Pre-install noob questions (CMM and VPS)

I have general questions about Centmin Mod and VPS server setup.
Please take note that this is my first attempt in setting up a VPS.

1. From what I understand Centmin Mod is designed to be a shell (?) based VPS setup. Is this right? So, cpanel and such have no control over the server? We can't use both at the same time, right?
2. This "shell", which software do you use to send the commands to the server? I mean the black screen what I see in the video. From what I googled it is called command-line interpreters. What do you suggest? Easy to use for Windows 8.1 users?
3. After I installed CMM, then I need to update the versions, right? Like php, MariaDB, nginx, etc. versions?
4. And after that, I use the "Getting Started Guide", right? (I will post questions about this later)
5. What else do I need to do after CMM install and getting started guide?
6. How can I restore my database and home folders? Can someone explain it to me please? Now I am on a shared hosting and it has cpanel. With 2 clicks I can restore database and home folder, so my Xenforo forum is then available (no need to install it). How to do this?
7. Cpanel allowed me to download easily to my PC the database and home folder (with everything). How can I do this now? But also archived like with cpanel.
8. This is also very important, which things do I need to do regularly after everything is done and finished? What kind of maintenance do I need to do regularly for my VPS? And how?
9. How can I install php extensions? Xenforo says for example:

Spoiler

10. How can I turn PHP safe_mode off?
11. Can you explain me 14) - 19). What are those things, for what do I need them?

Spoiler

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------
Centmin Mod 1.2.3-eva2000.07 - http://centminmod.com
--------------------------------------------------------
Centmin Mod Menu
--------------------------------------------------------
1). Centmin Install
2). Add Nginx vhost domain
3). NSD setup domain name DNS
4). Nginx Upgrade / Downgrade
5). PHP Upgrade / Downgrade
6). XCache Re-install
7). APC Cache Re-install
8). XCache Install
9). APC Cache Install
10). Memcached Server Re-install
11). MariaDB 5.2, 5.5, 10 Upgrade Sub-Menu
12). Zend OpCache Install/Re-install
13). Install ioping.sh vbtechsupport.com/1239/
14). SELinux disable
15). Install/Re-install ImageMagick PHP Extension
16). Change SSHD Port Number
17). Multi-thread compression: pigz,pbzip2,lbzip2,p7zip etc
18). Suhosin PHP Extension install
19). Install FFMPEG and FFMPEG PHP Extension
20). NSD Re-install
21). Update - Nginx + PHP-FPM + Siege
22). Exit
--------------------------------------------------------
Enter option [ 1 - 22 ]
--------------------------------------------------------

Thanks in advance.

PS: @eva2000, it would be nice if you could do a video for the getting started guide also. And it would be nice if you could add timestamps to this video. Like what happens at what time, step by step. For experienced users it maybe easy to see what kind of step is shown at a specific point, but for noobs like me it is very confusing.

 

1. Ahh, I see. I didn't know that. But technically panels which use nginx could be installed, right? Which ones, if so?
2. I don't have any knowledge about Linux but I must start somewhere. It shouldn't be that hard, I just need to know the right commands.
So which interpreter do you use?
3/4/5. I just want to know the correct order in which I have to do the things I need to do. So, I want to be sure.
6/7. I got that, that I must use command line aswell. But how? Can someone explain me how to do this?

I need to know what to do for running a Xenforo forum. It would be nice if people could help me out.

 

Thanks, I installed yesterday CMM and today I wanted to start with the Getting started guide. Ok, first problem occured already.
When I do ./centmin.sh , it says

Code:

-bash: ./centmin.sh: No such file or directory

What should I do?

It seems a directory problem. The command is not pointing to "/usr/local/src/centmin-v1.2.3mod/centmin.sh".
How can I do this?

Edit:

Ha, now learned my first thing. I was in the wrong directory. With "#pwd" I saw that I was wrong. With "#cd /usr/local/src/centmin-v1.2.3mod" I managed to get to the right place. Ha! Now, it works.

