Debian Lenny base server - Revision history

Saruman!: removing hw section

2012-03-12T20:29:30Z

removing hw section

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<big>'''Debian Lenny Base Server setup'''</big>
+__TOC__
-==Getting the hardware==
+==Hardware preparation==
-{| class="wikitable" border="1" |-
+When installing a new server, you must begin with [[Server hardware prep|getting your server hardware right]]. Assuming you've built yourself a new server platform, you can install the operating system following the steps outlined below. Note: it is assumed the server is bare, and the hard disks are completely clean. If they are not, here's how to [[Cleaning a hard disk|clean]] them.
 ==Planning your network names==

Saruman!: /* Finishing up the installation */ added link to aliases

2009-07-26T10:40:59Z

Finishing up the installation: added link to aliases

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:40, 26 July 2009
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	Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[APT_and_aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.		Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[APT_and_aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.

	Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[roll your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].		Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[roll your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]]. Furthermore, you might want to create a couple of [[aliases in every profile]] so that your favorite commands are always available.

212.238.151.172: /* Partitioning */ link to Debian dir structure

2009-07-25T18:54:10Z

Partitioning: link to Debian dir structure

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:54, 25 July 2009
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	To prevent both problems from occuring, we're going to use [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/whatisvolman.html Logical Volume Management (LVM)] so that we can provision enough space to start our server, but keep some space in reserve to apply when needed, where it'll be needed.		To prevent both problems from occuring, we're going to use [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/whatisvolman.html Logical Volume Management (LVM)] so that we can provision enough space to start our server, but keep some space in reserve to apply when needed, where it'll be needed.

	So, we at Saruman.biz have put together a recommended standard partitioning scheme. The basis is this:		So, we at Saruman.biz have put together a recommended standard partitioning scheme. The basis (in accordance with the standard [[Debian directory structure]]is this:
	{\| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"		{\| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
	!style="background:#ffdead;"\|Partition		!style="background:#ffdead;"\|Partition

Insomnia: /* Partitioning */ added varlog LV

2009-04-18T19:22:35Z

Partitioning: added varlog LV

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:22, 18 April 2009
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	\| /		\| /
	\|-		\|-
	\| rowspan="7" valign="top" \| 3		\| rowspan="8" valign="top" \| 3
	\| rowspan="7" valign="top" \| /dev/md2		\| rowspan="8" valign="top" \| /dev/md2
	\| rowspan="7" valign="top" style="background:lightgrey"\| system		\| rowspan="8" valign="top" style="background:lightgrey"\| system
	\| style="background:lightgrey" \| swap		\| style="background:lightgrey" \| swap
	\| 1GiB<ref name="swap">Rule of thumb: twice the size of the machine's RAM, but no less than 256MiB and no more than 2GiB</ref>		\| 1GiB<ref name="swap">Rule of thumb: twice the size of the machine's RAM, but no less than 256MiB and no more than 2GiB</ref>
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	\|-		\|-
	\| style="background:lightgrey" \| var		\| style="background:lightgrey" \| var
	~~\| 2GiB~~
	\| 1GiB		\| 1GiB
			\| 512MiB
	\| ext3		\| ext3
	\| /var		\| /var
			\|-
			\| style="background:lightgrey" \| varlog
			\| 1GiB
			\| 512MiB
			\| ext3
			\| /var/log
	\|-		\|-
	\| style="background:lightgrey" \| appslog		\| style="background:lightgrey" \| appslog
	\| 3GiB		\| 3GiB
	\| -		\| -<ref>Yes, we think a separate ''appslog'' is a very good idea, but when creating a minimal VM, we have to save disk space ''somewhere''...</ref>
	\| ext3		\| ext3
	\| /var/appslog		\| /var/appslog

Saruman!: /* Software RAID partitioning */ added MD start screen

2008-08-28T12:19:56Z

Software RAID partitioning: added MD start screen

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:19, 28 August 2008
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	If you now go back to the "partition disks" overview, you'll see all the partitions you've specified listed on their respective disks. But at the top an extra option has appeared, called "configure software RAID". When you now select this option, the installer will ask if it may write the changes you've made to disk. This actually creates the partition tables on the disks.		If you now go back to the "partition disks" overview, you'll see all the partitions you've specified listed on their respective disks. But at the top an extra option has appeared, called "configure software RAID". When you now select this option, the installer will ask if it may write the changes you've made to disk. This actually creates the partition tables on the disks.

			Note that at the end of configuring your partitions, an extra screen may appear (image 4): this asks if you care to identify which MD RAID devices must be started in order to be able to mount the root filesystem. Answering this question with a list of MD's like "md0 md1 md2" or simply "all" will let your server start the listed MD's very early in the boot sequence.

