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What (Else) Should I Do after Setting Up my Ubuntu Server?

  • Posted May 17, 2013

Hi, I have just finished setting up my Ubuntu server (thanks for the guides here! :) ) for my multiple websites. I understand that there is still much to be done before I can even start working on the websites and so I read a bit more and have the following questions…

  1. Should I even use phpMyAdmin? I heard that it provides a convenient way to manage databases (I am going to need to input a lot of data; every bit of convenience counts!) but there seem to be lots of security issues with it.

  2. How do I use cron jobs to my advantage? I understand that they can help me do certain administrative tasks (especially updates) but I am not sure where to start learning more about them…

  3. What/How should I monitor my server?

  4. Should I install ClamAV or TripWire for the server?

  5. How should I “harden” my Apache server?

Thanks!

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victoriousrock • May 28, 2013

Thanks, will go check those out too :)

Kamal Nasser • May 23, 2013
  1. You just give it access to mysql (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/articles/how-to-create-a-new-user-and-grant-permissions-in-mysql) and install phpmyadmin on it so you can connect to the other db server. <br> <br>3. There are many free alternatives out there such as StatusCake and Uptime Robot.
victoriousrock • May 20, 2013

@Kamal: <br> <br>1. Hmmm… How would that droplet be able to control the MySQL servers in other droplets? <br> <br>2. Ah I see, thanks! <br> <br>3. Pingdom is too expensive for my usage (but I have managed to find free services like StatusCake). Am I right to say that it is possible to do everything using Apache’s features? Or should I just leave it to such services for efficiency? <br> <br>4, 5. Ok then :) <br> <br>@Dave Smith: I am not sure if my websites will be purely PHP though so I am going to stick with Apache

c0smicalninja • May 20, 2013

If possible, replace Apache with Nginx if you’re paranoid over security, especially, if you run a PHP website.

Kamal Nasser • May 17, 2013
  1. As you like. I personally have a separate locked-down phpmyadmin droplet. <br> <br>2. http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/define-cron-crond-and-cron-jobs/ <br> <br>3. You can use a service like pingdom to get notified if your server goes down. <br> <br>4. As you wish. <br> <br>5. There’s a lot of information about that on the internet: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=how+to+secure+apache