 

Ok, I managed to install/configure the basic things.

I installed CMM (and updated to beta), added domain to vhost and I did the DNS. Also I activated yum cron update, updated php, Nginx and bash as suggested.
Now I have some things left, which I hope will be done in couple of days but I have questions.

1. Using the Getting Started Guide, the fourth point talks about CSF Firewall. I couldnt find anything to configure. So, guess CSF is installed and I dont need to do anything, just if I want to whitelist IP address, right?

2. Nginx Rewrites for Xenforo Friendly Url How can I do this? I dont understand how to do this.

I don't know how to edit via shell command php.ini. Can't I just open the file via text document editor and edit those words (as I did with the nginx rewrites beneath the php.ini stuff)?

3. Which version of MariaDB should I use for Xenforo? There is one 10.x and one 5.x. Should I take the 5.x one?
4. What is the newest memcache version?
5. And then can you explain me this (nginx vhost configuration)? What is this, what is important of it, what should I use for myself? Where can I find mine, how can I edit mine?


@eva2000
I have 2 other suggestions for your site.
One, it would be great if you could add to your centmin.sh another option called "update Centmin Mod".
Two, it would be great if you could link threads to your webpages. Like the official Xenforo forum has its Resources pages, and each resource has its own dedicated thread for people who can place their questions. So the getting started guide or the install cmm page could get their threads for example.

 

Thank you very much for your great help. As mentioned before, this is my first time attempt in setting up a server. And this mod and guidance is so great, that a newbie like me is doing really good. The only main things which I am afraid of, because I dont know it yet, how can I backup my files and database via shell. Maybe in future you could add these points to your centmin.sh menu. But you are the pro. This could be a good alternative to cpanel users, who can restore/download with 1-click their database and home folders when this is also added. A perfect "package" with everything you need.

Ok, back to the points.

Before I wanted to try out Nano text editor, I wanted to see if I can make a connection via ftp, find the php.ini file, download it, edit it with notepad++ and upload it again. So far, yes, I dont need shell for it. Notepad++ is able to do it. But I have a problem here.


As you see, my php.ini file doesnt have any disabled functions. Is this normal? I was expecting the opposite so I can remove them.
If it is ok, now I can go on with the guide from where I left as MariaDB and memcache are also updated.

And this part I still dont get it:

. Can you give me an example for what I could need that? I dont know what Apache's vhost conf is and what you direct and why you do this.

Thanks. Ok, I am going further with the CMM add-ons and then I must see how I do this database management.
Btw. I get ahead of this but should I enable Google nginx pagespeed?

 

I went on and installed your phpmyadmin add-on following this guide.

Now, it is installed but I cant access to it.

When I use the provided url (the one which was created for me), nothing happens.
The browser (Firefox) tries endlessly to access to the link, it keeps loading the page but I get no response at all. I dont even get a 404 or some kind of error message, nothing.
What is the problem here?

 

I copied the link it gave me, so with https.
I am using Firefox 34.0.5, Windows 8.1
In 30 seconds I will send you the log file in private. Hope this is ok for you.


edit:

Also with IE it doesnt work, it keeps loading and loading...

 

I didnt touch the vhost file, just followed your guide and added this from here:

Spoiler

Nginx Rewrites for Xenforo Friendly Urls:
If Xenforo forum is installed in public web root i.e. /home/nginx/domains/newdomain.com/public, then you'll need to add and edit the following Nginx rewrites in /usr/local/nginx/conf/conf.d/newdomain.com.conf:

location / {
index index.php index.html index.htm;
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$uri&$args;

}

location /internal_data/ {
internal;
allow 127.0.0.1;
deny all;
}

location /library/ {
internal;
allow 127.0.0.1;
deny all;
}

The restart Nginx server for it to take effect:

service nginx restart

Anyway, I deleted now this (that was the line 49) and restarted nginx. But sadly un/re-installing phpmyadmin didnt work. Still same failure.

