I've been setting up a machine for colocation. This is my first stab at it and I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

1. I installed RedHat 7.2. I went ahead and installed the client components (X11, etc) and set the inittab to come up without the gui. Is this a common practice? My thought was that the gui might come in handy during the rest of the install so I went ahead and installed it.

2. I plan to use Software RAID level 1 with two Seagate Cheetah 36 gig 10000 RPM disks. Is Software RAID ok for this purpose?

3. Installed webmin. I activated SSL for additional security.

4. I'm planning to run a DNS server. I've been over the config but I haven't set it up yet. I was wondering if its possible to run both the primary and secondary nameservers off of one ethernet card using two different IPs? My thought is that this will work ok for my purpose because all of the services will be on one machine so having external DNSes isn't important. Is it technically possible (and smart) to configure it this way?

5. I haven't finished configuring ipchains yet. ssh is running so I guess I will shut down telnet and ftp. I'll need to leave the webmin port open. Any other non-obvious considerations here?

6. What am I missing??? I'm sure I'm missing something. The above isn't an exhaustive list of the steps I've taken, obviously. I've read all the relevant HOW-TOs and FAQs but I'm still afraid I might neglect a common pitfall.

After I get all of the above issues ironed out, my next step is to sign the contract, configure the IPs, and ship the machine.

I don't mind doing most of the administration remotely. What I'm looking for help on is the kind of things that really should be done before the machine is shipped to the colo. I suppose that the DNS stuff can wait, but ipchains and RAID should be done before the machine leaves my office.

Jim

I've been ignored. No one loves me.

:bawling:
...sniff...

1. You don't really need any GUI anything, just SSH. GUIs are for Windows servers. :)

2. Software RAID will work. Hardware RAID is a pretty expensive move, so unless you need it, software should be ok.

3. ...

4. Yes it's possible to run primary and secondary off one ethernet card using two IPs. Bind multiple IPs to the card and use them with BIND or whatever DNS server you're using. If all your services are on one machine, primary and secondary on the same machine will be fine. The moment you get a second server for anything, I'd get seperate primary and secondary DNS servers (make the new machine a secondary or something).

5. Leave your mail, dns, http ports open too.

6. Find some security HOW-TOs to secure the insides of the machine. You've secured the outside of it pretty well by blocking all the ports except the ones being used. Just make sure the services listening to those open ports are secure (use qmail for mail, djbdns for DNS, the latest openssh for SSH, Apache for http, stuff like that...).

What I do before shipping servers is make sure SSH is accessible from the outside and the IPs (at least one) are configured. Once I can get into SSH and switch to root, I'm golden. I then do the rest of the setup remotely.

Hope that helps. :)

There is no point in running multiple DNS servers on the same box.

I really don't know why I installed X11 in the first place. All I ever use it for is to bring up a bash shell. I'm more comfortable with vi than any other editor.

Thanks for the advice. I'll install djbdns and qmail.

The server is going into the colo on sunday (affordablecolo). I have the rest of the weekend to configure it.

It seems less mysterious to me now than it did before your message. As long as I can open a shell I know what to do, I guess, but since its the first time I felt like I might be missing something.

Jim

Originally posted by jstout
There is no point in running multiple DNS servers on the same box.

Aren't you required to have two different nameservers for a domain? I think you have to have two different IP addresses.

To me it seems silly to set up a secondary DNS on one of my other machines when every service I have is all on a single box.

Jim

Have you updated the the software programs wich have holes in them. Just in my personal experience, if you put a box up that is red hat, and you havent done much for updateing it, the box wont last a week(just my experience)

Aren't you required to have two different nameservers for a domain? I think you have to have two different IP addresses.
Yes, you are correct, which is why I didn't say anything about the two being on one server, until you get a second server...

Originally posted by jbourke


Aren't you required to have two different nameservers for a domain? I think you have to have two different IP addresses.

To me it seems silly to set up a secondary DNS on one of my other machines when every service I have is all on a single box.

Jim

The reason they require two is for redundancy. Your really defeating the purpose if you set it up on the same box. They'll both be down. Can you do it? Yes. Should you do it? No. Go find someone that will trade secondary DNS services with you or use a free host.

Originally posted by jbourke


Aren't you required to have two different nameservers for a domain? I think you have to have two different IP addresses.

To me it seems silly to set up a secondary DNS on one of my other machines when every service I have is all on a single box.

Jim

Not everyone can afford a second machine, JUST for a second name server.

Any how....

I run both of my name servers off the same box, (with tinydns)

/etc/ns1
/etc/ns2
it's just fine. I run them off different ips.

If i get a server on the same network, what will i do if the network goes down? uh oh, both ns's are down

this means, that i would have to get not only a second server, a second server at a different place.

It's too much trouble sometimes , for people who just are starting out.

I agree, it is a good idea to have ns2 running on a different machine, i'm just saying... Not everyone can do it, atleast not right away.

If all the services are on the primary nameserver, there's no point in having 2 seperate machines. If the primary nameserver is down then obviously no one will be able to access it, even if its domains do resolve.


Andrew