Hello guys, I am not a total green horn in suse but most of the time I was using it as a desktop replacement. So basically all you would do in the office with your pc. Now I need to set up department server in my uni. As I am familiar with drag and drop features of suse I decided to go for SUSE 9.3 and followed your description "The Perfect Setup - SUSE 9.3" I've noticed this and got a bit scared: Install Some Software And Deactivate SUSE's Firewall apt-get install findutils ncftp readline libgcc glibc-devel findutils-locate gcc flex lynx compat-readline4 db-devel /etc/init.d/SuSEfirewall2_setup stop chkconfig --del SuSEfirewall2_setup chkconfig --del SuSEfirewall2_init The firewall shall remain OFF?!?! I didn't find any line in the howto where you switch the firewall on again.... So how it the server protected than? Thanks...
The howto prepares the system for the installation of the ISPConfig controlpanel. When you install ISPCOnfig, the ISPConfig setup installs a new firewall that can be controlled trough the ISPConfig controlpanel.
As you might have noticed the tutorial prepares your system for the installation of ISPConfig. ISPConfig has its own firewall that you can use. Of course, you can also use the SuSE firewall, but you have to configure it in a way that all services can be reached (e.g., ISPConfig is running on port 81 so that has to be enabled).
As you might have noticed the tutorial prepares your system for the installation of ISPConfig....Obviously I might have missed it... sorry Is there something like "the perfect setup of ISPConfig for suse 9.3" or anything alike the person who is installing it for the first time can refer to? As far as I understand it brings a firewall on board and this needs to be configured properly...
Have a look at the manuals: http://www.ispconfig.org/documentation.htm The installation manual describes the nescessary steps for the ISPCOnfig installation. The Firewall is installed and configured by default to alow only the services installed in the perfect suse setup (httpd, pop3, imap, smtp + port 81 for ISPConfig. More details you will find in the ISPCOnfig manuals.
Thanks a lot for the link... was pretty helpfull. Just a last question to round this thread - I've never worked with ISPConfig before. Is the firewall which comes thogether with it better than the build in one of SUSE? Thanks for all the hints and ideas in beforehand.
Both firewalls (SuSE and ISPConfig) are iptables firewalls, so the firewall is the same, but it uses different rules. With the ISPConfig firewall you can basically open and close ports which is very well suited for servers in a data center. With the SuSE firewall you can also do more complicated things like NAT, etc. but more complex firewalls are also a source of confusion, especially if you're new to Linux so I recommend to use the ISPConfig firewall (I do so on production systems ).