I checked both logs (un and re-installing), and both say this:

Code:

Starting php-fpm [28-Dec-2014 18:06:43] NOTICE: PHP message: PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226/memcached.so' - /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226/memcached.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
done

Starting php-fpm [28-Dec-2014 18:17:42] NOTICE: PHP message: PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226/memcached.so' - /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20131226/memcached.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory in Unknown on line 0
done

I can't find any other errors in the logs. This is the problem maybe?

Edit: I think it is the problem. memcached.so file is missing. I copied the memcached.so file from
/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20100525
and added it to "no-debug-non-zts-20131226" file directory.
Now I have no errors in my log files. But still phpmyadmin doesnt work. Browser keeps loading and loading.

 

Still not working. I think I am going to do a fresh new install of Centminmod and this time on CentOS 7.

 

Still same problem, not working.

 

Here are the steps I did mins ago, didnt touch anything else.

• Ok, CentOS 7 fresh install.
• CMM fresh install using "curl -sL https://gist.github.com/centminmod/dbe765784e03bc4b0d40/raw/installer.sh | bash"
• cd /usr/local/src/centminmod-123.08centos7beta01/addons
• wget --no-check-certificate https://github.com/centminmod/phpmyadmin/raw/master/phpmyadmin.sh
• chmod 0700 /usr/local/src/centminmod-123.08centos7beta01/addons/phpmyadmin.sh
• ./phpmyadmin.sh install
• enter, enter, enter for the ssl certificate
• provided https link doesnt work, keeps loading and loading

See log:

Spoiler

Code:

[1;32;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40mCreate User: phpmyadmin
[m[1;33;40muid=1002(phpmyadmin) gid=1003(phpmyadmin) groups=1003(phpmyadmin),1001(nginx)
[m[1;32;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mInstalling phpmyadmin from official git repository...
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40mThis process can take some time depending on
[m[1;33;40mspeed of the repository and your server...
[m
Cloning into '22076_mysqladmin874'...
fatal: Cannot update paths and switch to branch 'STABLE' at the same time.
Did you intend to checkout 'origin/STABLE' which can not be resolved as commit?
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mSetup /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpmyadmin.conf ...
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40mCreate phpmyadmin htaccess user/pass...
[m[1;32;40mpython /usr/local/nginx/conf/htpasswd.py -c -b /usr/local/nginx/conf/htpassphpmyadmin admino86//vsWK5M= Vin9gRh9MzxF/lu5vevz3asg8iQ=
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
\cp -af /usr/local/nginx/conf/php.conf /usr/local/nginx/conf/php_22076_mysqladmin874.conf
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[mserver {
#  listen  80;
  listen  80 default_server backlog=256;
  server_name namechanged.com;
  root  html;

  access_log  /var/log/nginx/localhost.access.log  main buffer=32k;
  error_log  /var/log/nginx/localhost.error.log  error;

# ngx_pagespeed & ngx_pagespeed handler
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/pagespeed.conf;
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/pagespeedhandler.conf;
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/pagespeedstatslog.conf;

# limit_conn limit_per_ip 16;
# ssi  on;

  location / {

# block common exploits, sql injections etc
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/block.conf;

#      Enables directory listings when index file not found
#     autoindex  on;

#     Shows file listing times as local time
#     autoindex_localtime on;

#     Enable for vBulletin usage WITHOUT vbSEO installed
#     try_files     $uri $uri/ /index.php;
   
  }

  # example nginx-http-concat
  # /csstest/??one.css,two.css
  #location /csstest {
  #concat on;
  #concat_max_files 20;
  #}

include /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpmyadmin.conf;
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/staticfiles.conf;
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/php.conf;
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpstatus.conf;
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/drop.conf;
#include /usr/local/nginx/conf/errorpage.conf;

