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How To Use a Linux Virtual Private Server
Nerval's Lobster writes "Game developer David Bolton writes: 'For my development of Web games, I've hit a point where I need a Virtual Private Server. (For more on this see My Search for Game Hosting Begins.) I initially chose a Windows VPS because I know Windows best. A VPS is just an Internet-connected computer. "Virtual" means it may not be an actual physical computer, but a virtualized host, one of many, each running as if it were a real computer. Recently, though, I've run into a dead end, as it turns out that Couchbase doesn't support PHP on Windows. So I switched to a Linux VPS running Ubuntu server LTS 12-04. Since my main desktop PC runs Windows 7, the options to access the VPS are initially quite limited, and there's no remote desktop with a Linux server. My VPS is specified as 2 GB of ram, 2 CPUs and 80 GB of disk storage. The main problem with a VPS is that you have to self-manage it. It's maybe 90% set up for you, but you need the remaining 10%. You may have to install some software, edit a config file or two and occasionally bounce (stop then restart) daemons (Linux services), after editing their config files.'"
Hire a manager for it or learn to use it. How in hell is this in the front page?
and there's no remote desktop with a Linux server
Spending about 3.8753 seconds on Google would reveal that there are numerous Linux remote desktop clients which can be downloaded for use.
sudo make me a sandwich
If you don't know how to do this, please hire someone. And use Debian stable over ubuntu for servers. It's much more stable and much less full of Shuttleworth.
.... you are new to Linux, and you need some help?
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Beginners/FAQ
gus
.. if only.
Stop trolling us slashdot... this aint news and it aint a legitimate question... please just stop.
What exaclty were you expecting? If you want your server to be all setup for you, you'll buy a managed server, and pay a hefty price-premium for them holding your hand the whole time. If you want to save money, then you'll read some man pages and tutorials and figure out how to set it up on your own. Also, if you think you "need" a GUI on your server, then you obviously aren't all that well experienced with server management. If you really can't do any of this on your own, hire a sysadmin. Any sysadmin worth their weight in salt know how to use a linux command line to setup something as easy as PHP and Apache. Hell, most VPS services these days provide template VPSs with these services already setup
Why the fuck would use a window manager on a server. Just a good way to increase security exposure.
The big problem here is the VPS user has no clue about his operating system, this will end in tears, most likely the hacker kind.
Second is, linux server tools don't need a GUI. Even if you had one, you'd just use it to edit txt (conf) files.
All you really need is putty and WinSCP.
and there's no remote desktop with a Linux server.
HAHAHAHAHA. Oh? You're serious? ALLOW ME TO LAUGH HARDER!
Slashdot is dead, and this is its rotting corpse.
WTF, I see why Taco left.
No remote desktop in linux? Oh teh noes might have to use SSH like a big boy.
Install freenx - http://www.humans-enabled.com/2012/05/how-to-install-freenx-on-ubuntu-1204.html
Use NX Client for Windows - http://www.nomachine.com/download-package.php?Prod_Id=3835
Let me transpose this article to emphasize just how incredibly stupid this submission is:
Hey guys, I'm a game developer and my computer doesn't run things that I need to use to develop games. So I bought a new computer. You see, a computer is a machine that runs software and computes things for you. It has a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor. Some computers are big, but others are small. For instance, the computer I bought has 4GB of memory. That is more memory than other computers that have 2GB. When you buy a computer, it's maybe 90% set up for you, but you need to install the remaining 10% of things that you'll use and change the settings so it runs the way you like it. Computers are so neat.
This article isn't even asking a fucking question. It's just somebody telling the Slashdot crowd what a VPS is. What the fuck?
Sorry, the DNS lines must have gotten crossed. This is actually Yahoo! Answers.
I've run Linux at home for ages. I use my Linux computer at home for email, development, and a whole host of other things. I don't need a remote desktop. The whole concept of one is completely foreign to the Linux world. Nobody would ever make one because the idea is pointless in a Linux environment.
ssh and the command line are all you really need, and they are significantly more flexible and powerful than any GUI I have used. And if you really need a GUI, that's what X11 is for. X11 is completely network transparent. You can run an X11 program on any random computer and have it display just fine on your desktop.
I don't know how to find a good X11 'server' (yes, the thing that runs on your desktop and actually pushes pixels around on behalf of GUI programs is a 'server' because it performs services (manipulating your display) on the behalf of clients) for Windows is. But you should investigate and get one if you really must have a GUI.
