---
published: true
title:  "Digital Ocean Server Setup"
slug: do-server-setup
layout: post
date:   2015-09-10 20:34:46
last_modified_at:  2015-12-04 19:05:00
excerpt: "How to setup and configure a Ubuntu Linux droplet with Digital Ocean."
categories: Guides
tags:  Linux
cover_image: archey-j1x-server-cover.jpg
hero_image: archey-j1x-server-hero.jpg
---

The easiest way to create a webserver where you have root access is with a Digital Ocean Droplet. But configuring everthing everytime you create a new server is a dawnting task. This tutorial will condensate all the initial configurations of a basic server.

## Droplet Setup

This server is going to have a bit of load so I will use the *$10* droplet with **1GB Ram** and **30GB SSD Disk**. Use the **Ubuntu 14.04 x64** image. I choose *Ubuntu* because there is a lot of documentation for it, but probably *Debian* or *CentOS* would be a better choise as a linux distro for a web server.

After creating the droplet, get the ip and password sent to your email and login as root user:

```bash
ssh root@192.168.0.1
```

## Create a new super user

Its a good practice to create a new super user account that uses commands with ```sudo``` instead of using the **root** account where  all commands are executed with ```sudo``` by default.

```bash
adduser demo
```

Type in your password and answer some stupid questions. Then give this *demo* user some **sudo** powers:

    gpasswd -a demo sudo

Now with the super user created switch from root to the new user:

```bash
su - demo
```

Create a new folder for **SSH** keys and modify its permissions:

```bash
sudo mkdir .ssh
sudo chmod 700 .ssh
```

Now create a new file for your SSH key and paste your public key inside of it:

```bash
sudo nano .ssh/authorized_keys
```

Press ```Ctrl + X``` to exit nano, then ```Y``` to save and then hit ```Enter```.

Now restrict the permissions of the file with your key:

```bash
sudo chmod 600 .ssh/authorized_keys
```

After everything is done, go back to being the root user:

```bash
exit
```

Now test login in as your new user in a new shell session:

```bash
ssh demo@server_ip
```

If everything works, you won't need to type in your password, the server will log you in automatically using the SSH key.

## Remove root login

For security reasons, its a good ideia disable the root account login thru SSH and only log in with user accounts.

To remove the root login, first make sure you can log in with a different super user account. Then log in as **root** and run:

```bash
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
```

Next, change ```PermitRootLogin``` to ```no```.

Press ```Ctrl + X``` to exit nano, then ```Y``` to save and then hit ```Enter```.

Now restart the SSH service:

```bash
service ssh restart
```

And thats it! Now when you log out of the root account, you wont be able to log in again!

If you ever have to log in as the root user again, just change this settings back as your new super user using ```sudo``` before the commands.

## Configure FTP

```bash
sudo apt-get install vsftpd
```

To change vsftpd configuration, run ```sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf```. Change the following settings:

```apacheconf
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
chroot_local_user=NO
```

With this configuration, the admin user will be able to log in via SFTP to any folder inside ```/var/www/```. After changing configurations, restart the service:

```bash
sudo service vsftpd restart
```

## Change SWAP memory settings

For droplets with a low amount of RAM memory, its possible to increase the **SWAP memory**.

```bash
$ sudo fallocate -l 1024M /mnt/swap.img
$ sudo mkswap /mnt/swap.img
$ sudo swapon /mnt/swap.img
$ sudo vim /etc/fstab
```

## Install zshell

To install zshell and set it as your default shell:

```bash
sudo apt-get install zsh
sudo apt-get install git-core
wget https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/raw/master/tools/install.sh -O - | zsh
chsh -s `which zsh`
```

After installing **zshell**, exit the *ssh session* and log back in.

## Install slap

```bash
sudo apt-get install build-essential
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_0.12 | sudo bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
npm install -g node-gyp
npm install slap -g
```

## Change hostname

To check the actual server hostname, run ```hostname --fqdn```. Then to change to a different hostname run:

```bash
sudo hostname name.example.com
```

## System info with Archey

To install run:

```bash
sudo apt-get install lsb-release scrot
wget http://github.com/downloads/djmelik/archey/archey-0.2.8.deb
sudo dpkg -i archey-0.2.8.deb
archey
```

To use, just run the command ```archey```.

## Usefull commands

* ```sudo poweroff``` - turn off the droplet. It can be turned back on in the droplet control pannel.
* ```sudo reboot``` - restarts the server.
* ```landscape-sysinfo``` - simple system information. Use can use the flag ```  --exclude-sysinfo-plugins=Temperature,LandscapeLink,Processes```.
* ```find /usr/share/figlet -name *.?lf -exec basename {}  \; | sed -e "s/\..lf$//" | xargs -I{} toilet -f {} {}``` - Show demo of toilet fonts
* ```sudo apt-get clean``` - remove files from incomplete installations.
* ```sudo apt-get autoremove``` - remove unused packages.
* ```sudo apt-get update``` - update the package manager.
* ```sudo apt-get upgrade``` - update installed apps.

## Links

* [Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 14.04 - Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/initial-server-setup-with-ubuntu-14-04)
* [Additional Recommended Steps for New Ubuntu 14.04 Servers - Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/additional-recommended-steps-for-new-ubuntu-14-04-servers)
* [How To Protect SSH with Fail2Ban on Ubuntu 14.04 - Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-protect-ssh-with-fail2ban-on-ubuntu-14-04)
* [How To Connect To Your Droplet with SSH - Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-connect-to-your-droplet-with-ssh)