Results 1 to 19 of 19
  1. #1

    How to get started with CentOS?

    After looking on the previous responses I have decided to go with CentOS.

    I am new to all of this so I just would like some help in getting started. What I want is to create a dedicated web hosting enviroment for my home computers. I am going to have 1 computer acting as the server and my other computer in my home is going to be the developer computer. This way I can send update/new html, php files etc to the server so the dummy website I create will get updated in turn.

    I don't want to use the GUI CentOs so I think I need a headless one but I believe you can have software like control panel installed. Can someone tell me which version CentOs I would need for this type of set up.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Chilliwack, B.C., Canada
    Posts
    42
    Pick whatever version you want, 32Bit or 64Bit, Centos 5.10 or 6.5 - either way, you'll have to learn the Centos way.

    If you plan on managing the server yourself, and you don't know Linux...I would advise against that, buy a Fully Managed Dedicated Server, that way it's not ALL on you. Then you can learn Linux (Centos)at your own speed.

    I setup a clone if you will of my Dedicated Server in my home to learn what was installed on the production machine, and how to fix it, upgrade it and so on...I still have a long way to go, but I'm learning, and I could probably manage a server today, but it's taken a few years of breaking & fixing : )

    There is much to learn, you have to decide what's the best use of your time...it may be cheaper and better to hire someone to do the grunt work.

    Good Luck.
    Billyhost.com - We like to keep things simple

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by owengreaves View Post
    Pick whatever version you want, 32Bit or 64Bit, Centos 5.10 or 6.5 - either way, you'll have to learn the Centos way.

    If you plan on managing the server yourself, and you don't know Linux...I would advise against that, buy a Fully Managed Dedicated Server, that way it's not ALL on you. Then you can learn Linux (Centos)at your own speed.

    I setup a clone if you will of my Dedicated Server in my home to learn what was installed on the production machine, and how to fix it, upgrade it and so on...I still have a long way to go, but I'm learning, and I could probably manage a server today, but it's taken a few years of breaking & fixing : )

    There is much to learn, you have to decide what's the best use of your time...it may be cheaper and better to hire someone to do the grunt work.

    Good Luck.
    Do you mean pay someone that hosts a server and install linux on the developer machine to communicate with the server?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Modesto California
    Posts
    6,858
    Quote Originally Posted by joker-85 View Post
    After looking on the previous responses I have decided to go with CentOS.

    I am new to all of this so I just would like some help in getting started. What I want is to create a dedicated web hosting enviroment for my home computers. I am going to have 1 computer acting as the server and my other computer in my home is going to be the developer computer. This way I can send update/new html, php files etc to the server so the dummy website I create will get updated in turn.

    I don't want to use the GUI CentOs so I think I need a headless one but I believe you can have software like control panel installed. Can someone tell me which version CentOs I would need for this type of set up.
    Why not just get yourself a cheap VPS for like $5.00 per month and use that as your ginnie pig?
    Looking for an awesome VPS Offer? CLICK HERE

    "Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." – Bruce Lee

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    430
    Do you have an old computer? Burn the iso to a disk, install it, and start playing around.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    417
    Last edited by SkunkEyes; 04-22-2014 at 02:31 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Seminole, Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,665
    http://wiki.centos.org/Documentation best place to get started.

    Read the documentation.

    All my old pcs work as a server in some way, so that's a great idea. Just burn the ISO to a disk as an image and install.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Langley, BC
    Posts
    2,045
    Quote Originally Posted by joker-85 View Post
    I don't want to use the GUI CentOs so I think I need a headless one but I believe you can have software like control panel installed. Can someone tell me which version CentOs I would need for this type of set up.
    Download the ISO, burn it on a CD or USB stick and install it.

    Once installed, you can run through the steps here:
    http://www.servermom.org/how-to-buil...entos-6-4/719/

    That would guide you through CentOS 6.4 version.

    yum is your friend, yum yourself away! All the best with your adventure!
    We Have Generated Over 7 Million cPanel Backups Come Dance Together With Us Y'all!
    Offer Your Own Backup Hosting Service - SiteAutoBackup.Com (Private Label / WHMCS Ready)
    WebHostingBusinessBook.Com | YouTube.com/WebHostingTutorial | NowOpenOnline.Com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    63
    Just download and install the "minimal" iso and whichever webserver you decide to use. You can complete it in less than 30 minutes.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by joker-85 View Post
    After looking on the previous responses I have decided to go with CentOS.
    CentOS seems to be the most popular distro with web hosting companies. As it is based on Red Hat, the reputation of Red Hat for stability extends to CentOS.

    Another option you can look at is Ubuntu.

    Quote Originally Posted by joker-85 View Post
    I am new to all of this so I just would like some help in getting started. What I want is to create a dedicated web hosting enviroment for my home computers. I am going to have 1 computer acting as the server and my other computer in my home is going to be the developer computer. This way I can send update/new html, php files etc to the server so the dummy website I create will get updated in turn.
    You can do that without using a dedicated box. You can virtualize installs of various Linux operating systems and have one or more Linux OSes running on your computer at the same time using a program like VirtualBox. You can develop on your machine's host OS, upload them to the virtual OS (or use a shared folder), and have a mostly authentic Linux server to develop on using only one computer.

    VirtualBox is a great tool for learning. You can clone virtual machines or take snapshots, make changes, and if you screw things up, you have your original virtual machine to fall back to. You can install multiple distributions of Linux and see which one you like best.