I actually find Windows reliance on remote desktops to be really primitive and constraining. Whenever I try to mess with how Windows is supposed to work through a GUI I'm always left wondering what really just happened. So many little invisible things and no way to really see how they all interact. You just have to trust the partial fiction displayed to you to be a reasonable reflection of the underlying reality. It's very frustrating and cumbersome.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
Mod this up further. And learn to use screen.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
This is akin to someone writing into Car & Driver asking,
"HOW TO DRIVE CAR???? PLZ HELP!!"
I did not know that and I bet, almost no one here on /. either.
www.xrdp.org
Works very well.
Step 1. Learn to use *nix as it was designed to be used, through the shell. I know you skipped this step because you think cPanel is a good idea.
It is a wonder Linux has such an image problem with anyone, but the converted. Granted this article may not be the best, but let's do a quick google search for the actual article that the poster is refering to:
http://news.dice.com/2012/12/10/linux-virtual-private-server/
David Bolton talks about what he did. Good or bad, he documents it and shares it with his readers.
What do I read here, explatives, degrading remarks, and just plain snobbery. Here and there are some useful remarks. What I was hoping is to read a helpful discussion on what he recommends/did and what could be done better and how. There is so much vitriol to sort through, I don't even bother.
Pathetic.
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
When faced with Virtual Management issues, I hire a Virtual Manager! They never show up for work, but they never complain either.
The OP is using as a server. I'd hope he is following best practices and developing locally (and securely) and deploying on the network. Especially if he is unfamiliar with the production environment.
Ultimately, the OP should probably install VirtualBox or another virtualization solution on his/her Windows 7 desktop, and figure out the deployment strategy before exposing their work on the network. It doesn't cost anything but a little bit of time, and the pay off is understanding what you are pushing out in the real world.
I've been reading /. for some years now.
/.?
When I read this post, first I thought it was some kind of joke.
Then I started to feel the urge to hit someone, really hard.
Seriously people, how the heck does a beginner's beginner's noob's writing like this land on
Teenage Linux beginner bloggers do better than this.
You people need to reset your quality checking methods, and fast.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
As for the security risk, you are mostly correct. There is little exposure to running an X app over ssh. A few theoretical issues maybe but, nothing serious.
The thing is, its not what us experienced unix folks do, and with good reason. I have spent more time writing custom scripts to add and manage users than I have used gui tools to manage them. Its nice to be able to click and add a user, its nicer to be able to write a script so I can do it exactly the same way every time, or hand that duty off to someone else with sudo privs and not have to worry about giving him root access, or to implement some custom system where passwords are auto-generated and mailed out etc.....
Frankly the problem isn't the gui tools per se. Its that a linux system is very complicated with a lot of moving parts. On the plus side, this means you can tear it down to the bear minimum and customize it to your hearts content, only limited by your imagination and skill, On the minus side, you can really get out into some major weeds to the point that even the best admins will be calling it a rebuild.
If you are just getting by on gui tools, you are asking for trouble.... HOWEVER..... I don't want to entirely knock them. *I* started out with them. Since then however, I have totally abandoned them. When I use X11 over ssh, you can bet its because I am using something that just gives me no other way. (some software installs...ugh)
My advice would be...if someone wants to seriously go down this path...do it...but do it knowing full well its going ot be a major learning experience. I would setup a second VPS or even a system at home, just to experiment with....
If you really want to get competent: ;) Its also more powerful than you can possibly imagine. It is worth learning.
1. Find out what your tools are REALLY DOING. Find out what the command line equivalents are, see what the differences are.
2. Don't fear vi. It is less true these days that you are likely to find yourself sitting in front of a dead system at 3 am and the only tool that works is vi. Especially on linux (more so than many more traditional systems) vi is not your only option, nor your only good one. All that said.... it *IS* the gold standard for sysadmin editors. Its what the cool kids use
3. Consider learning some shell script. Its very powerful, its also the exact same language you type at the shell. Learning shell syntax will save you time, even if you never save anything to a fixed script.
4. Remember this is a job people get paid and paid well to do. You are dabbling in my career here. Don't expect to be an expert over night, and don't make too many commitments. I have been at it for 12 years professionally.... it takes time and experience to get good.
