The Tool Desk
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What the finished VPS should look like
A VPS is a virtual machine that you must secure and operate. The safest small-team design has one public entry point and three isolated application environments behind it:
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dev.example.com, used for feature integration and internal testing. - Staging:
staging.example.com, configured as close to production as practical and used for release validation. - Production:
example.com, serving real users and holding the authoritative data.
Each environment should have its own Compose project or service namespace, directory, private network, environment file, database instance, and least-privilege credentials. Production secrets and data must not be readable from development or staging. The public proxy terminates HTTPS and forwards requests over private container networks or localhost; database, cache, Docker, and internal administration ports stay off the public internet.
DigitalOcean describes a Droplet as “a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.” Its production setup guidance recommends SSH-key authentication for a sudo non-root user, disabling password-based root access, and restricting SSH with a cloud firewall (production-ready Droplet setup). Ubuntu’s server documentation covers SSH, firewalls, DNS, nginx, Docker, cloud images, databases, storage, monitoring, and alerting (Ubuntu Server documentation).
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One VPS or separate VPS instances?
Start with one VPS when simplicity and operating cost matter more than hard isolation and the workload is modest. Split production onto another VPS when a single host failure, resource contention, or an access mistake would be unacceptable.
| Decision axis | One VPS with isolated environments | Separate VPS instances |
|---|---|---|
| Blast radius | A host failure or kernel problem can affect all environments. | A failure in one host is less likely to stop the others. |
| Monthly cost | Lower because environments share one machine. | Higher because each host has its own resources and backups. |
| Resource contention | Development or staging jobs can compete with production for CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network capacity. | Production resources are reserved from non-production workloads. |
| Operational complexity | One operating system, proxy, backup target, and patching schedule. | More hosts, firewalls, monitoring, upgrade work, and recovery procedures. |
| Compliance and access boundaries | Requires careful user, network, secret, and database controls on one host. | Provides a stronger physical and administrative boundary between environments. |
| Backup and recovery objectives | A shared host and its storage can become a common recovery dependency. | Independent hosts and storage can reduce correlated failure. |
| Deployment speed | Fast to deploy because the same proxy and host are reused. | Deployments may require coordination across hosts and networks. |
| Scaling | Scaling one environment can consume capacity needed by the others. | Each environment can be resized or moved independently. |
A second VPS is warranted when noisy-neighbor risk, regulatory separation, traffic growth, or a recovery-time and recovery-point objective cannot be met on one machine. You can also keep development on a local workstation and reserve the VPS for staging and production; the same isolation principles still apply.
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Provision and harden the Ubuntu host
Use a current Ubuntu LTS image from your VPS provider. Provision an SSH key during creation, then complete the following sequence before installing the application.
- Create a named administrator: connect with the provider’s initial account, create a personal user, add it to the
sudogroup, and install the user’s public SSH key. Do not administer the application as root. - Verify key access: open a second terminal and log in as the new user before changing SSH settings. Keep the original session available until the new login works.
- Disable password and direct-root SSH: in the SSH server configuration, set password authentication off and prohibit direct root login. Reload SSH only after confirming key authentication.
- Apply updates: update package indexes, install security updates, and reboot when the kernel or other components require it. Record the maintenance window and the command used to confirm the host returned.
- Configure two firewalls: use the VPS provider’s cloud firewall and the Ubuntu host firewall. Allow SSH only from an administration allowlist, plus public TCP ports 80 and 443. Do not expose database, cache, Docker daemon, metrics, or internal admin ports.
- Review listening services: inspect listening sockets after each installation. A service that binds to
0.0.0.0is potentially public; bind internal services to a private container network or localhost instead.
Ubuntu calls system security crucial and provides guidance for firewalls, AppArmor, user and group management, web servers, Docker, logging, monitoring, and alerting (Ubuntu server how-to documentation). Treat that documentation as the reference for the exact commands matching your Ubuntu release; package names and service defaults can change between LTS versions.
Install the runtime and public edge
Choose containers or a native process manager
Docker Engine with Compose gives each environment an explicit project name, network, volume set, and image tag. It is a practical default when the application already has a container image. A language runtime plus a process supervisor is also valid when containers add complexity; the important property is that processes, configuration, data, and ports remain separately addressable for each environment.
Keep Compose files and deployment scripts in version control. Use a separate project name for each environment so commands cannot accidentally operate on the wrong stack:
docker compose -p app-dev -f compose.dev.yml up -d
docker compose -p app-staging -f compose.staging.yml up -d
docker compose -p app-prod -f compose.prod.yml up -dUse separate files only where behavior genuinely differs; shared service definitions can be extended, but production overrides should be reviewed as carefully as application code.
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Install nginx or Caddy as the only public application entry point
Install nginx or Caddy on the host, or run the proxy as a dedicated edge service. Configure virtual hosts for dev.example.com, staging.example.com, and example.com. Each host should proxy to the corresponding private service name and port, not to a database or a development server exposed on the public interface.
