Throw me a rope somebody. Drowning here!

Marmite

Marmite

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Joined
Jun 10, 2020
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I came to DirectAdmin because it has developed a name for being easy to use for a first time sysadmin.

So where is the link to the page which has the how-to on all the things a noob has to do to make his DirectAdmin install safe, optimised and capable of building a successful hosting business on?

The only thing I have seen so far was in the console from the install script -- http://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=247 -- not very noob friendly!

Also, I am surprised by the fact — never mind it was the longest and most complicated install script I have ever seen, anywhere on the planet — I still ended up without a certificate, so no SSL for the DirectAdmin login.

Terence.
 
Marmite said:
So where is the link to the page which has the how-to on all the things a noob has to do to make his DirectAdmin install safe, optimised and capable of building a successful hosting business on?
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LoL. I don't know of that name. DA is easy to install and cPanel will probably also have a kindlike name. But surely it's not intended for newby's. It seems logical that people who want to start being a sysadmin have already a basic OS knowledge and know some about services.

So no, there is no easy how-to install, secure, optimise and start a successfull hosting business howto for any panel, not for directadmin either.

The help section you point to, is part of security, but you have also to know and learn from the forums. For example in point 14 of that help file do not use that command for perl or you can get into troubles with addons.

Marmite said:
never mind it was the longest and most complicated install script I have ever seen, anywhere on the planet
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You haven't seen cPanel then yet. Takes longer.

And have you taken a look in the help section? If you do a search for letsencrypt you will find a lot about it.

As for security, DA is the only panle which has CSF/LFD now build in by default during installation, working with it's internal brute force business.

Really, if you want to be a wannebe sysadmin without knowledge, pay the price and use a cPanel license. And even then you won't be safe for everything by default and still have to configure autossl. :)

Want to be a successfull hosting business? Start reading the forums, more of the helpfiles. You don't have something like SSL? It's very easy to install, but you have to look in the help section.
There is also a newer help section, don't know the name.

It's quite easy to be done, but without basic knowledge? No there is no "how do I get from noob to hosting business install faq", sorry.
 
Pretty much everything on that page is fundamental and basic for getting a hosting server set up. Some of it is out of date yes but running a hosting server is not a "Set and forget" environment (That's for your customers to think they can get away with and for you to pull your hair out over). If you're not comfortable with working off a terminal, there are GUI options that can make administration easier (like webmin).

Without staying on top of things security-wise, it's only a matter of time until something gets compromised and you then run the risk of that server being terminated.
 
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There is no Easy Button.

easy.png
 
Well guys, thanks for laughing with me, and maybe a little bit at me. But I have to say, that wasn't what I expected from this community.

I have installed hundreds of NginX and Apache based WordPress, PHP and HTML websites, and maintained up to 60+ at at time, which means I know a little, or I wouldn't be here. But of course that doesn't mean I won't need to call on those more helpful and experienced than me, to point me in the right direction.

Sadly, Mr or Mrs Helpful didn't show up yet.

Fortunately it turns out there's some very helpful info here -- https://docs.directadmin.com/operation-system-level/securing/securing-general/
 
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Marmite said:
Well guys, thanks for laughing with me, and maybe a little bit at me. But I have to say, that wasn't what I expected from this community.
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Well really. If you have done all you said. Wouldn't you have a laugh if you see this as a totally first question?
So where is the link to the page which has the how-to on all the things a noob has to do to make his DirectAdmin install safe, optimised and capable of building a successful hosting business on?
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Accompanied with some statements which aren't even true as I explained.

You should know it doesnt work that way. And I gave you an explanation as to what you wanted does not exists and that it's dangerous to suppose so. Like some false security feeling which some panels might give you.

So counter question. Why do you state you're a noob and ask such real noob question if you installed everything you say you did?

If you did what you say you did, you should be able to do a very decent setup to start with. If you are running into issues, we will gladly be of help to you to, but you can't expect us (or any other forum) to provide you with a complete howto as you asked for.

So sorry if I have been a bit blunt, but it will prevent other people starting to ask such noob question again. Because that is what it is.

Again, if you have questions, we can help or point to a faq or create some copy and past part for you.
People who know me on this forum also know that I like to help, including you. But not with a full server setup. With the knowledge your stating, I rather wonder how you came to your initial post here.

But really... let's leave this false start behind us, and if you have an issue, post it and we will try to help and/or explain, no problem there.
 
Marmite said:
Fortunately it turns out there's some very helpful info here
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Yep, that's the new faq. I wanted to point to that in my first reply, but that new faq is not full ready and it contains most of the other help section. With some extra options. It's something still has to be made sticky on the forums here, because I couldn't remember the correct link so didn't place it in my answer.
Yes, also DA has still some improvements. ;)
 
Despite being at this for 7 years, I still regularly google "Directadmin" and then whatever it is I'm trying to find.

