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Let’s assume that you have bought an unmanaged virtual private server (VPS) and you would like to use it to host your websites and email. A newly deployed VPS doesn’t have any required programs to do it, so it must be installed and configured.
There are two ways to do it: install everything manually or use the control panel. The first option is for advanced users only and is like building a new car from scratch, instead of buying a new or used one. The second option is recommended for beginners and advanced users as it is less time-consuming.
There are plenty of control panels, free or paid, so let’s list the most well-known:
Paid:
- DirectAdmin (the best choice for a paid control panel)
- cPanel
- Plesk
Free:
- Virtualmin (the best choice for a free control panel)
If you are a beginner, we would recommend you choose any of the free control panels, just to learn how all those things work. Any control panel will install all of the most important elements of your system; let’s discuss each of them.
Apache
Apache is a www websites server and its task is to establish a connection between a server and the browsers of website visitors.
PHP
PHP is an add-on to the Apache server, thanks to which he can understand the PHP programming language. Almost 80% of all websites in the world use PHP at the moment, so it is a necessary element of your system.
MySQL
MySQL or MariaDB (which is a replacement of MySQL) are database systems, which are also used by most of the CMS systems like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. It is also some kind of add-on to Apache.
Named
Named is a DNS system, which is responsible for the proper working of all domains connected to your control panel. Its main task is to convert a domain name, for example, domain.com into an IP address, for example, the IP of your VPS. Thanks to this, anyone who is entering your domain will be redirected to your website, which is located on your server.
The Email system is built with two core programs, Dovecot and Exim. Dovecot is responsible for receiving any emails that were sent to you, and Exim is responsible for sending any of your emails to other people.
