Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server - Third Edition

By : Jay LaCroix
Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server - Third Edition

By: Jay LaCroix

Overview of this book

Ubuntu Server has taken data centers around the world by storm. Whether you're deploying Ubuntu for a large-scale project or for a small office, it is a stable, customizable, and powerful Linux distribution with innovative and cutting-edge features. For both simple and complex server deployments, Ubuntu's flexible nature can be easily adapted to meet to the needs of your organization. This third edition is updated to cover the advancements of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and further train you to understand how to use Ubuntu Server, from initial deployment to creating production-ready resources for your network. The book begins with the concepts of user management, group management, and file system permissions. Continuing into managing storage volumes, you will learn how to format storage devices, utilize logical volume management, and monitor disk usage. Later, you will learn how to virtualize hosts and applications, which will include setting up QEMU & KVM, as well as containerization with both Docker and LXD. As the book continues, you will learn how to automate configuration with Ansible, as well as take a look at writing scripts. Lastly, you will explore best practices and troubleshooting techniques when working with Ubuntu Server that are applicable to real-world scenarios. By the end of this Ubuntu Server book, you will be well-versed in Ubuntu server’s advanced concepts and attain the required proficiency needed for Ubuntu Server administration.
Table of Contents (26 chapters)
24
Another Book You May Enjoy
25
Index

Keeping your clock in sync with NTP

It's incredibly important for Linux servers to keep their time synchronized, as strange things can happen when a server's clock is wrong. One issue I've run into that's especially problematic is file synchronization utilities, which will exhibit strange behavior when the underlying clock of the server is incorrect. However, Ubuntu servers provide packages for the NTP client and server within the default repositories to help keep your time in sync.

Before we set up NTP, we should first ensure that our server is set up for the correct time zone. If you use the timedatectl command with no options, it will show you what your current settings are. If I run timedatectl on one of my servers, I see the following output:

Time zone: America/Detroit (EDT, -0400)

For my use case, that's the proper setting. On your end though, the results may not be correct. If not, then we can set the appropriate time zone also with the...