Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server

By : Jay LaCroix
Book Image

Mastering Ubuntu Server

By: Jay LaCroix

Overview of this book

Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux operating system, and has various versions targeted at servers, desktops, phones, tablets and televisions. The Ubuntu Server Edition, also called Ubuntu Server, offers support for several common configurations, and also simplifies common Linux server deployment processes. With this book as their guide, readers will be able to configure and deploy Ubuntu Servers using Ubuntu Server 16.04, with all the skills necessary to manage real servers. The book begins with the concept of user management, group management, as well as file-system permissions. To manage your storage on Ubuntu Server systems, you will learn how to add and format storage and view disk usage. Later, you will also learn how to configure network interfaces, manage IP addresses, deploy Network Manager in order to connect to networks, and manage network interfaces. Furthermore, you will understand how to start and stop services so that you can manage running processes on Linux servers. The book will then demonstrate how to access and share files to or from Ubuntu Servers. You will learn how to create and manage databases using MariaDB and share web content with Apache. To virtualize hosts and applications, you will be shown how to set up KVM/Qemu and Docker and manage virtual machines with virt-manager. Lastly, you will explore best practices and troubleshooting techniques when working with Ubuntu Servers. By the end of the book, you will be an expert Ubuntu Server user well-versed in its advanced concepts.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
Mastering Ubuntu Server
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgments
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Locking down sudo


We've been using the sudo command throughout the book so far. In fact, we took a deeper look at it during Chapter 2, Managing Users. Therefore, I won't go into too much detail regarding sudo here, but some things bear repeating as sudo has a direct impact on security.

First and foremost, access to sudo should be locked down as much as possible. A user with full sudo access is a threat, plain and simple. All it would take is for someone with full sudo access to make a single mistake with the rm command to cause you to lose data or render your entire server useless. After all, a user with full sudo access can do anything root can do (which is everything).

By default, the user you've created during installation will be made a member of the sudo group. Members of this group have full access to the sudo command. Therefore, you shouldn't make any users a member of this group unless you absolutely have to. In Chapter 2, Managing Users, I talked about how to control access to sudo...