V-Server setup

Description

A repository with a step-by-step guide on how to set up a V-Server (Ubuntu-based server) that walks you through SSH key creation, disabling password authentication, installing the NGINX web server and a custom HTML page, and generating SSH keys from the V-Server to connect to GitHub.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Quick start
3. Generate SSH Keys
4. Copy SSH Key ID to your server and login
5. Server setup
6. Install NGINX
7. Git Configuration
8. Project Checklist

Prerequisites

Before setting up the server, make sure you have access to a V-Server and you have the corresponding ip_address, user_name, and password to log in.

• A user with sudo rights
• GitHub account to connect via SSH keys

Quick start

Clone this repository to your local machine and follow the README.md instructions along.

Open your command line and type the following commands:

# With SSH configured (if SSH Keys provided to GitHub)

git clone git@github.com:MarcosChavez09/v-server-setup.git

# Classic https (if no SSH Keys provided to GitHub)

git clone https://github.com/MarcosChavez09/v-server-setup.git

Generate SSH Keys

If you haven't created an SSH key, type the following command in your terminal and give a name to it, so you can easily know what it is used for:

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

When prompted for a passphrase, you can set one (for extra security) or press Enter for none. I suggest you use a passphrase.

This creates:

• Private key: ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519>
• Public key: ~/.ssh/<name_of_your_key25519.pub>

Copy SSH Key ID to your server and login

When created, copy your SSH key ID and add it to the server using this 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 you were given for the server.
• Enter your password when prompted (already provided to you, if not, ask your admin for it).

Test logging in with your key:

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

• You should be able to log in without entering your password.

Once logged in, check for the authorized ssh keys with ls -al ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. You should see your ssh key in there.

Server setup

Deactivate the usage of password when logging in to the server. You have to change a line in the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file.

Use admin rights (sudo) to perform this action:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find the line #PasswordAuthentication yes, remove the # and change the value to no:

-#PasswordAuthentication yes

+PasswordAuthentication no

• Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano) and restart the ssh service with:

sudo systemctl restart ssh.service

Verify the deactivation of password requirement. Logout from the server and login again with:

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

You should be able to login without a password.

Test the login with password by using the following command:

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

It should not be possible to login with the user password.

Install NGINX

Install the NGINX server on your V-Server with:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

After the installation, verify the NGINX service status:

systemctl status nginx.service

Now, create the directory /alternatives in /var/www/alternatives and inside this new folder, create the file alternate-index.html:

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 (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano).

Add configuration for the new alternate-index file by creating a new file in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/alternatives and add the following config:

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 (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano).

Restart the NGINX service and navigate to http://<your_v_server_ip>:8081. You should be able to see your custom site in the web browser.

Git Configuration

Install Git on your server to interact with repositories (clone, pull, push, etc.).

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git -y

After that, configure Git user and email on the V-Server.

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

Now, we need to generate a new SSH key pair on the V-Server. This key will be used by the server to authenticate with GitHub, allowing you to clone, pull, and push repositories from the server. Note: Give a meaningful name to this new key.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<your@email.com>" -f ~/.ssh/<meaningful_name25519>

• When prompted for a passphrase, you can set one (for extra security) or press Enter for none. This creates:
• Private key: ~/.ssh/<meaningful_name25519>
• Public key: ~/.ssh/<meaningful_name25519.pub>

Add the SSH key to the agent:

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

Then, add the public key to GitHub:

cat ~/.ssh/<meaningful_name25519.pub>

• Copy the output.
• Go to GitHub SSH keys settings.
• Click New SSH key.
• Title it something like "V-Server <meaningful_name25519>".
• Paste the key and save.

Test the connection:

ssh -T git@github.com

Try cloning one of your repos:

git clone git@github.com:MarcosChavez09/v-server-setup.git

Project Checklist

• 📄 Checklist (PDF)