Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server - Second Edition

By : Jay LaCroix
Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server - Second Edition

By: Jay LaCroix

Overview of this book

Ubuntu Server has taken the data centers 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 that leads the way 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. With this book as your guide, you will learn all about Ubuntu Server, from initial deployment to creating production-ready resources for your network. The book begins with the concept of user management, group management, and filesystem 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 cover setting up KVM/QEMU, 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 the book, you will be an expert Ubuntu Server administrator who is well-versed in its advanced concepts.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)

Simplifying virtual machine creation with cloning

Now that we have a KVM server, and we can spin up an army of virtual machines to do our bidding, we can try and find clever ways of automating some of the workload of setting up a new VM. Every time we go to create a new VM, we need to go through the entire installation process again. We'll select an ISO file, navigate through the various screens to install the operating system, and then the VM is ready for use.

Most prominent virtualization solutions feature something called a Template. Essentially, we can create a virtual machine once and get it completely configured. Then, we can convert it to a template and use it as a base for all future VMs that will use that same operating system. This saves a tremendous amount of time. You'll probably recall the many screens you had to navigate through to install Ubuntu Server...