NEWBIE to FreeBSD 4.2 / Install, Setup and Command Help Needed!

[wncads]

Hey guys: I am working on a couple of domain servers for web hosting and I had Red Hat 7.1 and Mandrake 7.2 but my ISP guru said hands down to use FreeBSD 4.2. I am not experienced with Linux or UNIX very much, I know a few things but nothing major. I need any help you can give. I am looking for install and setup help for only a SECURE WEB SERVER and EMAIL SERVER. There of course will be FTP for dropping in the web pages but that is really all that needs to be on these servers. RYCAMOR also agreed that this was a very stable and recommended system for what I am planning. So please throw anything you can my way from install guides to most used commands. Thanks so much.

Keith Buchanan
AplusNetworking.com
Commercial I.T. Networking & Wiring Specialist

 

[rycamor]

For a secure web server, go to

http://www.openssl.com,

and open-source implementation of SSL. All you need to pay for now is a digital ID (like Verisign or Thawte), and you are ready to go. Setting up OpenSSL can be a pain, but it's worth the work to have a start-to-finish open source solution.

http://heorot.1nova.com/freebsd/

has some good FreeBSd links for newbies.

http://www.vmunix.com/fbsd-book/

is a comprehensive FreeBSD guide (i think)

http://www.computerbits.com/archive/9603/lan9603.htm

is a guide to installing a Unix mailserver

http://www.refcards.com/

has some quick reference cards you can print out, on Apache, mod_perl (for Apache) and Emacs, among other Unix-related technologies.

BUT....

I notice you've been frantically running around these forums for the past couple of weeks (thread54-55357 ) trying to jump-start a career as a Unix sysadmin/webmaster. It's not going to happen in a couple of weeks. I'm just telling you now. To really understand what you are doing with this stuff, it's going to take at least a year of heavy immersion. Make yourself do things the hard way: set up a cheap test box and just start installing things. Make mistakes, and then reinstall. Learn how to compile source code, and tweak your own configuration files. It may seem sometimes like a mountain of stuff to learn, but once you learn it, setting up a new system truly is a snap, and you can set up a highly customized and tweaked server in at least the time it takes to do a standard WinNT/2K/IIS install.

For now, though, you really need the help of at least *one* person you can trust who knows this stuff, especially in the area of security, or you will be in for some nasty surprises. Even if you just hire that man/woman once a month to review what you are doing, it is money more than well spent. Enough said. Cheers.