Debian VPS deployment workflow

Simple Outline

• Purchase Domain name.
• Choose a reputable VPS provider.
• Select Debian as the operating system.
• Connect to the VPS via SSH.
• Install necessary packages.
• Configure HTTP server.
• Deploy your application.

Purchase Domain Name

1. Simple as

Rent Virtual Private Server (VPS)

1. Get a cheap VPS with IPV6 & IPV4 addressing

2. Get one with private networking

Initial Server Setup

1. Setup Debian Server

2. Copy IPV4 address of server/host to A record of Domain name host

3. Copy IPV6 address of server/host to AAAA record of Domain name host

4. Alter CNAME record to include a redirect when WWW is excluded

5. Test this configuration by pinging the domain name. One should see the IP address for the host server

6. SSH login as ROOT user

7. Generate an SSH key pair with SSH-keygen (Locally)

8. Copy public key to server:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub root.domainname.com

9. On server:

vim etc/ssh/ssh_config

10. Alter SSH Config file to express the following changes:

PasswordAuthentication no
UsePAM no
ChallengeResponseAuthentication no

11. Reboot SSH:

systemctl restart sshd

12. Update server

apt update

13. Install software

apt install nginx
apt install certbot (for https)
apt install python-certbot-nginx

14. Copy sites-available template to new site file/profile for NGINX

cp /etc/nginx/sites-available/default /etc/nginx/sites-available/newsite

15. Edit this new site file/profile:

vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/newsite

server {
    listen 80 ;
    listen [::]:80 ;

    root /var/www/newsite;

    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    server_name newsite.com www.newsite.com;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

16. Symlink newsite to enabled

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/newsite /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

17. Make a directory for site

mkdir /var/www/cabin

18. write/upload test index.html file

vim index.html...

19. Reboot NGINX

systemctl reload nginx

20. Get HTTPS cert from certbot

certbot --nginx

enter email

21. Agree to terms.

22. Disagree to sharing email.

23. Choose what site address get certs.

24. Yes to redirecting HTTP to HTTPS.

25. Type in domain and check/confirm setup of nginx and certbot.

26. Set up a cron job to renew check and renew certbot monthly

root@newsite:/var/www/newsite crontab -e

1 1 1 * * certbot renew

Deploy

1. Generate the HUGO static output into public folder

HUGO

2. Copy local static public folder to /var/www/newsite

3. NGINX should spot the change and update the site immediately