    Quote Originally Posted by joker-85 View Post
    I don't want to use the GUI CentOs so I think I need a headless one but I believe you can have software like control panel installed. Can someone tell me which version CentOs I would need for this type of set up.
    If you are just using a development server, you can install one with a GUI so you can look around, browse the file structure with the Nautilus file browser, etcetera, and access the machine remotely using puTTY or another SSH client as you would if you were working on a remote server without a GUI. So you can do both. If you are just starting out, a GUI may be helpful.

    There is only one ISO version which will allow you to determine whether or not you want to install the desktop (GUI) version or the server version without the GUI. There are 2 DVD ISO images for CentOS 6.5, but you will only need the first disk.

    http://www.centos.org/download/

    I have a question maybe an expert with Linux can answer for me. Why do the official Linux distribution repos have such outdated software? If you install Apache or PHP using the package managers in CentOS or Ubuntu, all you get are outdated versions of Apache 2.2 and PHP 5.3. How come they don't support anything released within the past 2 or 3 years?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Woodbridge, NJ
    Posts
    840
    Quote Originally Posted by cheesedude View Post
    I have a question maybe an expert with Linux can answer for me. Why do the official Linux distribution repos have such outdated software? If you install Apache or PHP using the package managers in CentOS or Ubuntu, all you get are outdated versions of Apache 2.2 and PHP 5.3. How come they don't support anything released within the past 2 or 3 years?
    Stability and security. Having software that has stood the test of time, where bugs and vulnerabilities have been ironed out, is preferred for a server environment.

    If you need more recent versions of software, there are plenty of reliable third-party repos. For example, I use Dotdeb on my Debian servers for more recent MySQL and PHP releases.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Long Island, NY
    Posts
    488
    You could just setup CentOS minimal with LAMP for that purpose. You should not need a very powerful box just to run a test server.
    BitronicTech Affordable Hosting and VPS Since 2007. Check out my Blog.
    99.99% Uptime Guarantee. 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee. 24/7/365 Support.
    cPanel/WHM - CloudLinux - Varnish - CloudFlare - Softaculous - Daily Shared Hosting Backups

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    1,328
    Quote Originally Posted by FernGullyGraphics View Post
    Why not just get yourself a cheap VPS for like $5.00 per month and use that as your ginnie pig?
    This is what I would do, get a cheap VPS and play with it!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    United States, MI
    Posts
    769
    Quote Originally Posted by owengreaves View Post
    Pick whatever version you want, 32Bit or 64Bit, Centos 5.10 or 6.5 - either way, you'll have to learn the Centos way.
    Do not listen to this person, run CentOS 6 and install a 64bit machine. Do not allow the suggestions of others to keep you trapped in the past.
    Steven Crothers
    No BS cloud engineer and Red Hat architect.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    /root
    Posts
    23,990
    Moved > Hosting Security and Technology.

    Specially 4 U
    Reseller Hosting: Boost Your Websites | Fully Managed KVM VPS: 3.20 - 5.00 Ghz, Pure Dedicated Power
    JoneSolutions.Com is on the net 24/7 providing stable and reliable web hosting solutions, server management and services since 2001
    Debian|Ubuntu|cPanel|DirectAdmin|Enhance|Webuzo|Acronis|Estela|BitNinja|Nginx

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    1,328
    I agree with Crothers there... what's the point in getting started with an older version?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Chilliwack, B.C., Canada
    Posts
    42
    Quote Originally Posted by gingir View Post
    I agree with Crothers there... what's the point in getting started with an older version?
    That wasn't the point, you do have freedom of choice here, frankly, installing bleeding edge can be more work. Plus, there are many a hosting company that still installs Centos 5.10 - Linux is Linux, that's the point.
    Billyhost.com - We like to keep things simple

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    1,328
    Quote Originally Posted by owengreaves View Post
    installing bleeding edge can be more work
    CentOS 6 bleeding edge?
    You have not explained why you were recommending 5 in mid 2014... the mere fact that some companies are providing 5 instead of 6 is not a good reason.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Chilliwack, B.C., Canada
    Posts
    42
    Seriously kids!

    Firstly, there is nothing to explain....I did not recommend anything. I pointed out that you have freedom of choice, install whatever flavour or distro you want, and frankly....it doesn't matter, you will end up customizing and installing whatever you want, and or whatever your customers need. It's called updating.

    Secondly, Centos never has, and never will be bleeding edge....there's a reason for that, hence why 5.10 is still being supported and offered.
    Billyhost.com - We like to keep things simple

Similar Threads

  1. Howto: Install Xen 4 on CentOS 5 and CentOS 6!
    By uksysadmin in forum VPS Tutorials
    Replies: 37
    Last Post: 07-30-2015, 12:47 AM
  2. Custom partitions - Centos 6 vs Centos 5
    By DrugTito in forum Hosting Security and Technology
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-08-2013, 11:16 PM
  3. Moving OpenVZ containers from CentOS 5 to CentOS 6
    By Razva in forum Hosting Security and Technology
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 08-16-2012, 01:23 PM
  4. Migrating Virtuozzo from CentOS 4 to CentOS 5
    By drgigenet in forum Hosting Software and Control Panels
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-14-2008, 02:15 PM
  5. Difference between CentOs 5.0 and Centos 4.5? Both with plesk
    By Greedisgood in forum Hosting Security and Technology
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-01-2007, 09:07 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •