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Chad Feierstein

Debian 12 - Initial Server Setup

A comprehensive step-by-step guide for the initial setup of a fresh Debian 12 server with the most important configuration steps.

Debian 12Server SetupLinuxSystem Administration

Setup Steps

1

Configure Language and Locale

Configuration of system language and locale settings for correct character display.

Generate UTF-8 locale

locale-gen C.UTF-8

Update system locale

update-locale LANG=C.utf8 LC_ALL=C.utf8

A restart may be required to fully apply the changes

2

Set Timezone

Setting the correct timezone for accurate time and date information.

Set timezone to Europe/Berlin

timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Berlin

Use timedatectl list-timezones to see all available options

3

Update Package Sources

Updating APT package sources and the system to the latest state.

Update, upgrade and cleanup system

apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt autoremove -y && apt autoclean -y

More information can be found in the Debian Wiki on APT configuration

4

Configure Hostname

Setting a unique hostname for server identification in the network.

Edit cloud-init configuration (if present)

cloud.cfg
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# This will cause the set+update hostname module to not operate (if true)preserve_hostname: true

Set new hostname

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname server.chad.lu

Restart system for full application

reboot
5

Clean MOTD

Removing the default welcome message for clean login.

Clear default MOTD file

sudo truncate -s 0 /etc/motd
6

Show Hardware Information

Checking and displaying available hardware resources of the server.

Install hardware information tool

apt install inxi -y

Display complete hardware information

inxi -Faz

Display CPU information

lscpu

Display memory information

free -h

Display disk information

df -h
7

System Verification

Final verification of all configurations and system status.

Display system version information

lsb_release -a

Display kernel information

uname -a

Check systemd status

systemctl status

Check available updates

apt list --upgradable

Additional Tips

Useful commands and tips for better management

Security Measures

Install UFW firewall

apt install ufw -y

Enable firewall

ufw enable

Install Fail2Ban for enhanced security

apt install fail2ban -y

Essential Tools

Install important system tools

apt install sudo curl wget git nano htop tree -y

Install build tools for compilation

apt install build-essential -y

Automatic Updates

Install automatic updates

apt install unattended-upgrades -y

Configure automatic updates

dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades