Setting up network services

Context

Individual project: write, in English, an installation guide for a Debian 12 server running Apache, PostgreSQL and PHP. The server had to be working and reachable from the host machine. The exercise combined system administration and technical writing.

Goals

• Install and configure Apache to serve web pages.
• Install and configure PostgreSQL to manage databases.
• Install and configure PHP to query the database from web pages.
• Check that the server is reachable from the host machine.
• Document every step in a guide written in English.

Implementation

Phase 1: preparation

Installation of QEMU/KVM for emulation, download of the Debian 12 ISO and integrity check, then graphical installation: language, locale, keyboard, hostname, root password and user creation. Partitioning was followed by the installation of the standard system utilities, without a desktop environment, and of the GRUB boot loader.

Phase 2: installing the services

• Apache: installation with apt-get install apache2, start-up, service status check and port forwarding setup to reach it from the host.
• PostgreSQL: installation with apt-get install postgresql, creation of a user and a database, then opening of external connections by editing postgresql.conf and pg_hba.conf.
• PHP: installation of php, libapache2-mod-php and php-pgsql, then creation of an info.php file to validate the configuration.

Phase 3: validation

Access to the Apache server from the host at http://localhost:8080, connection to PostgreSQL from the host and query execution, then database management through the phpPgAdmin web interface. Every step was documented with screenshots and written in English.

Results

The guide makes it possible to rebuild a complete Debian 12 server step by step, and the resulting server serves dynamic pages that query the database. Beyond system administration, this project made me practice technical writing in English, where the slightest imprecision makes a step impossible to reproduce.