HTTPS Setup Guide using Let's Encrypt and Certbot

Prerequisites

• A server with a domain name, with root or sudo privileges.
• Ensure your server's firewall is configured to allow HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) traffic.

Steps for Installation and Setup

1. Update Your Server's Package Manager

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

2. Install Certbot

• Installation method varies depending on your server's OS and web server.
• Example for Ubuntu with Apache:

  sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache
  

3. Choose How to Run Certbot

• Get and install your certificates:

  sudo certbot --apache
  

• Or, just get a certificate:

  sudo certbot certonly --apache
  

4. Set Up Automatic Renewal

• Test automatic renewal:

  sudo certbot renew --dry-run
  

• Automate the renewal process with a cron job or systemd timer.

5. Verify Certbot Auto-Renewal

• Check your system's crontab or systemd timers to ensure auto-renewal is set up.

6. Adjust Your Firewall Settings

• Update firewall settings to allow ports 80 and 443 if not already done.

7. Check Your Website

• Visit your website with https:// to verify the setup.

Additional Configurations

• Consider redirecting all HTTP traffic to HTTPS in your web server's configuration.
• Review your SSL configuration with SSL Labs' SSL Test.

Troubleshooting

• Check web server logs for errors.
• Ensure domain name points to your server's IP.

Final Notes

• Back up configuration files before making changes.
• Understand each step to avoid making your website inaccessible.

Opening a Port using firewall-cmd

To open a specific port (e.g., 3333) using firewall-cmd, follow these steps:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=3333/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

This will permanently add port 3333 to the list of allowed ports in the public zone and then reload the firewall settings to apply changes.