Ubuntu Linux Troubleshooting

Over the years I have ran into some odd issues setting up Ubuntu servers. I currently am running an Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS and an Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS server. Below you can find some helpful fixes for some Ubuntu bugs and configuration oddities.

Encrypted Home Directory

I ran into an issue installing an Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS server where after installation I was unable to connect to my server through SSH using SSH key authentication and no password authentication. Everything seemed to work, but when I moved my server down to my basement for the summer, I was unable to connect through SSH remotely. I found that I could login if I were to login on the server console. After some searching I found that an authorized_keys file in an Ubuntu Encrypted Home Directory will not work properly. To fix this issue, you have to move the authorized keys file outside of your Encrypted Home Directory. Then modify the following line in your /etc/ssh/sshd_config file to point to the unencrypted location.

AuthorizedKeysFile %h/.ssh/authorized_keys