Setting Up a Customized Email

Felix Mukah — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:28:47 +0000

Email Setup Documentation for phelyxcommunication.com
1. Overview
This document outlines the steps taken to set up a custom email system using Amazon WorkMail and Route 53.

2. Domain Registration

Service: Route 53.
Domain: phelyxcommunication.com.
Steps:
1. Logged in to AWS Management Console.
2. Registered the domain yourdomain.com in Route 53.

3. DNS Configuration

Service: Route 53.

Steps:
1. Created a Hosted Zone for phelyxcommunication.com.
2. Added the following DNS records:
- MX Record: 10 inbound-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
- TXT Record: "v=spf1 include:spf.workmail.amazonaws.com ~all".

4. Email Hosting Setup
- Service: Amazon WorkMail.
- Steps:
1. Created an organization in WorkMail.
2. Added the domain yourdomain.com.
3. Verified the domain using the provided TXT record.
4. Created email accounts (felix.mukah@phelyxcommunication.com).

5. Email Client Configuration

Steps:

Configured Outlook using IMAP/SMTP settings:
Incoming Server: outlook.office365.com.
Outgoing Server: smtp.office365.com.
Ports: IMAP (993), SMTP (587).

6. Troubleshooting

Issue: "No TXT record found" during domain verification.

Solution: Added the correct TXT record in Route 53 and waited for DNS propagation.

7. Maintenance Tips

Monitor email usage using Amazon CloudWatch.

Enable 2FA for added security.

Setting up and configuring NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server

Felix Mukah — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 21:14:58 +0000

1. Introduction
This documentation outlines the steps taken to set up and configure NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server. The goal was to create a functional web server capable of serving a simple HTML page.

2. Prerequisites

An AWS EC2 instance running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
SSH access to the server using a .pem key pair.
Basic familiarity with the Linux command line.

3. Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Provision the Ubuntu Server

Create an EC2 Instance:

Log in to the AWS Management Console.
Launch an EC2 instance with the following specifications:
- AMI: Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS
- Instance Type: t2.micro (free tier eligible)
- Storage: 8 GB (default)
Configure the security group to allow SSH (port 22) and HTTP (port 80) traffic.
Download the .pem key pair for SSH access.

2. Connect to the Server:

Use SSH to connect to the server:

ssh -i /path/to/your-key.pem ubuntu@your_server_public_ip

Step 2: Install NGINX

1. Update the package list:

sudo apt update

2. Install NGINX:

sudo apt install nginx

3. Verify the installation:

nginx -v

Step 3: Configure NGINX

1. Start and enable NGINX:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

2. Check the status of NGINX:

sudo systemctl status nginx

3. Open the default NGINX configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

4. Modify the configuration to serve a simple HTML page:

Update the root directive to /var/www/html.
Ensure the index directive includes index.html.
Example configuration:

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html;

    server_name _;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

5. Save and exit the editor (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

Step 4: Create a Simple HTML Page

Create the HTML directory:
```
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html
```
Create an index.html file:
```
sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html
```

Add the following HTML content:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Welcome to My Server!</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Welcome to DevOps Stage 0 - Felix Mukah/Felix Mukah</p>
</body>
</html>

Save and exit the editor.

Step 5: Test the Configuration

Test the NGINX configuration for syntax errors:
```
sudo nginx -t
```
Reload NGINX to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```
Open a web browser and navigate to your server’s public IP address:

http://your_server_public_ip

You should see the HTML page you created.

4. Verification
NGINX Status: Confirmed NGINX is running using sudo systemctl status nginx.

Web Page: Verified the HTML page is accessible via the server’s public IP.

5. Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: Initially, the .pem file was not recognized by PuTTYgen on Windows.

Solution: Converted the .pem file to .ppk using PuTTYgen and successfully connected to the server.

6. Conclusion
This project successfully demonstrated the setup and configuration of NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server. The server is now capable of serving a simple HTML page over HTTP. This foundational knowledge can be expanded to host dynamic websites, implement SSL/TLS, and explore advanced NGINX features.

7. References

DEV Community: Felix Mukah

Setting Up a Customized Email

Setting up and configuring NGINX on a fresh Ubuntu server