Ask HN: Tips on Running a Webapp on a VPS?

2 pointsmonroewalker3 comments

I just paid for a VPS with OVHCloud in order to host a webapp and a Postgres db. I'm capable enough to ssh in and get things running, but I don't have any sysadmin experience so I'm likely to make rookie mistakes and omit some important setup.

Are there any good resources with some sysadmin tips for hosting a hobby project?

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I think one of the most important sysadmin jobs is learning where the logs are, which ones are important, and learning to monitor them. There are likely app logs, web access logs, sshd logs, general syslog logs, etc., and it's good practice to understand them and to know what is normal and what should be investigated.

A good way to get started is to install something like tmux or screen, then run "tail -f <log>" to start watching. It sounds simple, but in a crisis (which maybe doesn't apply to a hobby project), separating noise from signal is key.

One quick tip: make a snapshot before major updates. You'll thank me later.

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