CentOS is the free release version of
Red Hat Linux with all the branding removed. It also does not have the support options and some of the fancy trimmings the Enterprise version offers, but it is still a solid server OS. This guide is a brief step-by-step guide in how to install CentOS 6.2 and configure it as a web-server.
Install from DVD:
- Boot up from your DVD (you will need to enter into the Boot menu of your computer OR edit your BIOS to do so)
- Select Install or upgrade an existing system from the menu
- If you are worried about your DVD you can choose to to test it, but this is not a necessary step so you can skip it.
- On the Welcome screen select 'Next'
- Select your language (in our case we are going for the default of 'English (English)')
- Select your keyboard type (in Australia we use 'U.S. English')
- If you are just going for a standard local hard-drive set-up then just choose the 'Basic Storage Devices' option. If you are going for something fancy (such as network storage or special drives), or you just want to disable some devices for that extra level of paranoid security then choose 'Specialized Storage Devices'.
If you have no idea which one you should choose then just select the Basic option.
- Enter in the host-name of your new server (for best results you should append your domain name to the end so it works seamlessly with SSL certificates) i.e. testserver.example.com
If you want to configure a static IP address click on the 'Configure Network' button, select the your network card (probably eth0) and enter away.
If you are going to use DHCP, or just don't know, just hit 'Next'
- Select the correct timezone for you (just click a location on the map and it should select the closest one to you).
- Enter in an appropriate root password. Make as long and complex as possible (long sentences with mixed character types are easier to remember than jibberish strings; for instance 'My office is situated in 1234 fake street, Fakeville!')
- In this example we are going to go for a custom partition layout, so select 'Create Custom Layout'. If you are fine with defaults, just skip to part .
- Delete all existing partitions and do the following:
- A /boot partition of about 100MB. Use the ext4 format
- Create a LVM Physical Volume that fills up the rest of the hard-drive
- Create a LVM Volume Group with a Physical Extent of 4MB.
- Create LVM Logical Volumes on the Volume group as follows:
- Swap space that is at least equal to how much RAM is in your server
- /tmp/ should be as big as the largest file you will be manipulating (for instance, if you are copying a DVD you will need at least 4GB)
- /var/log and /var/log/audit are separated so that if your log system goes haywire it does not kill the space for other applications. Dedicate a couple of gigabytes to each.
- /home/ and /usr/ should be a few gigabytes each. /usr/ just holds your applications and should remain pretty static, while /home/ is where you will store your personal files.
- /var/ and /var/www/ will contain the majority of space on your system. MySQL stores your database files in /var/lib/mysql/, while Apache runs from /var/www/. Dedicate adequate space to each folder.
- Your root folder (/) will only need a few GB of space. It will mainly hold configuration files.
- The system will take some time to format your hard-drive. Once it is complete it will ask you to install the boot-loader. While the defaults are suitable, for extra security you should consider password protecting your boot-loader.
- We can now select our packages. You can customize the system to suit your needs, but for the basics just select 'Basic Server' from the menu and the 'Customize now' from the radio buttons. Hit 'Next'.
- Do the following edits:
- Base system - Remove 'Java Platform' and 'Directory Client'
- Web Server - Add 'Web Server' and 'PHP support'
- Reboot your system!
References
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for contributing!! Try to keep on topic and please avoid flame wars!!