The Perfect Nginx Server - Ubuntu (24.04) Edition

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Hosting Multiple Fast WordPress Sites Using Nginx and Ubuntu 24.04

What you'll learn

Setup, from scratch, a hardened and optimized VPS or dedicated server

Configure a hardened and optimized hosting environment using Nginx, MariaDB and PHP8.3

Harden WordPress the correct way - installing a security plugin doesn't harden WordPress

Optimize WordPress from the server side - learn how to configure server-side caching, which is far superior to any caching plugin

Learn how to keep your server secure and your WordPress sites hardened from attack by implementing the hardening steps covered in this course

Requirements

Students should be familiar using WordPress

Student should have a working knowledge of their local operating system, i.e. Windows, MACOS

No knowledge of Linux required, I will teach you everything from scratch

No knowledge of the command line is required, I will teach you everything from scratch

No knowledge server administration is required, I will teach you everything from scratch

Description

Welcome to The Perfect Nginx Server course, based on the latest Ubuntu Server Long Term Support release (24.04).This beginner-friendly course assumes no prior experience with Linux server configuration, system administration or Nginx. Whether you’re new to Linux or managing servers, this course will teach you from the ground up.New to Linux or server administration? Included in the course, is an absolute beginners "crash" Linux course. This 1.5 hour "course within a course" will teach you the commands, terminology and procedures as it relates to this course. Nginx is one of the most popular and powerful web servers in the world, known for its speed and performance. In this course, we start with a blank server and gradually build it up to a fully optimized Nginx server capable of hosting multiple hardened WordPress sites on a VPS or dedicated server.What You Will Learn:How to configure and secure your server without relying on hosting provider support—you'll become your own system administrator.From initial setup to optimization, this course covers the entire process of configuring an Ubuntu-based Nginx server.You’ll learn to:Optimize and Harden Your Server: Implement SSH Key authentication, set up firewalls (UFW and cloud firewalls), and protect your server from brute force attacks.  Tuning the Server: Optimize the network layer, adjust swap and shared memory, fine-tune Nginx and MariaDB settings, and control file access and limits.  Hardening Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP 8.3: Spend almost 2 hours configuring these core services to be both optimized and secure, preparing your server for real-world challenges.  Deploy Hardened WordPress Sites: Install, harden, and optimize WordPress sites, going beyond superficial security plugins. Learn to secure your files, protect sensitive areas, and stop hotlinking, DDoS attacks, and more. New 24.04 Course Additions Based on Student Requests:PHPPools: Efficiently manage multiple PHP pools for various WordPress sites.  OpenBaseDir: Secure PHP by limiting file access to specific directories.  DisallowFileMods: Prevent unauthorized modifications to WordPress core files and plugins.  Database Privileges: Fine-tune database user privileges for enhanced security.  WP REST API: Manage and secure the WordPress REST API for optimized site performance.Free Wildcard SSL Certificates: Installation, A+ rating configuration and automatic renewalThroughout the course, we’ll follow the key principle of only installing what’s necessary, then harden and optimize that component for security and performance. Security is paramount, every step you take will be focused on protecting your server and WordPress sites.This course has real world application, you’ll gain hands-on experience setting up a secure hosting environment on a VPS or dedicated server, not on a local virtual machine. You'll learn to monitor server logs and observe how your configurations fend off bots and malicious users.By the end of This course, you will be able to:Host multiple fast, secure WordPress sites on your own server  Add a new income stream by offering site hosting, optimization, SSL certificate management, and more to clientsConfidently manage your server without relying on external support  Gain practical, real-world experience applicable to any server environment  Designed for anyone eager to take control of their hosting, this course empowers you to step into the role of a systems administrator. By the end, you’ll be ready to manage your own WordPress sites on Nginx, using the latest Ubuntu release.Sign up today and begin your journey to mastering server management!

Overview

Section 1: Course Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Section 2: Linux Essential Skills - 2024 Update

Lecture 2 Linux Essential Skills - Part 1

Lecture 3 Linux Essential Skills - Part 2

Lecture 4 Linux Essential Skills - Part 3

Lecture 5 Linux Essential Skills - Part 4

Section 3: Software - 100% FREE and/or Open Source - no software purchase required