To go back to your SSL certificate example, "Directadmin SSL certificate server" brings up this help page as the first result. On that page it explains the reason that DA doesn't automatically set up an SSL certificate for you is because it doesn't want to assume you're going to be using an LE cert right off the bat.

There's also the chance of the SSL certificate install going awry which, even if it is low, is probably why nothing is automatically done. Any SSL plugin for Wordpress will tell you to make sure you have a backup before pushing the button because sure it works 99.9% of the time but if it does fail and you get locked out, it could be a huge hassle to regain access.
 
Bastille said:
Despite being at this for 7 years, I still regularly google "Directadmin" and then whatever it is I'm trying to find.
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As am I, so no worries. It's already known by DA staff that the documentation should be updated hence the new documentation link you found, which will be filled more. But there are lots of cP users asking things to change, so priority is with updating and creating things at the moment.

Directadmin does has kind of an autossl option:

However, as lots of users starting with DA have issues with SSL, it's better to install it from scratch. So first enable SSL indeed:
https://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=648 then hostname
And then check everything in directadmin.conf. This should ben in there, if not, place it in there:
Code: 
ssl=1
letsencrypt=1
enable_ssl_sni=1
mail_sni=1
if you added things, don't forget to restart directadmin.

Since mail_sni will also be used by Dovecot and Exim, you have to rebuild them.
Code: 
cd /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild
./build update
./build set exim yes
./build set eximconf yes
./build set eximconf_release 4.5
./build update
./build exim
./build exim_conf
./build dovecot
./build dovecot_conf

I would suggest to enable DKIM after this and things like easy spam fighter, blockcracking and spamassassin.
Be aware that if you want to use wildcard ssl certificates, you need to run your own DNS servers locally or at least the first one and second with afxr (for example).
 
Bastille said:
Despite being at this for 7 years, I still regularly google "Directadmin" and then whatever it is I'm trying to find.
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And also you can search such as
Code: 
SSL certificate :site:directadmin.com
Then you are only search DirectAdmin.

I have installed hundreds of NginX and Apache based WordPress, PHP and HTML websites
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I think he has only installed and maintained web sites not server stuff. I think he thinks server stuff should be as easy an installing WordPress.

There are big books for doing server administration. And its not a one size fits all. So again if you have a specific question we can help.
 
floyd said:
There are big books for doing server administration. And its not a one size fits all. So again if you have a specific question we can help.
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Mine was less then one A4 page. ( the rest in some memory)
But now getting older i need more writed down while memory is kind of starving SSD haha. ;)

Or maybe it is while what i'm using isn't not that standard anymore, so with custom you need to keep documentation some, YUP i need to do that more then only on the small paper(s) notes wich is trowed away after a while .

Mr: helpfull
Try the custombuild GUI from SMTALK and have a look at some support sites from forum members here.
There is a help in DA, and you can do a lot in custom conf files, that is the most important part to handle if you are changing default from DA, some kind of update proof, but more work with updates to check.
And the best way to learn is to make some mistakes, and searching for things yourself, if straight copy paste step 123456 ok is for noobs handy but i guess your need for support is then somewhat sooner. ( trying to understand the whole picture is also hard for me ok, a kind of schema graphics for the total structure could be handy here.)

For searching under SSH i use "mlocate" yes run updatedb then after updates or changes.
And a alternative for TOP.
And this one handty to https://cisofy.com/lynis/ the free part from github he is a very nice guy also, the same as all above me here.

Oyea we on this forum love laughing :love:
 
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Why not get a service from someone, who installs all for you? Nothing easier than this and that kind of services you find already for a really small fee in the WWW.

Greets
 
Optimisation and hardening should be done by a professional so your a little off-topic for me, but yes there will always be simple gotchas that you have to perform once installation is complete. Like the other users state, you may require SSL but others could find this problematic so best to get it up and running so the setup is clean and simple.

I highly recommend https://www.mc2.dev for your server needs, they can handle it all for you then. For what is approximately £75 for server hardening and optimisation it really is a no brainer.

As for the "where is the sys admin stuff" it is basically found in /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild. It's a true gem.

All the best.
 
Marmite said:
To everyone else — bye, and thanks for all the fish.
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So I gave you a complete howto solution on doing SSL on your server and you're thanking me for the fish? Says more about you than about anybody else.

floyd said:
I think he was a troll.
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I also get this impression now. Installs some websites and then thinks he's ready to be a sysadmin. Well... good luck with that.
 
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