	===Hardware RAID partitioning===		===Hardware RAID partitioning===

Saruman!: Lenny adaptations

2008-08-28T10:09:34Z

Lenny adaptations

Saruman!: Debian Etch base server moved to Debian Lenny base server: upgrade to Lenny info

2008-08-28T09:26:42Z

Debian Etch base server moved to Debian Lenny base server: upgrade to Lenny info

← Older revision	Revision as of 09:26, 28 August 2008
(No difference)

Saruman!: /* Finishing up the installation */ fixed kernel-link

2008-06-21T09:06:46Z

Finishing up the installation: fixed kernel-link

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:06, 21 June 2008
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	Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[APT_and_aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.		Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[APT_and_aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.

	Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[~~make~~ your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].		Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[roll your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].

Saruman!: changed link

2008-05-23T19:41:31Z

changed link

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 23 May 2008
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	If your system does not reach this login, and/or some horrible error messages appear anywhere in this boot sequence, then you've got some extra work ahead. For now we'll assume you've reached the login prompt without problem.		If your system does not reach this login, and/or some horrible error messages appear anywhere in this boot sequence, then you've got some extra work ahead. For now we'll assume you've reached the login prompt without problem.

	Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[~~Using Aptitude~~ \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.		Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[APT_and_aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.

	Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[make your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].		Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[make your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].

Saruman!: /* Finishing up the installation */

2008-05-17T13:20:18Z

Finishing up the installation

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:20, 17 May 2008
Line 246:		Line 246:
	If your system does not reach this login, and/or some horrible error messages appear anywhere in this boot sequence, then you've got some extra work ahead. For now we'll assume you've reached the login prompt without problem.		If your system does not reach this login, and/or some horrible error messages appear anywhere in this boot sequence, then you've got some extra work ahead. For now we'll assume you've reached the login prompt without problem.

	Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''.		Log in as the principal user (try to avoid logging in as root! That's BAD practice!). Once logged in, save a copy of the boot messages using ''sudo dmesg > boot.txt'' or whatever you like. Then look through the boot messages, e.g. with ''vi -R boot.txt''. Furthermore, [[Using Aptitude \| use Aptitude]] to make sure ''all'' your software is updated to the latest version.

			Done! Your base system is ready. You probably now want to [[essential system software \| install essential software]], [[make your own kernel]] and [[connect your server to the Internet]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:09, 28 August 2008
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	<big>'''Debian ~~Etch~~ Base Server setup'''</big>		<big>'''Debian Lenny Base Server setup'''</big>

