Cloud & Server Infrastructure
Server Infrastructure, Operating Systems & Stack Configuration
Last reviewed
Summary: A reliable production server comes down to four layers done well: a supported Linux distribution kept patched, a hardened network perimeter, a correctly tuned web and application stack, and encrypted connections with automated certificate renewal. This hub links our step-by-step guides for each layer.
The production web stack
01
Network
Firewall, DDoS protection, DNS
02
Operating system
Ubuntu LTS, Debian, AlmaLinux
03
Web server
Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed
04
Application runtime
PHP-FPM, Node.js, Python
05
Database
MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL
Choosing a Linux distribution
| Distribution | Support model | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu LTS | 5 years standard support per LTS release, extended options available | Most tutorials and cloud images; widest community |
| Debian stable | About 3 years, plus LTS extension | Minimal, conservative servers |
| AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux | About 10 years per major release | cPanel servers, RHEL-compatible environments |
Web server software
- Nginx: event-driven, low memory, excellent as a reverse proxy and for static files.
- Apache: flexible module system and per-directory .htaccess files, common on shared hosting.
- LiteSpeed / OpenLiteSpeed: Apache-compatible configuration with built-in page caching, popular with WordPress.
Guides in this section
- Configure a LEMP stack on Ubuntu — Nginx, MariaDB and PHP-FPM from scratch.
- Linux server hardening checklist — SSH keys, firewalls, Fail2ban and automatic patches.
- SSL/TLS certificate setup — Certbot automation and modern ciphers.
- cPanel vs DirectAdmin vs CyberPanel — choosing a control panel.
Baseline operations
- Automated, off-server backups with tested restores
- Uptime monitoring from an external location
- Log rotation so disks never fill
- A written runbook for restarts and recovery
- Least-privilege user accounts; no shared root logins
Get new technical guides by email
Occasional, practical server and hosting tutorials for Canadian webmasters. Unsubscribe any time.