That said.... it seems this is all about web game development? If so....hey.... development? Have a blast man! However, if you are expecing to actually run code for public consumption? I would be a bit worried, expect downtime while you figure it all out.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
In other news:
"Some Random Moron writes: 'For my reading of email, I've hit a point where I need a PC. (For more on this see My Search for Email Clients Begins.) I initially chose a Windows 7 PC because I know Windows best. A PC is just a "personal computer". "Personal" means it is an actual physical computer, running as if it were a real computer. "Computer" means it's an actual physical computer, running as if it were a real computer. Recently, though, I've run into a dead end, as it turns out that Windows 7 doesn't support Sparrow. So I switched to a Linux PC running Ubuntu desktop 12.04. Since my main smartphone runs iOS, the options to access my mail are initially quite limited, cause I'm a moron, and don't know how to use google. Though I pretend to be a web developer, I'm entirely outside my comfort zone if there isn't a big bold "easy button" for any trivial task I attempt, even when that task has been solved, posted about, blogged about, and had software specifically written to solve my exact issue. The main problem with a PC is that you have to self-manage it. It's maybe 90% set up for you, but you need the remaining 10%. You may have to install some software, edit a config file or two and occasionally bounce (stop then restart) daemons (Linux services), after editing their config files.'"
Seriously....can't remote into a Linux server? WTF?
Ever.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
Many photo editing tasks can be done faster without a gui.
Resizing, cropping, converting, compressing, etc.
What has happened? It used to be so nice place to be.
I admire your long term memory. You remember 15 years ago like it was yesterday.
Oh and a couple of things I really should have mentioned.... save yourself some trouble, and make sure you have dos2unix.
Because I know you wont learn vi overnight (or do what i did and avoid it for several years), and you will likely find some shell extention that does sshfs or realize that you can use winscp to sftp into the box and then right click on a file and edit, or you will just copy a file locally and edit it, and reupload.
At some point, you WILL transfer a file that has the wrong line endings, and it will be one of the ones where it matters (there are many times it is not a problem, shell scripts are not one of them). The file command will often tip you off to dos line endings, and dos2unix will do the conversion.
If you want to move a file or several files from one unix machine to another, but have to copy to a windows machine inbetween.... make a tarball and move that instead.
Oh and always set putty and winscp to use blowfish as the first cipher....it speeds up file transfer times significantly over the AES default.
And always make backup copies of config files before you edit them. Consider installing git and using git for this purpose right in /etc
If nothing else, being able to do a "git diff" and see everything you have changed since the last commit will be inordinately helpful when making posts asking for help in online forums.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Dear slashdot editors, please forward this onto corp if it was upmodded enough to notice.
Because of this article pushed through geek.net, I am blocking all of your ads for one month.
That article is total drivel and crap. I don't care if you thought it was good. I don't care what demographic some idiot thought they were getting out to.
It's so dumbed down and idiotic as to be offensive. It isn't a legitimate slashdot. It isn't a legitimate ask slashdot as evidenced by the offsite link. It isn't even really a question. It's a shitty attempt to get us to click through to a crappy article with a crappy question written by someone who evidently can't even use google or IRC correctly.
Fuck your slashvertisements.
"the options to access the VPS are initially quite limited, and there's no remote desktop with a Linux server."
http://www.openssh.org/ - this goes on your server
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html - this goes on your windows 7 desktop
This is how linux works
https://code.google.com/edu/tools101/linux/basics.html
most configs are text files you edit
http://www.lagmonster.org/docs/vi.html
thats vi.
or nano learn to use this too
http://www.nano-editor.org/
updates are done with apt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Packaging_Tool
http://packages.ubuntu.com/ - packages you can find by looking through ubuntu's web catalouge. Yes there is a search function.
Thats the polite way of saying RTFM. In a previous life, I'd call you an idiot.
In this life, it sounds like your in need of a full time sys admin, and I'm your man.
If you edit a text file you know what you've done. For a sysadmin that's quite important. With a GUI 'things happen'. Are your changes in one file or a dozen? When will the next be backed-up. If you restore some of them and not the others then what? I really like tools I can point a mouse at to flip a switch rather than having to trawl through acres of 'documentation' and then test hoping I've got the case-sensitive flags right and the actual version matches the docs or is compatible with foo, but for sysadmin work you need to learn tricky text files that are the links in the chain you lead your tiger by.