Hello all, I have previously been running a server using Ubuntu 8.04 and ISPConfig 2 and I'd like to do a new setup of that server with Ubuntu 8.10 and skip any control panel this time around. My primary reason for doing so is to get more comfortable with the command line in general as I've only been dabbing in linux for about 6 months. I'd like to follow The Perfect Server guide, but is there anything specifically best practice would dictate I do different given that I will skip ISPConfig?
You can not skip ispconfig 3 in this guides as ispconfig 3 is doing the complete configuration of the linux distribution which had to be dome manually in ispconfig 2 setups. Without ispconfig you have just a bunch of unconfigured packages and the server will be unusable. This guides are intended to install ispconfig 3 and they will not give you much insight into linux setups from a learning perspective.
I have used a Perfect Server How To on this site to run a web, dns, ftp, and email server using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS without using ISPConfig. The Perfect Server setup really just got me a base server with web. I then used another How To to setup an email server using a MySQL backend with virtual users. I then used another How To to setup the FTP server again using a MySQL backend with virtual users. For the DNS server, I turned to a How To not on this site. Before running 8.04, I had done the same with 7.04 and 7.10. So it can be done, but it took a lot of trial and error and a lot of research. In my scenario, it has been working well for nearly two years. I am currently building a new machine based on one of the Perfect Server How To's and will be installing ISPConfig3. Although I have a firm understanding of the command line now from not using a control panel, the setup and management of domains and users on the machine takes much more time than it should and I could benefit greatly from ISPConfig3. If you would like me to list the How To's I used, let me know.
If you want to install ispconfig 3, then use this tutoral for ubuntu: http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect-server-ubuntu-8.10-ispconfig-3 If you followed any other howto an that server or configured sonething additionally then you should format the server and install it as described in this guide or ispconfig will not work properly on your system.
