Basic server checklist

This is a short checklist for a newly installed Linux server.

Update packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Check disk and memory

df -h
free -h
uptime

Check listening services

ss -tulpn

Enable a basic firewall

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status verbose

Useful files

• /etc/hostname — system hostname
• /etc/hosts — local host mappings
• /etc/systemd/system/ — custom services
• /var/log/ — classic log location