virtual private server

Objective

The objective of this guide is to provide an easy to understand and follow tutorial that will help people who are not Linux experts configure their own VPS (virtual private server) suitable for use in offering commercial Internet hosting services. The final product will provide a graphical administration interface where client accounts, including hosting reseller clients, can be created and managed by non-technical personnel. This guide can also be used to configure a dedicated server, but it is geared towards the VPS for economic reasons discussed below.
This guide explains how to use the VPS control panel, install necessary hosting software, configure the system for hosting services, install a billing system suitable for managing recurring billing customers, then finally lock-down the system for security.
This guide is written from the perspective of configuring a Linux VPS while working from a Windows workstation, which is the most common case today.
The following software will be included with the installation.

• Linux operating system – CentOS 5.x 32-bit.
• Webmin – A low-overhead graphical administration and configuration interface for Linux.
• Kloxo control panel – System administration, add domain customers, add reseller accounts (who can add their own domain customers), manage DNS, add domains, add mysql databases, add email accounts, manage php & apache, and allow clients to manage their own accounts.
• BIND – DNS server.
• Qmail – Email server (i.e., a mail transfer agent, or MTA).
• Courier-IMAP – POP3 email server.
• MySQL – Database server.
• Apache – Web server (HTML server).
• Pure-FTP – FTP (file transfer protocol) server.
• Spamassassin, Spamdyke, & ClamAV – Email filters.
• APF, mod_evasive, mod_security, & chkrootkit – Server security applications.
• TheHostingTool – Real-time provisioned recurring billing application.

System Cost

The operating system, as well as all software required for this project, is open source. As such, the software for this server costs nothing. The only costs associated with the server are the subscription cost for the VPS, which should be under $10/month (hopefully more like half that much), and of course any domain name registration fees.