	==Getting the hardware==		==Getting the hardware==
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	* an efficient, heavy-duty power supply that's rated high enough for your devices, and has a decent efficiency. For example, a [http://www.corsair.com/products/power_supplies.aspx Corsair HX520] power supply;		* an efficient, heavy-duty power supply that's rated high enough for your devices, and has a decent efficiency. For example, a [http://www.corsair.com/products/power_supplies.aspx Corsair HX520] power supply;
	* a server class motherboard, e.g. an [http://www.intel.com/products/server/index.htm?iid=home+hdr_nav2_server Intel] or [http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=9&l2=39&l3=263 AMD] based single-processor motherboard. DO NOT go for the cheapest motherboard you can find: if you pay peanuts, that's what you get. Server class motherboards have the quality, stability and durability you'll need from it, and usually also most of the needed peripherals, like multiple ethernet network cards on-board. Usually a Linux server doesn not require much in the way of video performance (and the screen will be used rarely, if ever), so any old integrated graphics will do.		* a server class motherboard, e.g. an [http://www.intel.com/products/server/index.htm?iid=home+hdr_nav2_server Intel] or [http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=9&l2=39&l3=263 AMD] based single-processor motherboard. DO NOT go for the cheapest motherboard you can find: if you pay peanuts, that's what you get. Server class motherboards have the quality, stability and durability you'll need from it, and usually also most of the needed peripherals, like multiple ethernet network cards on-board. Usually a Linux server doesn not require much in the way of video performance (and the screen will be used rarely, if ever), so any old integrated graphics will do.
	* a matching CPU - or multiple, if you think you need the power and the selected motherboard has the sockets.		* a matching CPU - or multiple, if you think you need the power and the selected motherboard has the sockets. Furthermore, it pays to think about the energy use of your server CPU. For instance, you could choose an AMD Athlon X2 5600+, running at 2,8 Ghz and 89W maximum, but you can also go for an AMD Athlon X2 4850E, which is dualcore at 2,5GHz, but uses only 45W maximum - almost half of the former! And over a one year period, this choice can save up to 385 kWH. With electricity costing close to €0,20 per kWH (at least for some of us), that could save you €77,- a year. All I'm saying is: think about power use.
	* a CD-ROM- or DVD-player		* a CD-ROM- or DVD-player - although you might not need it any more after installation.
	* ''multiple'' harddisks - you'll want redundancy, because every harddisk fails at some time. The drive with your data on it will fail fatally when it is most inconvenient to you, and any data on it that you consider valuable will likely be lost forever. To make Murphy's work somewhat harder for him, we're going to store our data redundantly, so that if any drive in the server fails, we'll not lose our data or our server. Thus, get yourself at least two harddisks for your operating system, at least 40GiB in size (don't think you'll be able to buy smaller ones nowadays), and spanking new (NEVER use old harddisks for your production server, new ones are just too cheap to run that risk!).		* ''multiple'' harddisks - you'll want redundancy, because every harddisk fails at some time. The drive with your data on it will fail fatally when it is most inconvenient to you, and any data on it that you consider valuable will likely be lost forever. To make Murphy's work somewhat harder for him, we're going to store our data redundantly, so that if any drive in the server fails, we'll not lose our data or our server. Thus, get yourself at least two harddisks for your operating system, at least 40GiB in size (don't think you'll be able to buy smaller ones nowadays), and spanking new (NEVER use old harddisks for your production server, new ones are just too cheap to run that risk!).
	* (multipe) network card(s) (NICs) if your motherboard does not have enough NICs integrated on-board. You'll want a NIC for your network, and another one for your Internet connection; and possible a third one for the wireless segment of your network.		* (multipe) network card(s) (NICs) if your motherboard does not have enough NICs integrated on-board. You'll want a NIC for your network, and another one for your Internet connection; and possible a third one for the wireless segment of your network.
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	==Operating System installation==		==Operating System installation==
	To install an Operating System (OS), it's kinda instrumental that you have one. Here, we're going to use [http://www.debian.org/intro/about Debian], the biggest [http://www.debian.org/intro/about#free Free] OS that we know of. Free stands for Freedom, but incidentally that Freedom also means it's gratis, an appealing aspect of Free. To get your own copy of Debian, go to their [http://www.debian.org/distrib/ download site] and obtain the latest [http://www.debian.org/releases/ Stable] image - in this wiki it's Debian 4.0, or "~~Etch~~" as it's also known.		To install an Operating System (OS), it's kinda instrumental that you have one. Here, we're going to use [http://www.debian.org/intro/about Debian], the biggest [http://www.debian.org/intro/about#free Free] OS that we know of. Free stands for Freedom, but incidentally that Freedom also means it's gratis, an appealing aspect of Free. To get your own copy of Debian, go to their [http://www.debian.org/distrib/ download site] and obtain the latest [http://www.debian.org/releases/ Stable] image - in this wiki it's Debian 5.0, or "Lenny" as it's also known (although it wasn't stable at the time of writing this).

	Besides the choice which release of Debian you want to run, you also have to know for which platform you're downloading (in our case: either ''amd64'' or ''i386'' depending on your hardware platform) and what kind of install you wish - if you have a working, fast Internet connection available at the time of install, then we recommend getting the [[http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ netinst] CD image; it's a relatively small CD, that'll be able to get you going, but gets most of the software you'll need straight from the 'net at install time.		Besides the choice which release of Debian you want to run, you also have to know for which platform you're downloading (in our case: either ''amd64'' or ''i386'' depending on your hardware platform) and what kind of install you wish - if you have a working, fast Internet connection available at the time of install, then we recommend getting the [[http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ netinst] CD image; it's a relatively small CD, that'll be able to get you going, but gets most of the software you'll need straight from the 'net at install time.

	~~So, since in~~ the example at hand we're installing on ~~a Xeon~~ server on which we wish to install 32-bits software~~, we~~'ll download [http://cdimage.debian.org/~~debian~~-~~cd/4.0_r3~~/~~i386~~/iso-cd/debian-~~40r3~~-~~i386~~-~~netinst~~.iso debian-~~40r3~~-~~i386~~-~~netinst~~.iso], ~~the latest netinstall image~~ at the time of writing. Burn this to a CD-recordable and boot your prepared hardware platform from this CD.		In the example at hand we're installing on an AMD Athlon x2-based server, on which we wish to install 64-bits software. We'll download [http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/weekly-builds/amd64/iso-cd/debian-testing-amd64-CD-1.iso debian-testing-amd64-CD-1.iso], which is Lenny, not yet stable at the time of writing. Burn this to a CD-recordable and boot your prepared hardware platform from this CD.

