distribute their content even in virtualization environments.

Mono is free and open source software and is available for most Linux distributions, although its Novell origins mean that SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports it out of the box. To install Mono on RHEL/CentOS/Fedora, simply open a terminal, login as root, and type:

# yum list mono*

You can then see which mono applications you want to install or install them all with:

# yum install mono*

Source: Mono Project

Database management with MySQL Workbench

MySQL is one of the most popular databases for web servers. The MySQL website offers a free download of MySQL Workbench, a GUI database management program. I decided to download it and give it a try. It is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and several versions of Linux. I tried out the Ubuntu version.

When you first start the application, you are greeted with your Workspace and three categories: SQL Development, Data Modeling, and Server Administration. I wanted to see how easy it was to connect to a database, so I immediately clicked “New Connection”. By default, it brings up your local databases, which is what I wanted to edit, so I did not have to configure anything, only enter my password. The workbench instantly presented me with a new tab containing all of my SQL databases. To edit any one, you just click on it and begin.

I honestly do not even know what data modeling is, so I left that section alone. I went straight to server administration and clicked “New server instance”. Again there were several configuration options, but it was already set to connect to my local server. Within seconds I had live graphs, server status, configuration options, and logs for my MySQL server.
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Manage Amazon S3 storage with CrossFTP

Let’s face it, many of the today’s website owners and even system administrators are not as comfortable with code, scripts, and command line tools as the generation that come before them. Some may struggle with cloud services like Amazon S3 because of difficult and sometimes time-consuming command line programs.

CrossFTP is an FTP client, but among its features is built-in support for Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront. With it you can upload, download, perform backups, modify metadata, create schedules, and synchronize content with your servers.

The best part of all is that CrossFTP is a graphical client that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers while still providing access to both your remote server and your Amazon S3 remote storage. CrossFTP is free, and Amazon S3 support works out of the box, but there is also a “Pro” version that provides added features. It is available for download from the project’s website.

Photo Source: CrossFTP

New server setup

Question: I want to setup my own server. What software and tools will I need?

Answer: The first major decision to make after you have purchased server hardware is what operating system to use. Many servers come with one already, but if yours does not, you will need to decide on one. Linux or other Unix variants, such as BSD or Solaris are by far the most popular, but there are also many Windows servers out there. If you are on a limited budget, go with a free Linux distribution, such as CentOS.

The next thing to choose is the web server. Choices include Apache, Nginx, and Lighttpd. After that, you will probably one a database server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL Finally, you will want a web-based control panel. Depending on the one you choose, it might also install its own versions of Apache, PHP, and MySQL.

There are many control panel solutions on the market, and most of them are commercial. Popular control panels includ cPanel and Plesk. There are also free solutions available like Virtualmin. Decide what you need for whatever type of websites you plan to have and then choose the software that meets those needs.

Photo: Flickr

Test Windows Server 2008 with MBSA

Microsoft provides a tool for Windows Server 2008 that tests for security misconfiguration. It comes with a graphical interface and a command line interface for both local and remote scans. It looks for vulnerabilities, performs assessment checks, and checks SQL Server 2005.

In addition to Windows Server 2008, MBSA runs on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 systems. It scans for misconfigurations on Internet Information Server (IIS), SQL Server, Internet Explorer, and MS Office.

MBSA is available for download from the Microsoft website. It is free to download and use on Windows systems. It comes with a readme.html document containing information on system requirements, scan options, and tool support options.

Source: Microsoft

Photo: Flickr

Share file folders on a Linux server

Many web-based organizations depend on the ability to communicate and share files easily. Even if you already have a website, however, you might not have an easy way to share files and folders, aside from giving each user FTP or SSH access.

There are proprietary solutions, such as Dropbox or even the new Ubuntu One, but if you want to run such a system on your own server, the clear winner here seems to be iFolder by Novell. By default iFolder server is designed to run only on Novell’s SUSE Enterprise Server or an OpenSUSE server, but because it is open source, some have had success building and running it on CentOS and Ubuntu servers.

On the client side, iFolder supports Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, making it an ideal cross-platform solution. To run iFolder, your server needs to be running Mono, an open source alternative to .NET, which it already should have if it is a SUSE server. If not, it is available for installation on most Linux distributions. iFolder is free software released under the GNU GPL.

Source: kablink

Web server round-up

Over the past year, we have discussed several web servers. For your convenience, here is a quick list of each one we have already mentioned, as well as a couple we did not, including links to their project sites.

Apache – This is the most widely used and the one we have spent the most time covering. It is free and open source and runs on nearly every platform available. It is released under the Apache license.

Microsoft IIS – As Microsoft’s proprietary web server, it only comes with and works on Windows. If for some reason you have to run this but do not have Windows, you will have to consider virtualization.

Sun Java System Web Server – This is Sun’s proprietary web server technology that is primarily intended for Sun appliances. Nevertheless, it is cross-platform, and Sun recently opened some of its code under a BSD license.

Ngnix – This is a lightweight web server that runs on both Unix and Windows machines. It has become the fourth most popular HTTP server and is available under a BSD-style license.

Lighttpd – This lightweight HTTP server is designed to take on heavy loads while maintaining a good balance, low memory and CPU usage. It powers YouTube, Wikipedia, and many other high-traffic sites. It is free and open source under a BSD style license.

Photo: Flickr

What is Putty?

PuTTY is a free terminal emulator that supports SSH and many other protocols. Most users, particularly on Windows, find it very useful for connecting to a Unix or Linux SSH server. PuTTY has a graphical configuration interface with many useful features:

• storage of connection data for quick reconnection
• port forwarding
• IPv6 support
• SCP and SFTP support

In addition to Windows, PuTTY has been ported to Linux and other Unix-like operating systems and will soon have a Mac OS X version. PuTTY is free and open source software released under the MIT license. It is available for download from the project’s website.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons