Ask HN: Tips to get started on my own server

56 points

2 years ago

What I want to do: get hands on experience hosting and maintaining a linux server (perf, sec, etc). I love the abstraction cloud services provided to enable me to build stuff without having to understand the nitty-gritty - but I think the knowledge will help. Rent a server on the cloud for about $10/mo if possible, build an application for personal use with everything residing on the server. Nothing critical.

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Why: I've always wanted to. I read some HN posts this week that have inspired me to finally make the leap. For eg,

- I read this and realised I don't know what any of these commands are (I've always used Windows), and it's time to start. https://www.brendangregg.com/blog/2024-03-24/linux-crisis-tools.html

- The SingleFile post. I already built one with Supabase that I use now, but I want to do one with the CLI, my own DB etc.

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Where I'm at: I have quite a bit of experience building both FE and BE for applications, mostly utilizing cloud services (serverless, hosted DBs etc). I've also hosted a few applications locally for personal use but not open to the internet, like Postgres and Nginx (all windows). Some devOps experience. Serious about security but no hands on experience with networking, I want to actually understand and reduce the attack surface and so on without just flipping a switch.

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What I'm asking for: Any suggestions how to go about it, resources, links, advice - please feel free to share your experiences as well. Thanks!

107 comments

107 comments