CentOS and Redhat Tutorials

This page contains tutorials designed to help you get your Centos  VPS up and running. I’m not an expert by any means, but I can usually get a server do do what I want it to do. Over the years I have picked up a few tricks and techniques that I am happy to share with you. Feel free to comment and correct my tutorials, because I’m sure they are not the correct way to do things, they are just the way I know how to do things.

I use mostly free software to do everything, so you can start right away. All you need is an internet connection, which I assume you have because you’re reading this site, and a cheap virtual private server. You can get VPS accounts for about $5 or $10. I use Webmin, a  free web based control panel that you use in your browser, to administer servers. I don’t like to pay for control panels, I’m cheap like that. I use Filezilla to move files from my computer to my server and vice-versa. I also use Putty to ssh into my servers to do command line work (the dreaded blinking cursor).  All of the programs mentioned so far are open source (free) software programs.  These tutorials are written using Centos 7.  Just about all VPS providers have this and it is probably one of the most widely used operating systems for new VPSs and servers.  You can probably go to the control panel your host provided you with and switch to this operating system for free.  That’s the beauty of a VPS,  you can install a new OS whenever you like and start over.

With these tutorials you just have to SSH into your server once and cut and paste a few lines in to get Webmin up and running.  We never use SSH again and everything is done in Webmin.  So if configuring your server by the command line is not for you,  then you have found the right place.

CentOS and Redhat Tutorials

 

Connecting to your new server:  In this tutorial you will learn how to connect to your server via SSH and SFTP to set up a free control panel, Webmin.  Once you get the Webmin control panel installed you may never have to use SSH again.  This is done with a Centos 7  linux server.

How to set up Apache: Apache is a webserver that runs on your VPS or server and listens for requests to see your website and directs surfers to the exact pages they requested. You must already have your domain set up on a nameserver and the nameserver pointing the domain to the IP number Apache is configured to.

How to set up a nameserver:  Here we will set up a nameserver with Webmin so the world can get to your web site. This is a confusing topic for a lot of people, so we will attempt make this as easy and painless as possible.

How to set up sendmail:  I usually have my server relay all my mail to a GMail account and use GMail to do everything.  Gmail can be configured to send mail with a @yourdomain.com return address, so why not use their great infrastructure?  What we will do is get sendmail to forward all the server mail to our Gmail account using the Webmin control panel.

How to install MYSQL and PHP:   If you want to run anything that needs an MYSQL database, like WordPress or Joomla you are goint to need to install PHP and MYSQL. This tutorial shows you how to do it for Centos 6.

How to make a MYSQL database:  This tutorial will show you how to make a database and user so you may use scripts that require a MYSQL database.  This tutorial  uses Webmin and the Centos 6 operating system.

How to install Owncloud  A Dropbox like program that runs off of your VPS and syncs files between your desktop,  laptop, tablet, VPS or server and phone.  Just drop your file in the Owncloud folder on any device and it will sync the file between all devices running the Owncloud app.  The amount of storage is only limited by the amount of hard drive space you have on your VPS, while Dropbox charges for everything over 2 or 3 gigabytes.

How to secure your VPS against hackers: If you would like to keep unwanted visitors out of your data and bandwidth you will have to take measures to stop them. This tutorial will give you a good start.

How to install VNC server and a desktop:  Connect to your VPS or server with a desktop interface.