  }[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40mNON-STATIC IP configuration
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mcat /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpmyadmin.conf
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[mlocation ^~ /22076_mysqladmin874/ {
   rewrite ^/(.*) namechanged.com/$1 permanent;
}
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mcat /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpmyadmin_https.conf
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[mlocation ^~ /22076_mysqladmin874/ {
   #try_files $uri $uri/ /22076_mysqladmin874/index.php?$args;
   include /usr/local/nginx/conf/php_22076_mysqladmin874.conf;

   auth_basic  "Private Access";
   auth_basic_user_file  /usr/local/nginx/conf/htpassphpmyadmin;
   #allow 127.0.0.1;
   #allow myIP;
   #deny all;
}
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
[1;32;40mtouch /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpfpmd/phpfpm_myadmin.conf
[m

[1;33;40mDynamically set PHP memory_limit based on available system memory...
[m
[1;33;40mTotal Mem: 6144 MB
[m[1;33;40mReal Free Mem: 6011 MB
[m[1;33;40mMem Limit: 2671 MB
[m
-rw-rw-rw- 1 phpmyadmin nginx 0 Dec 30 17:45 /var/log/php_myadmin_error.log
Restarting nginx (via systemctl):  [  OK  ]
Gracefully shutting down php-fpm . done
Starting php-fpm  done
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mSSL Vhost Setup...
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mGenerating self signed SSL certificate...
[m[1;32;40mJust hit enter at each of the prompts
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
Generating RSA private key, 1024 bit long modulus
.....................................++++++
............++++++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [XX]:State or Province Name (full name) []:Locality Name (eg, city) [Default City]:Organization Name (eg, company) [Default Company Ltd]:Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []:Email Address []:
Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []:An optional company name []:Signature ok
subject=/C=XX/L=Default City/O=Default Company Ltd
Getting Private key
Restarting nginx (via systemctl):  [  OK  ]
Gracefully shutting down php-fpm . done
Starting php-fpm  done
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mCreate update script:
[m[1;32;40m/root/tools/phpmyadmin_update.sh
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mCreate uninstall script:
[m[1;32;40m/root/tools/phpmyadmin_uninstall.sh
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mPassword protected 22076_mysqladmin874
[m[1;32;40mat path /usr/local/nginx/html/22076_mysqladmin874
[m[1;32;40mconfig.inc.php at: /usr/local/nginx/html/22076_mysqladmin874/config.inc.php
[m[1;32;40m  WEB url:
[m
[1;37;40m  https://namechanged.com/22076_mysqladmin874
[m
[1;32;40mLogin with your MySQL root username / password
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m
[1;32;40mphpmyadmin htaccess login details:
[m[1;32;40mUsername: admin.....
[m[1;32;40mPassword: Vin9g......
[m[1;32;40mAllowed IP address: myIP
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mphpmyadmin update script at: /root/tools/phpmyadmin_update.sh
[m[1;32;40mAdd your own cron job to automatically run the update script i.e.
[m
[1;37;40m  15 01 * * * /root/tools/phpmyadmin_update.sh
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mphpmyadmin uninstall script at: /root/tools/phpmyadmin_uninstall.sh
[m
[1;37;40m  /root/tools/phpmyadmin_uninstall.sh
[m
[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mSSL vhost: /usr/local/nginx/conf/conf.d/phpmyadmin_ssl.conf
[m[1;32;40mphp-fpm includes: /usr/local/nginx/conf/php_22076_mysqladmin874.conf
[m[1;32;40mphp-fpm pool conf: /usr/local/nginx/conf/phpfpmd/phpfpm_myadmin.conf
[m[1;32;40mdedicated php-fpm pool user: phpmyadmin
[m[1;32;40mdedicated php-fpm pool group: nginx
[m[1;32;40mdedicated php error log: /var/log/php_myadmin_error.log
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m[1;32;40mSSL vhost access log: /var/log/nginx/localhost_ssl.access.log
[m[1;32;40mSSL vhost error log: /var/log/nginx/localhost_ssl.error.log
[m[1;33;40m---------------------------------------------------------------
[m

Total phpmyadmin Install Time: 94.193549501 seconds