[LightDestory]

As you can read from the thread's title, I have decided to start a series of "tutorial" regarding the setting up of a Ubuntu/CentOS Server from scratch. You can easily find the same type of topics on Internet but I can guarantee that these "guides" will be different: I will not give you "copy&paste" commands, I will try my best to explain what you are doing and why. My personal through is that a "tutorial" is made to share knowledge and not to be a one-time read article.

The purpose of this first thread called "Introduction" is to be a sort of "map" of this series, here you will find a linked list of the available/planned guides, so with this thread you will be able to "navigate" this series chapters but also suggest me new topics to study in deep. Thus, it would be nice if this thread got promoted to "sticky thread", what do you think about it, @deanhills ?

Before starting reading the tutorial, please read carefully this quote:

I'm not responsible for bricked system. I recommend to perform this installation on a clean and update to date system. Fiddling around on a system that has been modified before is mostly a nightmare and almost always a guarantee for something to go really wrong.

**The OSes on which this series is based are: Ubuntu Server & CentOS on their "minimal edition". I will provide a schema of "version-based" command when needed.

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The series will cover up the following topics:

1. Enabling and setting up the Firewall with UFW (a simple wrapper for IPTABLES) 
   
2. Securing SSH
   
3. Installing and setting up FTP - Coming soon
   
4. FTP vs SFTP, setting up SFTP - Coming soon
   
5. Installing and setting up a LEMP (Linux, Nginx (Engine-x), MySQL, PHP) environment
   
   1. Why Nginx? Installing and setting up (latest) Nginx - Coming soon
      
   2. Installing and setting up (latest) MariaDB - Coming soon
      
   3. Installing and setting up (latest) PHP-FPM with unix sock - Coming soon
      
6. Installing and setting up Remote Desktop Access with x2go
   
7. (DNS Management) A records vs CNAME records, using them to make a domain point a host - Coming soon
   
8. Setting up a Let's Encrypt Certificate (Nginx settings) and Auto-renew WHEN USING CLOUDFLARE DNS - Coming soon
   
9. Customizing Bash's prompt
   
10. More in the future
    

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This is a list of good & already existing tutorials by forum-mates that you can read as an extension:

• Installing VNC on CentOS 7 - by @"Hidden Refuge"
  
• Basic firewall rules with IPTABLES - by @"Hidden Refuge"
  

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Please read the following rules about this series:

1. The only usage of Introduction thread is to: "comment the series", "request a particular topic", "give news about the on-going of the series";
   
2. Questions and problems regarding a topic NEED TO BE POSTED on its dedicated thread;
   

[Kururin]

I think it's a great idea but I do reckon there's lots of thread about those already posted to here. It would be better if they can be compiled in one place and placed in a directory like that + be sticked. Just my two cents

[deanhills]

I think it's a great idea but I do reckon there's lots of thread about those already posted to here. It would be better if they can be compiled in one place and placed in a directory like that + be sticked. Just my two cents

On the other hand, if you check them out, some of them are very badly written. Some of them have been regurgitated from the Web, i.e. copied and pasted and reworked in a sloppy way so it's difficult to read or follow with print screens that splash all over the page.

I like the idea about sticky. Maybe we could even create a sub-forum for the tutorials @LightDestory is thinking of contributing. That would be a great idea.

What @LightDestory could do also when he does the tutorials (if he has the time available), is to research what is available already in the Tutorials Forum and then post links to the ones he thinks are worth mentioning (not all of them are OK) in the footer of his tutorials.

[Sn1F3rt]

@deanhills: Yeah it's true. After reading your post, I started digging into the tutorials forum, and found much plagiarism.

I like @LightDestory's idea very much and I feel it can be realized. I am also willing to contribute.

To further enhance this idea, I take your suggestion of creating a subforum which will be Post4VPS's unique set of tutorials for your members. Anything and everything will not be posted there. Anyone who wills to contribute shall first post his tutorial on the normal section and if the staff consider it to be a unique, non-plagarised and important one, it can be moved to that section. We'll all contribute to it - starting from the basics of configuring your server to running your own gameserver, hosting using LAMP and other advanced modules.

I love @LightDestory's idea, mainly because this will be for community good. Hope this will work out!

Cheers,

[Kururin]

On the other hand, if you check them out, some of them are very badly written.  Some of them have been regurgitated from the Web, i.e. copied and pasted and reworked in a sloppy way so it's difficult to read or follow with print screens that splash all over the page.

I like the idea about sticky.  Maybe we could even create a sub-forum for the tutorials @LightDestroy is thinking of contributing.  That would be a great idea.

What could do also when he does the tutorials (if he has the time available), is to research what is available already in the Tutorials Forum and then post links to the ones he thinks are worth mentioning (not all of them are OK) in the footer of his tutorials.

Yea my bad, didn't check them out. I think sticky and subforums can work together. Like the sticky would hold all the links to the tutorial and the subforum would have the tutorial hosted exclusively by @LightDestroy or you can also hand approve high quality tutorials in there even like move those threads there.

[LightDestory]

[12/9/2019] 
Added to the list the tutorial regarding Firewall.
Reworked x2go tutorial to be used on this series

I want to say that write down a good structured thread is A NIGHTMARE, the editor just reset all the tags if you preview the post or you enter full edit mode after posting it!

EDIT: It needs some fixes, but right now I am fighting against forum editor, I will wait some time to find a solution.

[LightDestory]

[6/11/2019]
Added 'Customizing Bash's Prompt' tutorial.

I am sorry about the delay of this series but due to my university I got full busy and I have just the time to read and post simple things, make tutorial and FORMATTING IT FOR MYBB takes a lot of time that right now I don't have.

[humanpuff69]

this is great for people that is new to linux . this will help me if i still extremely new to linux like when i joined this forum and have almost no linux knowledge at all . hopefully there is new people to linux that can benefit from this . also make sure the tutorial easy to follow and add explanation to what it does so people that new to linux understand it

[LightDestory]

this is great for people that is new to linux . this will help me if i still extremely new to linux like when i joined this forum and have almost no linux knowledge at all . hopefully there is new people to linux that can benefit from this . also make sure the tutorial easy to follow and add explanation to what it does so people that new to linux understand it

I am trying my best but I don't get any feedback regarding the "easy to follow" and "what I learnt" factor.
Let's see in the future.

[tryp4vps]

Great efforts. Especially that you make it like a map which links to the topics you are going to cover.

And I look forward to seeing you complete all your topics soon, particular for the topic #8 about Let's Encrypt that I believe it should be quite useful for most of our community members. Keep up your good work.