Jason Cannon - Linux for Beginners: An Introduction to the Linux Operating System and Command Line

If you use a web hosting service to host your website you may already have a Linux account that you can use. Consult your hosting company's documentation and search for "SSH" or "shell access." SSH stands for Secure Shell and it provides a way to connect to a server over a network, like the Internet. If you don't already have a web hosting provider, you can sign up for one and use it for shell access. Shared web hosting providers typically charge just a few dollars a month.

Here are some shared web hosting companies that can provide you with a shell account and SSH access.

• 1and1.com
• BlueHost.com
• DreamHost.com
• HostGator.com
• Site5.com

VirtualBox is virtualization software that can be installed on Windows, Mac, Solaris, or Linux. It allows you to run an operating system (guest) inside your current operating system (host). It's more time consuming than the other options, but it can be worth the extra effort to have your own personal Linux system. In this scenario you will spend a few minutes installing the virtualzation software, downloading a pre-installed Linux image, and importing that image.

To get started, head over to the VirtualBox download page and grab the installer for your current operating system. Click through the install screens and accept the defaults.

Next, download a virtual disk image (VDI) from http://virtualboxes.org/ to use. I recommend that you download a CentOS or Ubuntu image unless you already know which Linux distribution you will be working with in the future. Honestly, you can't make a wrong decision. The concepts that you will be learning in this book apply to any Linux distribution.

• CentOS Virtual Disk Images
• Ubuntu Virtual Disk Images

Launch VirtualBox, create a new virtual machine, and use the virtual disk image that you just downloaded. When you are asked for a hard disk image select the "Use existing hard disk" radio button and click on the directory icon. Next, click "Add" and select the virtual disk image. When the virtual machine is powered on you can log into the server using the username and password provided with the downloaded image.

Getting Connected

When your account is created you will be provided with details on how to connect to the Linux server. You may be provided with some or all of the following information:

• Username. This is also known as an account, login, or ID.
• Password
• SSH key
• Server name or IP address
• Port number
• Connection protocol

The connection protocol will either be SSH (Secure Shell) or telnet. SSH and telnet provide ways to connect to a server over the Internet or a local area network. In the vast majority of cases the connection protocol will be SSH. Telnet is practically obsolete at this point, however you may run into it if you need to access a legacy system.

Choosing an SSH Client

If you were given a specific SSH client to use, use that program and follow the documentation for that product. If you are free to choose your own client or were not provided one, I suggest using PuTTY for Windows or Terminal for Mac.

PuTTY can be downloaded from this website: http://www.LinuxTrainingAcademy.com/putty/. You only need putty.exe to get started. Here's the direct link to putty.exe: http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/putty.exe.

The Terminal application comes pre-installed on Macs and is located in the /Applications/Utilities folder.

A list of other SSH clients is provided in the at the end of this chapter.

Connecting via SSH with a Password from Windows

To connect to the Linux server using the SSH connection protocol, launch PuTTY.

PuTTY

Type the host name or IP address you were given into the Host Name (or IP address) box. If no port was given to you, leave it at the default value of 22.