Ubuntu Linux Is Great!

Getting Started with Ubuntu Linux

• Welcome to Ubuntu 8.04 LTS!
• Ubuntu Server Guide
• Ubuntu Forums

Download the Latest Ubuntu Server ISO Image and Install It!

I have installed the latest server version of Ubuntu Linux and I must say that I am quite impressed. It's very fast. I'm planning on running the free VMWareServer on Ubuntu Linux. Another new feature that is fantastic: if you type a command that doesn't exist, Ubuntu gives you the apt-get install command to install it! Not only does apt-get install the tool you wanted but it installs all other packages that the tool depends upon to make it work on your system.

You will notice that I place a sudo in front of the apt-get install command below. sudo is the Ubuntu Linux way of switching you to root / supervisor account priviledge so you can make system changes. You will be prompted for a password the first time, enter your password, and you will be able to make system changes after that whenever you preface the apt-get install command with sudo.

X WIndows

After you install Ubuntu Linux from the CD, you need to add some software to the system.

• Login as the regular user, and then sudo to root: sudo -s
• Next, if you are running a web proxy on your network you will need to give a command like this to your web proxy: export http_proxy "http://192.168.1.1:3128" to enable Ubuntu Linux to access the web via your web proxy.
• Next, if you want X Windows Interface (highly recommended) do this: sudo apt-get install x-window-system gnome gdm compiz-gnome ubuntu-artwork

Package Management

Package Management -- The package management is very slick. From the command line you can use sudo apt-get install or from X Windows you can use System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Management to install what you need. In Synaptic, if you need to set your http proxy to access the Internet you can set it at: Settings -> Preferences -> Network Tab Also I suggest you update the package information in Synaptic with Edit -> Reload Package Information to be sure you are operating with the most current info.

Automatic Nightly System Updates

• Setup Automatic Software Updates Every Night -- I created a root crontab to run the update every night:
  1. ) Insert a nightly job with: sudo crontab -e
  2. ) insert this into the editor: 0 0 * * * /usr/bin/aptitude -y update && /usr/bin/aptitude -y upgrade && /usr/bin/aptitude -y dist-upgrade && /usr/bin/aptitude -y autoclean > /dev/null 2>&1 cntrl-X will save and exit
  3. ) Check the nightly job is scheduled with: sudo crontab -l

Install Apache2 Web Server

• HTTPD - Apache2 Web Server Install Guide

Install PHP5 Scripting Language

• PHP5 - Scripting Language Install Guide

Install MOD Perl Apache2 Library

• sudo apt-get install libapache-mod-perl

Install MySQL Database

• MySQL Database Install Guide

Time Synchronisation with NTP

• Time Synchronisation with NTP

Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) Setup

• Install gnome-rdp: sudo apt-get install gnome-rdp You can use gnome-rdp to manage VNC, SSH connections in addition to RDP. I like this gnome-rdp better than the Terminal Server Client that comes with Ubuntu.

VNC Server Setup

• Ubuntu VNC Setup
• TightVNC Configuration

Compilers: Installing Software From Source Code

• If you need software to compile source code do the following to download the necessary tools:
  • apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r` build-essential
  • apt-get install gcc binutils-doc cpp-doc make manpages-dev autoconf automake1.9 libtool flex bison gdb gcc-doc libc6-dev-amd64 lib64gcc1 g++ libncurses5-dev

VMware Server Setup (free version)

• VMware Server Setup

Setup Evolution to work with Microsoft Exchange Server

* Install evolution-exchange package: sudo apt-get install evolution-exchange Now when you add a new account you will have the option to send/receive email, calendar, and contact info from Exchange Server! I'm greatly enjoying working with the Evolution client to Microsoft Exchange. I also have it checking my personal Google email account. It's working great.

Setup Dual Monitors

• How To Setup Dual Monitors on Ubuntu Linux

Install Flash Plugin For Firefox

• Install Flash Client package: sudo aptitude install flashplugin-nonfree

CUPS Printing System

• Install CUPS package: sudo apt-get install cupsys cupsys-client

Share A Printer on Ubuntu with a Windows XP Computer

• Share A Printer on Ubuntu with Windows XP

CDROM/DVD Burning

• How To Burn CD and DVDs

Setup Software RAID5

• How To Setup Software Raid5 Save $350 on buying a RAID controller and have Ubuntu Linux provide RAID. Recommend using SATA-2 drives with your builtin SATA-2 controller.

Setup RubyOnRails

• RubyOnRails Install Guide

Setup iSCSI SAN

• Ubuntu iSCSI SAN

Other Useful Ubuntu Links

• Unoffical Ubuntu Starter Guide
• Ubuntu Help and Documentation
• Ubuntu Server Guide
• UbuntuLinux

-- JeffreyThompson - 27 Apr 2007