	After booting from the CD, a friendly prompt invites you to indicate how you want to ~~boot the CD~~. Your choices are listed under <F3>; we're going to use the standard Command Line installation, so we ~~type~~ "install"~~<enter> or just simply~~ <enter>.		After booting from the CD, a friendly prompt invites you to indicate how you want to start installing (image 1). Your choices are listed under <F3>; we're going to use the standard Command Line installation, so we choose "install" and hit <enter>.
	{\| class="wikitable" border="1" \|-		{\| class="wikitable" border="1" \|-
	\|We could easily use "~~installgui~~", in which case we'd have a nice fresh Graphical User Interface for our installation. ''We're'' not going to, because we're real men, and [http://isg.ee.ethz.ch/tools/realmen/ Real Men Don't Click]. Also, we've found that from the GUI it's hard to switch to a second console and then back.		\|We could easily use "Graphic install", in which case we'd have a nice fresh Graphical User Interface for our installation. ''We're'' not going to, because we're real men, and [http://isg.ee.ethz.ch/tools/realmen/ Real Men Don't Click]. Also, we've found that from the GUI it's hard to switch to a second console and then back.
	We could also opt for "expert" as installation method, because it gives a much finer grain of control~~, but~~ we usually don't need that control, and can do without the barrage of extra questions that the "expert" installation method pose.		We could also go to the Advanced options (image 2), and opt for "Expert install" or "Graphical expert install" as installation method, because it gives a much finer grain of control; however we usually don't need that control, and can do without the barrage of extra questions that the "expert" installation method pose.
	~~Finally, we could opt for "expertgui", where we have both the barrage of extra questions ''and'' the GUI, neither of which we need~~.
	\|}		\|}

	After the Linux kernel finishes initializing the machine, a simple text-based installer appears that immediately starts asking questions. Answer them according to your needs. Our example system uses the following choices:		After the Linux kernel finishes initializing the machine, a simple text-based installer appears (image 3) that immediately starts asking questions. Answer them according to your needs. Our example system uses the following choices:
	* Language: english		* Language: english
	* country: other > Netherlands		* country: other > Netherlands
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	Some installation software loads, and we get to the next phase: if you have multiple NICs in your machine (which we believe you ''should'' have!!), and if they're detected properly, then you're required to indicate which of the detected network interface cards (NIC) is going to be the "primary" NIC.		Some installation software loads, and we get to the next phase: if you have multiple NICs in your machine (which we believe you ''should'' have!!), and if they're detected properly, then you're required to indicate which of the detected network interface cards (NIC) is going to be the "primary" NIC.
	{\| class="wikitable" border="1" \|-		{\| class="wikitable" border="1" \|-
	\|Here, trouble could begin. If your machine has network cards that are '''not''' supported, then you'll see '''no''' cards here - but then how are you going to do a NetInstall? A solution would be to (temporarily) install a NIC that ''is'' supported, like a cheap Realtek card, or an old 3Com 905 card. Then, when the whole system is installed, up and running, you could compile a new kernel that contains support for your actual NICs, and when these work, remove the temporary NIC. For now, we'll assume that at least one of your NICs is recognised properly by the Debian installation routine.		\|Here, trouble could begin. If your machine has only network cards that are '''not''' supported, then you'll see '''no''' cards here - but then how are you going to do a NetInstall? A solution would be to (temporarily) install a NIC that ''is'' supported, like a cheap Realtek card, or an old 3Com 905 card. Then, when the whole system is installed, up and running, you could compile a new kernel that contains support for your actual NICs, and when these work, remove the temporary NIC. For now, we'll assume that at least one of your NICs is recognised properly by the Debian installation routine.
	\|}		\|}
	Select the card that's connected and has (indirect) access to Internet (again: it should ''not'' be connected straight to the wild wild web, but sit safely behind a firewall, at least until we've installed our own firewall); if at all possible, let it be the NIC that'll be connected to your home network itself, on the ''inside'' of your server. Let's assume that this NIC is designated ''eth0'' by the Debian installation. This card will now be configured using DHCP, so if you're on a network with a DHCP-server, the network will work straight away. If it's not, you can either configure the network manually or fix your DHCP-server and connection between it and ''eth0''.		Select the card that's connected and has (indirect) access to Internet (again: it should ''not'' be connected straight to the wild wild web, but sit safely behind a firewall, at least until we've installed our own firewall); if at all possible, let it be the NIC that'll be connected to your home network itself, on the ''inside'' of your server. Let's assume that this NIC is designated ''eth0'' by the Debian installation. This card will now be configured using DHCP, so if you're on a network with a DHCP-server, the network will work straight away. If it's not, you can either configure the network manually or fix your DHCP-server and connection between it and ''eth0''.