Unleash the Power of Cloud Computing with this Simple 5-Step Owncloud Server Setup Guide!

Are you tired of relying on third-party cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive? Do you want to have complete control over your cloud storage and access it from anywhere? If yes, then it’s time to set up your own ownCloud server.

ownCloud is a free and open-source file-sharing and collaboration platform that allows you to store your files, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks in a centralized location. With ownCloud, you can access your data from all your devices, synchronize them in real-time, and share them securely with others.

In this article, we will guide you through the simple 5-step process of setting up an ownCloud server on your own domain.

Step 1: Choose a Hosting Provider

The first step in setting up your ownCloud server is to choose a hosting provider that meets your requirements.

While you can install ownCloud on your local machine, it’s not recommended for security reasons. Instead, it’s better to choose a reliable hosting provider that offers Linux-based VPS (Virtual Private Server) or dedicated server hosting.

Some of the popular hosting providers that support ownCloud include DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, and Amazon Web Services.

Step 2: Install and Configure Ubuntu Server

Once you have chosen a hosting provider, you need to set up a Linux-based server. In this guide, we will be using Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS, which is the latest long-term support version of Ubuntu.

To install Ubuntu Server on your VPS or dedicated server, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your hosting provider’s dashboard and create a new VPS or dedicated server instance.
  2. Choose Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS as the operating system and configure the server specifications as per your requirements.
  3. Once the server is up and running, log in to it via SSH (Secure Shell) using your preferred terminal application. You can use PuTTY for Windows or Terminal for macOS/Linux.
  4. Update the server packages by running the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  1. Install the required packages for running ownCloud by running the following command:
sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php7.4 openssl php-imagick php7.4-common php7.4-curl php7.4-gd php7.4-imap php7.4-intl php7.4-json php7.4-ldap php7.4-mbstring php7.4-mysql php7.4-pgsql php-smbclient php-ssh2 php7.4-sqlite3 php7.4-xml php7.4-zip php7.4-bz2 -y

Step 3: Install and Configure OwnCloud

With the Ubuntu Server and required packages installed, it’s time to install and configure ownCloud.

  1. Download the latest version of ownCloud by running the following command:
sudo wget https://download.owncloud.org/community/owncloud-complete-20210527.tar.bz2

Note: Make sure to replace the download link with the latest version available on the official ownCloud website.

  1. Extract the downloaded archive by running the following command:
sudo tar jxf owncloud-complete-20210527.tar.bz2 -C /var/www/
  1. Rename the ownCloud directory by running the following command:
sudo mv /var/www/owncloud /var/www/owncloud-server
  1. Set the proper permissions for the ownCloud directories by running the following command:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/owncloud-server/
  1. Create a new database and user for ownCloud by running the following commands:
sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE owncloud_db;
CREATE USER 'owncloud_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON owncloud_db.* TO 'owncloud_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Note: Replace ‘owncloud_user’ and ‘password’ with your own database username and password.

  1. Configure Apache web server for ownCloud by running the following commands:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/owncloud.conf

Add the following content to the file:

Alias /owncloud /var/www/owncloud-server/

<Directory /var/www/owncloud-server/>
  Options +FollowSymlinks
  AllowOverride All
 <IfModule mod_dav.c>
  Dav off
 </IfModule>
  SetEnv HOME /var/www/owncloud-server
  SetEnv HTTP_HOME /var/www/owncloud-server
</Directory>

Save and exit the file.

  1. Enable the ownCloud virtual host and necessary modules by running the following commands:
sudo a2ensite owncloud.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime setenvif ssl
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 4: Configure SSL Certificate

To secure your ownCloud server, it’s recommended to configure SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate.

  1. Install Let’s Encrypt client on your Ubuntu Server by running the following commands:
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
  1. Obtain the SSL certificate for your ownCloud domain by running the following command:
sudo certbot --apache -d owncloud.example.com

Note: Replace ‘owncloud.example.com’ with your own domain name.

