~/blog
Notes on Linux servers, hosting, DevOps, web development and the tools I use.
I've been using Nginx as a reverse proxy in front of Apache for years, and it's significantly improved my server's performance and security. Here's how I set it up, and some of the common pitfalls I've learned to avoid.
Getting your emails into the inbox instead of the spam folder can be tricky. I'll walk you through setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC with Postfix, the basics I use on my servers to improve email deliverability.
Getting HTTPS right can feel like a pain, but it doesn't have to be. I'll walk through setting up Let's Encrypt with Nginx on Ubuntu, so your sites are secure and you don't have to wrestle with certificate renewals.
Keeping my servers secure is always a priority, and a good starting point is tightening up SSH, configuring a basic firewall, and using Fail2ban to block brute-force attempts. It's not about perfect security, but about making things harder for attackers.
Setting up Docker can feel overwhelming, but it’s really worth it for keeping my web apps consistent across environments. I’ll walk through the basics, from your first Dockerfile to running a simple PHP app.
Setting up automated deployments for my Laravel projects used to be a headache, but GitHub Actions has made it significantly easier. Here's how I automate deployments to Ubuntu servers using GitHub Actions, and some common gotchas I've run into along the way.
Finding bottlenecks in your database can be tough, but the MySQL slow query log is a goldmine. I'll walk through how I use it to pinpoint the queries slowing down my servers.
Getting slow PHP performance on a small VPS? I'll walk you through the common bottlenecks and the practical steps I take to speed things up: from PHP-FPM configuration to opcode caching, with a focus on what works best for limited resources.
I configure zero-downtime Laravel deployments on Ubuntu servers using Git, PHP 8.3, and basic shell scripts without complex CI/CD tools.