Create DNS records that point each hostname to the VPS address. Issue TLS certificates for the names that are actually public and renew them automatically. Redirect HTTP to HTTPS, preserve the original host and forwarding headers, and set request and body limits appropriate for the application. Restrict development and staging with an identity layer, VPN, IP allowlist, or equivalent control; a hostname alone is not an access policy.
Keep application listeners on private container networks or 127.0.0.1. The edge proxy should be the only service accepting public application traffic. This arrangement lets you rotate application containers without changing DNS and gives one place to enforce TLS, access controls, rate limits, and request logging.
Create hard boundaries between environments
Use a predictable layout
Place each environment in its own directory owned by a deployment user, for example:
/srv/app/dev
/srv/app/staging
/srv/app/prodKeep Compose definitions, migration scripts, and deployment automation under version control. Keep secrets outside the repository, with file permissions that allow only the deployment account and the service to read them. A directory boundary is useful for operations, but it is not sufficient by itself; combine it with separate networks, users, credentials, and databases.
Give every environment its own network and database
Create separate networks and database instances or clusters for development, staging, and production. A staging application should never be able to resolve or authenticate to the production database. Use different database users with only the permissions that service needs, and use different passwords or tokens for every environment.
A concrete VPS runbook uses separate production and staging hostnames and a separate PostgreSQL database for each environment (VPS deployment guide). Apply the same rule to caches, queues, object-storage buckets, webhook signing keys, email credentials, and third-party API tokens.
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Handle configuration and secrets safely
Commit a documented list of required variable names, not their values. Supply values through a secret store, protected CI variables, or root-readable files outside the repository. Rotate credentials when a user leaves, a token is exposed, or an environment is rebuilt. Never copy the production environment file into development or staging.
Use separate credentials even when a service provider account is shared. Scope non-production tokens to test projects and restrict production tokens to the smallest set of operations. Remove secrets from logs, crash reports, shell history, and build artifacts.
Use production-like staging data without copying risk
Staging should exercise realistic schemas, indexes, queues, and integrations, but it should not expose personal or secret data. Export only the tables or records needed, anonymize names, email addresses, tokens, payment references, and other identifying fields, then verify that anonymization is irreversible. Restrict staging access, define deletion and retention rules, and disable outbound messages or point them at a test sink.
Set up DNS, TLS, and access controls
- Create an address record for each hostname and wait for it to resolve to the VPS before requesting certificates.
- Configure one proxy route per environment. Confirm that a request to each hostname reaches the intended service and cannot reach another environment by changing the
Hostheader. - Enable HTTPS and automatic certificate renewal. Test renewal in a non-production window and monitor expiry so a failed renewal is visible before the certificate becomes invalid.
- Require authentication for development and staging. Use an identity-aware proxy, VPN, or tightly maintained network allowlist; do not rely on an obscure subdomain.
- Log proxy status codes, upstream errors, request duration, and a correlation identifier while omitting authorization headers, cookies, and personal data.
Public HTTP and HTTPS are normally the only application ports that need to be reachable from the internet. SSH should be limited to the administration allowlist, and internal services should be reachable only over the host or container network.
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Build once, deploy to staging, then promote
The deployment unit should be an immutable artifact, such as a container image identified by a commit digest or unique tag. Do not rebuild from the same branch separately for staging and production: two builds can contain different dependencies even when the source revision is identical.
A reliable pipeline is:
- Commit or pull request: run formatting checks, unit and integration tests, security checks, and a build in CI.
- Publish one artifact: push the image or package under an immutable identifier tied to the commit. Record the dependency lockfile and build metadata.
- Deploy that identifier to staging: update only the staging image reference, apply configuration, and run database migrations using the staging credentials.
- Run release checks: wait for the service health endpoint, verify the proxy route, exercise critical user flows, inspect logs, and check migration status and background workers.
- Require a gate: use an explicit approval or policy condition after staging succeeds. The gate should identify the exact artifact and migration version approved.
- Promote the same identifier to production: change the production image reference without rebuilding, apply production configuration, run the compatible migration, and verify health and key business transactions.
The cited VPS runbook describes GitHub Actions building images once per merge, deploying staging, gating on health, and promoting the same tag to production (VPS deployment guide). Keep the workflow, Compose files, infrastructure configuration, and migration procedures in version control so an operator can see exactly what changed.
Design migrations for a rolling change
When the new application and the previous one may run together, use an expand-and-contract sequence:
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- Expand: add a nullable column, table, or index that both versions can tolerate.
- Deploy: release code that writes the new representation while continuing to read the old one if necessary.
- Backfill: migrate existing rows in controlled batches and monitor locks, replication, and disk space.
- Contract: after the old code is gone and the new data is verified, remove obsolete columns or constraints in a later release.
Do not combine an irreversible schema deletion with the first application rollout. A rollback is useful only if the prior binary can still start and read the database.
A practical staging-to-production runbook
Write the procedure down and have someone other than its author follow it on staging. Replace the image tag, migration command, and health URL with the values used by your application.
