There have been previous topics about this i know, but none that would answer all my quiestions in full.

I have a LAMP server at home, currently running ubuntu because i am most used to it. I would like to know what you think about my distro choice? i heard that freeBSD is best for servers (because of security), should i change to it, or some other distro perhaps?

the server currently hosts three sites with a limited user base, so security is not an issue right now, however my goal is to have a webdesign/webdevelopment/hosting company. in light of that it is my strong wish to learn all i can about providing a stable and secure server for my future clients. i have some basic experience with linux (been using it for over a year now for desktop and sever use), the console is not foreign to me, but i still prefer gui (Webmin rocks ).

so lets get to the point.

what mesures should i take to provide a secure enough server to start professionally hosting websites? if possible, please also tell me how would i achieve them.

as is obvious by its name, the LAMP server should have PHP and MySQL, but also FTP, SSH (there is a big topic on ssh security here on the forum, no need to get into that one), and Webmin.

what i would like best is a checklist of things i should do (like for example... disable error reporting in apache, change ssh port to nondefault). i know this may be a request hard to fulfill, but i'm shure it well help other future server admins

thankyou


EDIT: anyone, anythig?

hehe, your in my situation at the moment.

I've been spending days arguing over OpenBSD(most secure out of the box) or Ubuntu SE.
At the end of it I figured I would use Ubuntu and see how it goes, keep the updates coming as quick as possible and closing off as many posts as possible.

But I'm not getting too far at the moment, I'm still at the stages of planning.

Originally Posted by mesec

There have been previous topics about this i know, but none that would answer all my quiestions in full.

I have a LAMP server at home, currently running ubuntu because i am most used to it. I would like to know what you think about my distro choice? i heard that freeBSD is best for servers (because of security), should i change to it, or some other distro perhaps?

the server currently hosts three sites with a limited user base, so security is not an issue right now, however my goal is to have a webdesign/webdevelopment/hosting company. in light of that it is my strong wish to learn all i can about providing a stable and secure server for my future clients. i have some basic experience with linux (been using it for over a year now for desktop and sever use), the console is not foreign to me, but i still prefer gui (Webmin rocks ).

so lets get to the point.

what mesures should i take to provide a secure enough server to start professionally hosting websites? if possible, please also tell me how would i achieve them.

as is obvious by its name, the LAMP server should have PHP and MySQL, but also FTP, SSH (there is a big topic on ssh security here on the forum, no need to get into that one), and Webmin.

what i would like best is a checklist of things i should do (like for example... disable error reporting in apache, change ssh port to nondefault). i know this may be a request hard to fulfill, but i'm shure it well help other future server admins

thankyou


EDIT: anyone, anythig?

The best linux webserver is the one that you know to administrate!!!!

All the linux os have advantages and disadvantages !!!
I work on openBSD and I can tell that is very hard to configure it!
If you want to make an update for version 3 to 4 for example is best to back up data, erase version 3 , install version 4 and add backup data !
After I choose debian because It easy to configure it and if you want to make an update just type "apt-get update" !
If you like ubuntu keep it !
Don't waste your time with a linux os that may not use!