Linux Home Server Build

On this blog I have posted many times about my home server configuration and seeing as I’ve recently updated it I thought I’d give a quick overview of the changes made and provide some tips for setting up a Linux home server.

Requirements and Linux

My home server (an HP MicroServer) is used for NAS file storage, running Plex Media server and a few other ativites including client backups. Previously my server was running Windows Home Server 2011 which was an excellent Home Server OS from Microsoft based on Windows Server 2008 R2. In additon to file sharing it also allowed for easy server administration and client PC backups. Client PCs would backup images to the server allowing for client files or whole systems to be restored. Unfortunately Microsoft discontinued Windows Home Server and it is no longer supportrd and Windows Server 2008 R2 updates will stop in July 2019. In terms of replacement options there were several, whilst all Windows offerings are too expensive and seem overkill for a home server, serious Linux and BSD options include Free NAS, Amahi, Ubuntu Server and numerous Linux desktop distros. I would also recommend looking at a Synology if you have the budget.

In the end I chose Lubuntu 18.04 (LTS) desktop distro for my needs. Why a desktop distro for a server? Well I dont need to squeeze every onunce of performance from the server and the Lubuntu desktop is so lightweight and efficient I can have a graphcial desktop enviroment as well as great server performance. It is handy to have the option to be able to RDP into the box and use the Lubuntu desktop as an alternative to SSH when required.

I installed the OS, and checked for updates:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

After installing the OS I inserted the data drives and mounted them under a /mydata mount point so that I can easily access all the files on those drives. To make these mount points persistent I edited /etc/fstab to add each one using the UUID of the partition (which is found in Disks app or the GParted app)

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Then add an entry for each parition to mount …

UUID=YOUR_OWN_PARTITION_UUID /mydata/d1/ ext4 defaults 0 0
UUID=YOUR_OWN_PARTITION_UUID /mydata/d2/ ext4 defaults 0 0 

Configure The FireWall

The ufw (uncomplicated firewall) firewall is installed on Lubuntu by default but is turned off so turn it on and check its status:

sudo ufw status

If inactive then activate it with:

sudo ufw enable

To see its status and current rules:

sudo ufw status verbose

Add new rules with:

sudo ufw allow PORTNUMBERHERE

Install XRDP Remote Desktop Service

Next I set up XRDP for remote access to this headless server.

sudo apt-get -y install xrdp
sudo ufw allow 3389/tcp
sudo systemctl enable xrdp
sudo systemctl restart xrdp

At this point I hit may issues but this hack below seemed to be the one that led to a working XRDP session but using this command to create a .xsession in home directory of connecting user:

echo “lxsession -s Lubuntu -e LXDE” > ~/.xsession

For more information see this article.

Setup Cockpit Web Interface

For more remote administration and monitoring goodness I installed Cockpit which is a web based interface for servers with lots of useful features.

sudo apt-get install cockpit
sudo ufw allow 9090

Then browse to https://yourserverip:9090

For a useful Cockpit install guide check out this link.

Setup Samba for file sharing

The whole point of a file server is to share files and in order to support file sharing with Windows devices on the network you’ll need to setup Samba. A good link for setting up Samba can be found here.

sudo apt-get install samba

Set a password for your user in Samba.

sudo smbpasswd -a

All the folder shares and their configuration are stored in the smb.conf file which can be edited by opening it up in a text editor like nano.

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

In the smb.conf file you may want to change the workgroup name to the same as that used by your window PCs and then add each of your folder shares.

[<folder_name>]
    path = /folder/path
    valid users = <user_name>
    read only = no

Once you have made the required changed restart the smb daemon service

sudo service smbd restart

You’ll also likely need to punch a hole in the ufw firewall for samba

sudo ufw allow Samba

Once Samba has restarted, use this command to check your smb.conf for any syntax errors with testparm

testparm

For a good guide on more complex permissions check out this guide here.

It’s worth noting that users need to have Unix perms on the underlying folders in order to be able to access them. Amend Linux file permissions as required.

Scheduled Tasks with Cron

For scheduled tasks (backup jobs etc) I have configured Cron jobs to run bash scripts (although I could have kept my existing PowerShell scripts as PowerShell now runs on Linux too) but they needed a rewrite anyway.

Open your cron job file with…

sudo crontab -e

then add entries like this example:

# run test job at 11:15 every day 
15 11 * * * . /etc/profile; /bin/bash /home/me/testjob.sh > /tmp/cron.out   

For more info on Cron check out this guide and for an awesome helper tool for building the Cron schedule times check out corntab.com.

Summary

So I’ve covered the basics of how I’ve set up my Home Server using Lubuntu which others may find useful. I’ve been running this setup for a few months and so far I am very pleased with its performance and stability.

Future steps are to install Plex Media Server and configure client PC backups. As I want to use the Snaps for Plex I am waiting for the offical Plex Snap Package to come out of BETA as I’m not in a rush. Alternatively I may use Docker to run Plex. To replace the client PC backup feature I previously had with Windows Home Server I will soon be moving to a client imaging tool such as CloneZilla, Acronis or Windows Backup and then copying the images to the server.