Debian Server

Installation

Installation is really straightforward and there is no need for me to cover it here. But there are a few things to note when running the installation:

1. I chose to install KDE Plasma desktop on my docker server. This is so I can RDP into the server and perform admin via Guacamole which I use to administer from outside of my home. I have consolidated down to a single docker VM and running an additional VM just to have an admin box seems unnecessary.

2. In the "Network configuration" I always set a static IP address. I will also set a DHCP reservation in my firewall (pfSense) to prevent the address from being used by another device.

3. I always select the option to install OpenSSH server as this will be used in every instance.

Run Updates

sudo -- sh -c 'apt update; apt dist-upgrade -y; apt autoremove -y; apt autoclean -y'

Install Net-Tools

Packge that contains tools for obtaining network information or diagnosing. This includes arp, hostname, ifconfig, netstat, rarp, and route.

sudo apt install net-tools -y

Harden SSH

Edit the SSH server configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

• change AddressFamily to inet
• change ListenAddress to the ip address of the server
• change LoginGraceTime to 60s or less
• change PermitRootLogin to no
• change MaxAuthTries to 3
• change HostbasedAuthentication to yes
• change PermitEmptyPasswords to no
• add "Protocol 2" to the end of the document

Reboot

This will reboot the system immediately.

sudo reboot now