Lecture 6 Free Software Required to Complete the Course

Section 4: Hosts and Servers

Lecture 7 Web Hosts, Server Requirements and Creating a Server Instance

Section 5: Fundamental Server Hardening

Lecture 8 First Login as the ROOT - Administrative - User - Part 1

Lecture 9 First Login as the ROOT - Administrative - User - Part 2

Lecture 10 First Login as a NON-ROOT User - Part 1

Lecture 11 First Login as a NON-ROOT User - Part 2

Lecture 12 First Login as a NON-ROOT User - Part 3

Lecture 13 First Login as a NON-ROOT User - Part 4

Section 6: Advanced Server Hardening and Optimization

Lecture 14 Harden and Optimize the Server Distro - 1

Lecture 15 Harden and Optimize the Serevr Distro - 2

Lecture 16 Harden and Optimize the Server Distro - 3

Section 7: DNS - How to Point a Domain Name to your Server

Lecture 17 Pointing a Domain Name to your server

Section 8: Installing the Hosting Stack - NGINX MARIADB and PHP

Lecture 18 Installing Nginx MariaDB AND PHP8.3

Section 9: Server Mail without SMTP Plugins

Lecture 19 Configuring the server to send your WordPress site's mail

Section 10: Nginx Configuration Files

Lecture 20 Understanding Nginx Configuration Files

Section 11: Harden and Optimize the Hosting Stack

Lecture 21 Harden and Optimize Nginx - 1

Lecture 22 Harden and Optimize Nginx - 2

Lecture 23 Harden and Optimize Nginx - 3

Lecture 24 Harden and Optimize MariaDB - 1

Lecture 25 Harden and Optimize MariaDB - 2

Lecture 26 Harden and Optimize MariaDB - 3

Lecture 27 Harden and Optimize PHP8.3 - 1

Lecture 28 Harden and Optimize PHP8.3 - 2

Section 12: WordPress Directory Management and Structure

Lecture 29 Directory Management and Structure

Section 13: Nginx Server Blocks

Lecture 30 Create your first nginx server context / block - 1

Lecture 31 Create your first nginx server context / block - 2

Section 14: WordPress - Installation

Lecture 32 Install your first WordPress site on your VPS or dedicated server - 1

Lecture 33 Install your first WordPress site on your VPS or dedicated server - 2

Section 15: WordPress - Harden

Lecture 34 Introduction

Lecture 35 Separating Sites Using PHP Pools - 1

Lecture 36 Separating Sites Using PHP Pools - 2

Lecture 37 WordPress Ownership and Permissions

Lecture 38 Limit File System Access using PHP Open_BaseDir

Lecture 39 Install and Configure FREE SSL Certificates - A+ Rating - 1

Lecture 40 Install and Configure FREE SSL Certificates - A+ Rating - 2

Lecture 41 Install and Configure FREE SSL Certificates - A+ Rating - 3

Lecture 42 Hardening the HTTP Response Headers

Lecture 43 Using Nginx Directives to Protect WordPress

Lecture 44 Nginx DDoS Protection and WordPress

Lecture 45 Stop Brute force Attacks - Nginx Rate Limiting

Lecture 46 Using a Web Application Firewall

Lecture 47 Hot Linking Protection

Lecture 48 Disallow File Modifications

Lecture 49 Restricting Database User Privileges

Lecture 50 Hardening the WP REST API

Section 16: WordPress - Optimize

Lecture 51 Introduction

Lecture 52 Post Revisions Policy

Lecture 53 Setting the Max Memory

Lecture 54 Replacing the WP CRON with a REAL CRON

Lecture 55 Introduction to Caching

Lecture 56 Types of Caching

Lecture 57 "Static" and "Dynamic" WordPress Sites

Lecture 58 Implementing a Caching Policy

Lecture 59 Caching a "Static" WordPress Site using - FastCGI Caching - 1

Lecture 60 Caching a "Static" WordPress Site using - FastCGI Caching - 2

Lecture 61 Caching a "Static" WordPress Site using WP Super Cache

Lecture 62 Caching a "Static" WordPress Site using - W3TC

Lecture 63 Create a Persistent Object Cache using Redis

Lecture 64 Caching a "Dynamic" WordPress Site - Introduction

Lecture 65 Caching a "Dynamic" WordPress Site - WP Super Cache and Redis

Lecture 66 Caching a "Dynamic" WordPress Site - W3TC and Redis

Lecture 67 Tuning PHP-FPM

Lecture 68 Cloudflare

Section 17: Server Admin Tasks

Lecture 69 Server Updates

Lecture 70 WordPress Updates

Lecture 71 Backups, Migration and WPCLI

Lecture 72 Virus and Malware Scanning

Lecture 73 Database Tuning

Lecture 74 PHP FPM Tuning

Lecture 75 Server and Site Monitoring

Lecture 76 Administering Disk Space

Lecture 77 Harden the Default Nginx Server Context

Lecture 78 Configure the Nginx Backlog

Lecture 79 Adminster the PHP Opcache

Section 18: Miscellaneous Topics

Lecture 80 PHPmyAdmin

Lecture 81 FileZilla

Lecture 82 Content Security Policy

Lecture 83 Log Rotation

Section 19: Hosting an Additional Domain WordPress Site

Lecture 84 DNS and Bash Scripts

Lecture 85 Create the Directories, Database and Server Context

Lecture 86 Install WordPress

Lecture 87 Harden WordPress

Lecture 88 Optimize WordPress

Lecture 89 Tune PHP-FPM

Lecture 90 Opcache

Section 20: Hosting an Additional SubDomain WordPress Site

Lecture 91 DNS, Bash Scripts, Directories, Database, Server Context and Install WordPress

Lecture 92 Harden WordPress - 1

Lecture 93 Harden WordPress - 2

Lecture 94 Optimize WordPress

Lecture 95 Tune PHP-FPM

Section 21: Course Conclusion

Lecture 96 Course Conclusion - Thank You

Anyone who wants to host WordPress sites using nginx,Anyone who wants to move from shared hosting to self-managed - VPS or DEDICATED SERVER hosting,Anyone who wants to upgrade from slow and oversubscribed shared web hosting servers to your own blazingly fast VPS or DEDICATED SERVERS,Frustrated with your current web hosts support, learn to do it yourself with this course, become your own sys admin, its easy!!!,Anyone who is looking for a new income stream, you can boost your income drastically, by offering additional services that this course will teach you