A quick guide for getting an Ubuntu server setup for Small Office or Home Office use.

Use package manager (Synaptic) to install the following and their dependencies…

Apache2

MySQL

PHP5

OpenSSL

Firestarter

Samba

Gnome Partition Editor (gparted)

SSH

Download the latest versions of this software from their websites…

WordPress or Drupal

PhpMyAdmin

Unpack WordPress or Drupal files into your server document root, on Ubuntu /var/www/. Then unpack PhpMyAdmin into a folder in your server document root, such as /var/www/phpmyadmin. Any folder name will do as long as you remember it.

Firestarter

Configure this handy firewall configuration tool to allow ports 22, 80, 139, and 445.

Go to http://localhost in your web browser…

Follow the instructions for your WordPress or Drupal install. Also, at this time, setup PhpMyAdmin by going to http://localhost/phpmyadmin or whatever you named your folder. The instructions have been well documented on their site.

Setup your hard drives…

You can use the Gnome Partition Editor to setup for hard drive if they are not the operating system drive. This tool comes in very handy when trying to setup expansion drives for file storage.

Setup Samba shares…

Go to System -> Administration -> Samba

Surf to the folder you want to share, enable sharing, and select the user you want to be able to access it. I would recommend NOT allowing everyone access.

Now you have a setup that will allow for local file sharing, a web server, and a database server – all for free because it is all open source.