- Record the commit, immutable image identifier, migration version, operator, and planned window.
- Check that the staging backup completed, the target host has disk headroom, and the image is available on the VPS.
- Pull the exact artifact and update only staging configuration.
- Run the migration in staging, then wait for all containers to report healthy.
- Test login, a representative read and write, background jobs, file uploads, and any external integration using non-production endpoints.
- Review error rate and latency logs. Stop if health checks fail, migrations produce unexpected locks, or workers repeatedly restart.
- Obtain the release approval and copy the artifact identifier, not a branch name, into the production deployment.
- Put production in the smallest maintenance mode needed, run the compatible migration, and restart or replace services in a controlled order.
- Verify the public health endpoint, TLS certificate, database connectivity, queue processing, and a small set of real-user paths.
- Record the result and keep the previous image and rollback command available until the observation period ends.
Backups, rollback, and rebuilding the host
Back up data that cannot be recreated
Back up databases and persistent volumes on a schedule appropriate to the amount of data you can afford to lose. Keep at least one copy outside the VPS so a host compromise, disk failure, or accidental deletion does not destroy every copy. Encrypt backups, restrict access, and document retention and deletion rules.
Back up application state such as uploaded files, object metadata, encryption-key references, and queue data when it is durable. Images, Compose files, and infrastructure definitions should be reproducible from version control rather than treated as the only backup.
Test restoration, not just backup creation
On a schedule, restore a backup into an isolated environment. Check row counts or application-level invariants, permissions, indexes, uploaded files, and the ability to start the application with restored secrets. Record how long the restore took and which steps were manual. A backup job that reports success but cannot produce a usable service is not a recovery plan.
Prepare a rollback
Keep the previous known-good image identifier and its configuration. If the new service fails health checks or produces unacceptable errors, stop promotion, route traffic to the previous version when safe, and restore the database only when the migration and data changes are reversible or a tested backup restore is required. Do not delete the failed release until logs and diagnostics have been retained.
Be able to rebuild from a clean image
Document the provider steps, Ubuntu version, SSH keys and access process, firewall rules, DNS records, proxy configuration, runtime installation, secret injection, database restore, and deployment commands. Store the procedure outside the VPS as well as in version control. A clean rebuild drill exposes undocumented dependencies before an incident does.
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Monitor the services and maintain the host
Centralize or retain application and proxy logs long enough to investigate a failed release. Monitor:
- CPU, memory, load, disk usage, and disk I/O;
- container health, restart counts, and queue depth;
- database reachability, connections, locks, replication where applicable, and storage growth;
- HTTP error rates, latency, certificate expiry, and failed health checks;
- backup completion, backup age, and restore-test results;
- security updates, unexpected listening ports, authentication failures, and administrative changes.
Set alerts with an owner and a documented response. Capacity alerts should fire before the disk is full or memory pressure causes the kernel to terminate a service. Patch the operating system, proxy, runtime, containers, and dependencies regularly; test updates in staging, then apply them to production during a defined window.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Using root for deployments
Symptom: deployment scripts own every file and a compromised application can alter the host. Correction: use a named sudo account for administration and a restricted deployment account for releases; grant only the commands and directories required.
Exposing a database or Docker socket
Symptom: a port scan finds PostgreSQL, Redis, or the Docker daemon on a public address. Correction: remove the public port mapping, bind to localhost or a private network, and verify both cloud and host firewall rules.
Sharing production credentials with staging
Symptom: a test job can send real email, modify production records, or read customer data. Correction: issue separate least-privilege credentials, sanitize any copied data, and route outbound integrations to test endpoints.
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Symptom: staging passes but production behaves differently because dependency resolution or build inputs changed. Correction: build once, store an immutable digest, and promote that exact artifact.
Making a destructive migration before a release
Symptom: rollback fails because the previous application cannot read the changed schema. Correction: use expand-and-contract migrations, keep compatibility during the transition, and test rollback with a realistic copy of the database.
Assuming a green backup job proves recoverability
Symptom: restoration reveals missing files, unusable credentials, or an undocumented manual step. Correction: perform scheduled restore drills and measure the time and data loss against your recovery objectives.
Quick Recap
Minimum launch checklist
- Current Ubuntu LTS image, named sudo user, verified SSH key, and disabled password/direct-root SSH.
- Cloud and host firewalls allowing only administration SSH plus public HTTP/HTTPS.
- nginx or Caddy routing each hostname to the correct private service, with renewable TLS certificates.
- Separate Compose projects or service namespaces, directories, networks, environment files, databases, and credentials.
- Production data and secrets inaccessible from development and staging; non-production data sanitized.
- CI producing one immutable artifact, staging health checks, an approval gate, and same-artifact production promotion.
- Expand-and-contract migration plan and a tested rollback procedure.
- Off-host encrypted backups, documented retention, and successful restoration drills.
- Monitoring for resources, services, databases, certificates, logs, and backup success.
- A clean rebuild runbook stored outside the VPS and a scheduled patching process.
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