  1. Follow the instructions prompted by the certbot command to generate and install the SSL certificate.

Step 5: Access and Configure OwnCloud

With the ownCloud server set up and configured, it’s time to access and configure ownCloud through your web browser.

  1. Open your web browser and go to ‘https://owncloud.example.com’ (replace ‘owncloud.example.com’ with your own domain name).
  2. Create a new admin account and set up the ownCloud instance as per your requirements.
  3. Upload and manage your files, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks securely on your ownCloud server.

Congratulations, you have successfully set up your ownCloud server on Ubuntu Server!

Conclusion

Setting up your ownCloud server is not as difficult as it may sound. By following this simple 5-step guide, you can easily unleash the power of cloud computing and have complete control over your data.

With ownCloud, you get the flexibility, security, and privacy of a self-hosted cloud storage and collaboration platform without relying on third-party services.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your own ownCloud journey today!

This article was updated in Feb 2016 to reflect the changes in ownCloud installation.

It is difficult to read any tech news and not see something about “the cloud”, cloud computing, cloud hosting, or at least something that mentions the word “cloud”. Many businesses have moved their entire software operations into the cloud, and many individual users rely on cloud service providers for email, documents, and file storage.

There are a plethora of file storage and file sharing services available on the web. Many of them are free for a limited amount of space (often around 2 to 5 GB). For a lot of people, this type of service is sufficient, but if you want your own file storage system, need a lot more space, do not want to pay a third party service, and already have your own web hosting account for your website, ownCloud is a free and open source option you should definitely consider.

Note: For Windows users, you can install Owncloud in Windows as well.

Installation

ownCloud is a simple PHP web application that will work on most Linux and Unix servers. A typical installation server will have Apache HTTP Server and MySQL or SQLite (if you do not want to use a database server). If you are running your own dedicated server or VPS, your Linux distribution may already have the ownCloud packages in its default repository.

To install in Ubuntu 14.04, simply type:

Note: For other distro or other version of Ubuntu, you can go to its Download page to get the installation instructions.

It will automatically install dependencies, such as Apache, PHP, and MySQL. Once the installation is complete, you can point your browser to “http://yourdomain/owncloud”, or in your local machine “http://localhost/owncloud”.

On the first run, it will prompt you to create an admin account. Enter your admin username and password.

By default, SQLite will be used as the database. You can easily switch to MySQL or PostgreSQL by clicking on the “Storage & database” link. You can also change the path of OwnCloud storage folder.

Lastly, click “Finish Setup” and you are done installing ownCloud.

Configuring ownCloud

In the Admin panel, you can click on your login name at the top right hand corner and select “Admin” in the dropdown. This will bring you to the Settings page. There are tons of things that you can configure here, including security setup, file handling, sharing options, cron jobs, email server, etc.

Using ownCloud

The software for ownCloud was developed by some of the developers of KDE and is designed to work with free and open source operating systems, unlike some proprietary cloud storage services. You can use your web browser to upload and manage files, but you can also use WebDav to connect to your files directly from your desktop file manager.

In Nautilus, follow these steps:

  1. Click “File -> Go to Server”.

  2. Enter the following URL to the “Server address” field. Remember to change “example.org” to your own domain name.

Note: If you are using HTTPS, change dav to davs

  1. You will be prompted to enter your username and password. Once connected, you should see the ownCloud directory in your File Manager.

Other than Webdav, you can also access your ownCloud server via mobile app. There are app for both iOS and Android that you can install on your phone.

Cloud Freedom

ownCloud gives you the freedom to use the cloud on your terms however you want. You can access your files from anywhere, just as you would with a proprietary cloud service, but the files and software are yours. You will not have to worry about privacy or the safety of your data. For more information about ownCloud in general, visit the project’s website. For more detailed install instructions, including those for other operating systems and web servers, see this page.

Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer from Indianapolis. He is an avid user of free and open source software and strongly believes that software and knowledge should be free and accessible to all people. He enjoys reading, writing, teaching, spending time with his family, and playing with gadgets.

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