I am new to this forum. I am wondering if I can install LAMP on my Ubuntu desktop and use it as a server?

Yes. Though, of course, depending on what you wish to serve to whom it could be a good or bad idea.
If you just want to "play" with a web server it's ideal but if you wanted to host a site on the internet it may not be as good an idea.

Thank you "273" I will stick with using a server rather than a desktop as a server then. My goal is to host a site on the internet using Ubuntu server.

It's not a hard and fast rule and using a desktop could work but you need to think about things like availability and having a static IP address at home.

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Are these the major concerns? The desktop has a static IP and it's available 24/7.

I don't know, are they?
It's really up to you. There's nothing stopping you using a desktop machine as web server. People don't always do so because desktop machines don't have, for example, redundant power supplies for availability. Depending on the use case a desktop machine uses more power than, say, a plug PC or Raspberry Pi if that's a concern.

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For a small personal site the main concern what people go on about is that the gui's and tons of packages intall creates a bigger attack surface.

If you monitor and isolate properly, it should be fine. I personally think running stuff like webmin and phpmyadmin are much bigger risks than running and properly monitoring apache and serving sites.

In cases like this things like apparmor and selinux can help a lot.

check with your ISP
all of them have rules about "hosting" a site at home on a home connection

as in it normally null and voids your contract

you will need to buy a Business connection from your ISP
and set up a corporate LLC and mailing address

or

risk your ISP cancelling your internet access


now if it is say just a photo gallery for your extended family
it will most likley be " under the IPS's "radar" and they will not know

BUT

if it is a popular game server .... THEY WILL KNOW

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Hello guys,

This is my first post / reply here on this forum.

I run 2 home servers currently with Fedora 18 (yeah I know - shortly due to reach EOL status..). One of them is a Mail and Web Server for my domain (running Sendmail / Dovecot and Apache, etc), the other is a FTP server (running PureFTP). As long as all the appropriate packages are installed and configured correctly, and all permissions are set correctly there is no reason why Doctorkenny cannot do the same. Naturally the more safety / security apps and procedures in place the better such as Fail2Ban, SELinux, correct configuration of IPTables rules, etc. As mentioned by a previous poster running a server from home means that proper redundancy, etc. will not be implemented, your server will need to be on 24/7, etc... I have a standard broadband package and as long as your website is not receiving 20,000 hits per day (hypothetical value), then this should not be too much of an issue. Also mentioned by a fellow poster, yes you will need to be regimental about checking your log files for signs of malicious activity such as DDOS attacks, script injections... - If I spot any I take appropriate measures to block them using IPTables, etc and report them to their corresponding ISP. I've written a script to update my Logwatch logs every 5 minutes thus I can have a real-time(ish) view of activity on my server via the web (I have a password mechanism in place to prevent unauthorised access). I also use AWStats to provide statistical information such as, the pages viewed on my site, the browser used to access my site, the operating system used by the viewer, etc. You will also need to put in measures to block bots from trawling your web pages. Regarding having a static IP address - this is not necessary. I personally have a dynamic address and simply have a client script running on my machine - if it detects a change in my WAN address then it simply updates my online DNS account to reflect the change - this is done at my DNS host end (I use freedns.afraid.org)

The above may sound like a lot of work as some on here have mentioned (it is actually...), but I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. It's a challenge and provides a great learning curve. I like being in charge of my internet experience. In the future I am also considering doubling my FTP server also as a VPN server - need to do a lot of reading first....


DcotorKenny - my advice is give it a go and don't look back!!!

2 members found this post helpful.

Thank you "Rawcous", am new to this forum. Is there a way to contact you directly for specific advice on this matter?

DoctorKenny,

Feel free (if you are able) to contact me directly.... Not sure if there is a problem with my account (only created it today..) - as I do not seem to be able to contact you directly... or respond to a private visitor message that I have....

DoctorKenny et al,

Unless I am wrong it looks like you have to be a paid-up contributing member to send private messages. If this is the case then I am out of here. I'm on Fedora Forum org with the same username rawcous- messaging there is enabled by default. I am more than willing to assist there where I can. I will keep my account active here but as mentioned will not be in a position to reply on a personal, individual basis...

Okay I'll check that out. Thanks.

I don't think you need to pay for sending private messages. You guys should rack up a few more posts likely.

there is no cash involved here

where did this idea of a paid for subscription come from

this forum is NOT RedHat/Orcale/Novell/Canonical tech support

yes you can
BUT
there might be an issue with your ISP
also i take it you are not aware that LAMP stands for
Linux
Apache
Mysql
Php

well ubuntu is Linux
Mysql is basically a dead database
-- Oracle bought it and is killing it off , MariaDB is it's replacement

and i have ALWAYS been a proponent of building and installing the first 12 or so installs of the apache stack
BY HAND building the source code so that one LEARNS HOW TO SET UP AND CONFIGURE IT!!!!
then and only then use a prepackages rpm or deb install from the package manager
( this is about the only thing i recommend NOT !!!! using the package manager for )


it is VERY easy to set up a VERY VERY VERY insecure web server
but is is much more difficult to set up a SECURE INSTALL

and a insecure apache install BEGS !!!!!!!! for the "bad guy's" and "script kiddies" to turn your install into a ZOMBIE!!!!!!!
it is a bleeping BIG red sign saying "take over my server " NOW !!!!


so please
LEARN how to set up and run a secure server !!!!!