[PLUG] linux web server setup

[Paul Heinlein]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004, Josh Yaganeh wrote:

> Hi everyone, I am in the process of trying to set up a webserver for
> me and some friends to use.

Excellent!

> I'd like to give each user a private and public ftp account so they
> can upload files for personal storage and also host small files for
> friends to access.

If K12LTSP is based on Red Hat 9, then you'll want to install the
vsftpd package. As ftp daemons go, it can be made relatively secure.

Then have a look at the files in /usr/share/doc/vsftpd-1.1.3,
especially the FAQ. It should get you started in the right direction.

> In addition, would anyone be kind enough to tell me if there is a
> more suitable linux distribution

Still a student, eh? So naive. :-) This is the sort of question that
starts flame wars. You're inviting everyone to stand up and shout MY
DISTRO IS BEST at the top of their lungs.

If you're familiar with K12LTSP, then stick with it, at least for a
while. It'll work fine while you concentrate on getting your web
server running correctly. Once you're content with that, then you'll
be in a better postition to migrate to a different distribution, if
that's what you want.

And here's my two cents of advice: Know yourself first.

The trick is less to find the "best" distribution and more to find the
one that matches your skills, goals, and hardware.

I run three distributions at home -- Red Hat (my workstation), Debian
(my wife's workstation), and Gentoo (our mail/web server) -- and I
manage a bunch of Red Hat and Fedora machines at work. Each
distribution has some unique strengths, and each presents some special
demands.

There isn't a right distribution; there are only trade-offs, and you
have to figure out how *you* fit into the mix.

-- Paul Heinlein <heinlein at madboa.com>