The Perfect Server - Mandriva 2008 Spring Free (Mandriva 2008.1)

Version 1.0
Author: Falko Timme <ft [at] falkotimme [dot] com>
Last edited 04/09/2008

This is a detailed description about how to set up a Mandriva 2008 Spring Free (Mandriva 2008.1) server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters: Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server with SMTP-AUTH and TLS, BIND DNS server, Proftpd FTP server, MySQL server, Dovecot POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc. This tutorial is written for the 32-bit version of Mandriva 2008.1, but should apply to the 64-bit version with very little modifications as well.

I will use the following software:

• Web Server: Apache 2 (with PHP5 and Ruby)
• Mail Server: Postfix
• DNS Server: BIND9
• FTP Server: proftpd
• POP3/IMAP server: Dovecot
• Webalizer for web site statistics

In the end you should have a system that works reliably and is ready for the free webhosting control panel ISPConfig (i.e., ISPConfig runs on it out of the box).

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

1 Preliminary Note

In this example I will use the following settings for my system:

• IP address: 192.168.0.100, gateway: 192.168.0.1
• Host name: server1.example.com

Your settings will most likely differ, so you might have to adjust the instructions from this tutorial.

2 Requirements

To install such a system you will need the following:

• Download the Mandriva 2008.1 DVD iso image or the three Mandriva 2008.1 CD iso images from a mirror near you (you can find the download here: http://www.mandriva.com/en/download); I have used the three Mandriva 2008.1 CDs for this tutorial.
• a fast internet connection...

3 The Base System

Boot from your Mandriva 2008.1 DVD or CD (the first one). Select Install Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring and press Enter:

Choose your language next:

Accept the license and click on Next:

Select your keyboard layout:

Now we have to partition our hard disk. You can choose to let the Mandriva installer do the partitioning, or you can do it yourself. I want to create a small /boot partition (about 150 MB) with the file system ext3, a swap partition and a huge / partition (again with ext3):

Afterwards, the new partitions are being formatted:

Click on Next on the following screen:

We don't have any other installation media, so we select None and click on Next: