My responsibilities are mainly involved with networking, Linux and security.
When installing a new Linux server I have to partition it to fit the needs of the application that will be running on it. Partitioning is essentially managing the hard drive space. I have to anticipate the different needs for each server. For example a ftp server would require a lot more space in the home directory, as each user would be likely storing files in their respective home folder. Partitioning is also used for security as the partitions can be mounted with their own “rules”. For example, the /temp mount point can be mounted with the noexec option. This would prevent executable files being ran in this partition. The noexec option is very important for temp as when a hacker gains control of a system they tend to have a low level account. These low level accounts typically have access to the /temp partition. This is where it is likely a hacker will download a local privilege escalation exploit to gain root privileges. This can break applications, that is why planning is very important for me when setting up new servers and applications. Then there are general rules that have to be applied for all servers. For example, creating separate large partitions specifically for logging.…show more content… I always try to install the least amount of software, this way the server is as fast and secure as possible. Anything missing, can easily be installed later via a disc or the internet. So for a basic server where people use just for storing data such as a ftp server, I would not install a graphical environment. Without a graphical environment everything would be command line, which is not a problems as the users can use graphical software on their client machines to interface with the server. I have become quite proficient in the command line since working at my
