V-Server Setup

Description

Step-by-step instructions for setting up an Ubuntu-based V-Server, including SSH key generation, hardening SSH access, installing NGINX, serving a custom web page, and connecting the server to GitHub via SSH.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Quick start
3. Generate SSH Keys
4. Copy Your SSH Key to the Server and Log In
5. Server Setup: Disable Password Authentication
6. Install NGINX and Deploy a Custom Page
7. Git Configuration on the V-Server
8. Project Checklist

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have access to a virtual server (V-Server) and the necessary credentials - including its ip_address, user_name, and password - to establish an initial connection.

You will ll also need:

• A user account with sudo privileges
• A GitHub account for SSH key authentication

Quick start

Begin by cloning this repository to your local machine, then follow the setup steps described in the README.

Open your terminal and run one of the following commands:

# Clone using SSH (recommended if your GitHub SSH keys are configured)

git clone git@github.com:MWorksCoding/v-server-setup.git

# Clone using HTTPS (if you have not set up SSH keys)

git clone https://github.com/MWorksCoding/v-server-setup.git

Generate SSH Keys

If you have not already created an SSH key, run the following command in your terminal. Assign a clear name to your key so you can easily recognize its purpose:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<your@email.com>" -f ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519>

When asked for a passphrase, press Enter to skip or set one for additional security.
Using a passphrase is strongly recommended.

This command will create:

• ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519> → private key
• ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519>.pub → public key

Copy Your SSH Key to the Server and Log In

After generating your SSH key, copy it to your server using the following command:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519.pub> <your_server_user_name>@<ip_server_address>

• Replace <your_server_username> with the username provided for your server.
• When prompted, enter your server password (contact your administrator if you don’t have it).

Next, test your SSH connection:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519> <your_server_username>@<ip_server_address>

If everything is configured correctly, you should now be able to log in without entering a password.

Once logged in, verify that your SSH key was added successfully:

ls -al ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

You should see your public key listed in the authorized_keys file.

Server Setup: Disable Password Authentication

For improved security, disable password-based login on your server by modifying the SSH configuration file.

Open the file with administrative privileges:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Locate the line with #PasswordAuthentication yes. Uncomment it (remove the #) and change the value to no:

-#PasswordAuthentication yes

+PasswordAuthentication no

• Save and exit, then restart the SSH service:

sudo systemctl restart ssh.service

Logout and log back in using your SSH key:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519> <your_user_name>@<ip_server_address>

You should be able to log in without entering a password.

Attempt a password-only login to confirm it is disabled:

ssh -o PubkeyAuthentication=no <your_user_name>@<ip_server_address>

This login should fail, indicating that password authentication is deactivated.

Install NGINX and Deploy a Custom Page

Install the NGINX web server on your V-Server:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

After installation, check the service status:

systemctl status nginx.service

Create a new directory for your site and a custom HTML file:

sudo mkdir /var/www/alternatives
sudo nano /var/www/alternatives/alternate-index.html

• Add your custom HTML content to alternate-index.html
• Save and exit.

Create a new site configuration file: in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/alternatives and add the following configuration:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/alternatives

The content:

server {
    listen 8081;
    listen [::]:8081;

    root /var/www/alternatives;
    index alternate-index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

• Save and exit.

Restart the NGINX service with

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Navigate to http://<your_v_server_ip>:8081. You should see your custom web page displayed.

Git Configuration on the V-Server

First, install Git on your server to manage repositories (clone, pull, push, etc.):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git -y

Next, configure your Git user and email:

git config --global user.name "<Your Name>"
git config --global user.email "<your@email.com>"

Create a new SSH key pair on the server to authenticate with GitHub. Tip: Give the key a meaningful name so you know its purpose.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<your@email.com>" -f ~/.ssh/<v_server_example_name25519>

• When prompted for a passphrase, you can set one for extra security or press Enter to skip. This generates:
• Private key: ~/.ssh/<v_server_example_name25519>
• Public key: ~/.ssh/<v_server_example_name25519.pub>

Add the key to the SSH agent:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/<meaningful_name25519>

Add the Key to GitHub, display your public key:

cat ~/.ssh/<v_server_example_name25519.pub>

• Copy the output.
• Go to GitHub - Settings - SSH and GPG keys - New SSH key
• Give it a title, e.g., <v_server_example_name25519>"
• Paste the key and save.

Test the connection:

ssh -T git@github.com

Finally, try cloning a repository to verify everything works:

git clone git@github.com:MWorksCoding/v-server-setup.git

Project Checklist

You can find a detailed checklist for this project in PDF format:

• Download the Checklist

feature/v-server-setup