This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Russell Jones
Ahnii!
This series covers the full lifecycle of a production Linux VPS — from first login to disaster recovery. It is for developers who deploy their own servers and are comfortable with a terminal but are not operations specialists.
1. Provision an Ubuntu VPS and Create a Deploy User
Droplet creation, deploy user, UFW baseline, and unattended upgrades. The "before you do anything else" checklist.
2. SSH Hardening: Ed25519 Keys and Disabling Root Login
Ed25519 keys, PermitRootLogin no, and disabling unused authentication methods.
3. UFW, fail2ban, and Banning Repeat Offenders
UFW deep dive, a fail2ban jail for Caddy access logs, and the recidive jail with nftables.
4. Docker Security on a Shared VPS
Why Docker bypasses UFW, the DOCKER-USER chain fix, localhost binding, and container hardening.
5. Caddy Hardening: Security Headers and Rate Limiting
Reusable security headers snippet, Content Security Policy, and rate limiting with caddy-ratelimit.
6. Kernel and Systemd Service Hardening
sysctl tuning, systemd sandboxing for PHP-FPM and Caddy, and auditing with systemd-analyze security.
7. Secrets, Certificates, and Credential Rotation
.env permissions, Ansible Vault, TLS via Caddy, and zero-downtime credential rotation.
8. Automated Patching and Server Maintenance
unattended-upgrades configuration, needrestart, log rotation, and Docker cleanup.
9. Monitoring, Alerting, and Incident Response
Lightweight monitoring, auditd for security events, and a post-incident checklist.
10. Backup and Disaster Recovery
Snapshots, database dumps, off-server backups, restore testing, and the rebuild runbook.
Each post stands alone — start wherever your server needs the most attention.
Baamaapii
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Russell Jones
Russell Jones | Sciencx (2026-03-23T02:36:16+00:00) Production Linux: Secure and Maintain Your Own VPS. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2026/03/23/production-linux-secure-and-maintain-your-own-vps/
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