Ubuntu Server how-to guides

If you have a specific goal, but are already familiar with Ubuntu Server, our how-to guides have more in-depth detail than our tutorials and can be applied to a broader set of applications. They’ll help you achieve an end result but may require you to understand and adapt the steps to fit your specific requirements.

Server installation

Our list of installation guides contains installation instructions for a variety of architecture-specific and advanced setups. For a general installation, or if you’re just getting started with Ubuntu, you may prefer to use our basic installation tutorial.

Security

System security is a crucial topic for any Ubuntu user. In addition to general security topics such as setting up a firewall, AppArmor profiles and user/group management, you will also find how-to guides on:

  • Authentication with Kerberos, network user authentication with SSSD and physical authentication with smart cards

  • Cryptography with OpenSSH

  • Virtual Private Networks OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN

Networking

Our networking section is where you will find how-to guides on a broad range of networking topics, such as:

  • Network tooling and configuration including time synchronisation, DHCP for IP address assignment, Domain Name Service (DNS) (and more!)

  • Network shares for sharing resources (files, services, directories) across networks, including integration with Windows

Managing software

Managing software provides guides on topics including:

  • Software updates and configuration

  • Upgrading your Ubuntu release

  • Bug reporting

Data and storage

The data and storage section covers the following:

  • Managing data in the OpenLDAP and databases topics

  • Storage and backups, including partitioning (with LVM), backup utilities, and version control

Mail services

Our Mail services section shows you how to set up:

  • Mail User Agents (Thunderbird)

  • Mail Transfer Agents (Postfix and Exim4)

  • Mail Delivery Agents (Dovecot)

Web services

Our Web services section shows how to set up the different components of web servers, including:

  • Apache2 and nginx

  • Squid proxy servers

  • Web programming (PHP and Ruby)

Graphics

The Graphics section contains guides on how to set up both on-system and virtual GPU.

Virtualisation

Our Virtualisation section contains installation and usage guides for common virtualization tools available in Ubuntu, across various layers of abstraction, from Multipass to QEMU.

Containers

Our Containers section includes installation and usage guides for the most popular container tooling available in Ubuntu:

  • LXD, which can also now be used to create virtual machines

  • Docker and rocks

High Availability

High Availability is a method for clustering resources to ensure minimal downtime if a particular component fails. This section shows how to set up various components of a High Availability setup.

Observability

Observability is a name given to the collection of tools used to monitor your infrastructure. In Ubuntu, you can use the classic Logging, Monitoring, and Alerting (LMA) stack, or the newer Canonical Observability Stack.

This section focuses on the classic LMA stack.