A few questions about owning a Linode

@stef25:

• Do I need to install a lamp stack myself? Yes.
  @stef25:

• Do I need to think about antivirus or firewalls? Yes (and no - servers usually do not need antivirus except checking mails and firewall is good thing to have but when server is configured correctly, you don't need to worry also*).
  @stef25:

• What tools are there available to manage email on a per domain basis? Are email client settings easily obtained (smtp details, ports etc)? Does anything need to be installed for email to be available on my domains? None. You must install your SMTP servers and so you set all those settings.
  @stef25:

What tools are there available for creating mysql databases? I guess phpmyadmin also needs to be installed by myself? Is it easy to manage phpmyadmin access on a per client / site basis? None. You have to install MySQL yourself. phpMyAdmin is pretty easy to set up but well, everything is when you know how to do it.
@stef25:

Can I install something like plesk or cpanel myself? I suppose you can just like everything else but you need a license.
@stef25:

Is there a limit on how many domains I can run on a Linode? No, only performance limit of your node.

@stef25:

Basically I'm wondering what aspects of owning a Linode requires command line skills and what features can be managed from the installed Linode control panel OR a third party cp. Simply said, Linode control panel only cares about your hardware settings (start/stop/reboot, network connections, partitioning, …), administration (account, billing, support) and DNS (voluntary).

System administration including installing operating system lies on your shoulders (there are preinstalled systems available, but these are just that - mostly default installations which you have to customize to your needs).

Linode is, by its nature, unmanaged VPS - that means you have complete control of system including root access. It has its pros (You are in control of your system.) and cons (Only you are in control of your system.).

That doesn't necessarily mean you will not receive help from support or on these forums but it is more or less limited to specific issue (like "my SMTP server is not relaying mail with error 550") not entire system configuration.

*) ok, you still have to worry about bugs in network services but that is rare case.

Great, thanks for this info.

Once all necessary tools are installed (lamp, smtp etc) is there anything that can NOT be done using tools like webmin, virtualmin, usermin?

What are tasks that require the use of command line for the ongoing management of fairly simple sites using standard CMS's?

I have a linux administrator available to help me with these tasks, I'm just wondering how much I'll need him once all the initial setup tasks have been carried out.

Thanks again

Stef

When installed properly, I'd say upgrades, security updates and bugs.

Of all these *mins I use only phpMyAdmin and I need not access command line very often. It really depends how you prepare your environment. I stored FTP, e-mail and user accounts to MySQL database so it can be managed by phpMyAdmin itself etc.

However I believe it should be said that none server should be behaved like "install and forget", at least small persistent care is always necessary to watch for imminent problems (hang up, 0 day attacks, DoS) and once in a time (week, month, year) check for problems, inconsistencies, do updates etc. and it is quite bothering. If I can speak for myself I do not have problems with installations but nobody would ever have persuaded me to do maintenance because it is undervaluated, unappreciated, underestimated and underpaid. :D

I'd recommend getting a Linode and trying out VirtualMin. It gives a control panel a little like what you'd expect from a managed web host like DreamHost etc.

If you're not too confident with it all, you may wish to find a friend or a freelancer that can help you out. If you're lucky someone may do it in return for an account on their server (i.e. free web hosting). This also means they'll keep it working or there own site will break :P

I think you're coming at this from the wrong end.

Think of a linode as a Unix machine. Your unix machine. You run it, you manage it, you maintain it, you patch it, you configure it, you provide services for your customers. All linode does is supply the infrastructure to let your unix machine run.

So linode doesn't provide email, LAMP, cPanel nor anything else.

At least in theory. In practice they do provide some value added extras (eg DNS servers, prebuilt base OS configurations), but on the whole it's all up to you.

It's your (virtual) machine. This gives you a lot more flexibility than a shared web service, but it's also a lot more work. How much SA team is needed once the initial setup is complete will depend on how well your SA set it up in the first place (he did arrange for backups, didn't he?).

thanks alot for the info guys, makes sense :)