Authors
Daniel Wilson
VPS reliability, backups, and security basics
Toronto, Canada
Daniel Wilson — VPS reliability, backups, and security basics. Practical hosting guidance with source checks, cost context, and clear operational tradeoffs.
Daniel learned self-hosting through community projects where traffic spikes and forgotten backups arrived together. He explains VPS reliability, security basics, backup discipline, and provider trade-offs for cautious builders. The useful question is not which provider sounds bigger. The useful question is what happens after the discount, the first restore, or the first slow support ticket.
What they cover
Daniel Wilson focuses on VPS reliability, backups, security basics. Secondary topics include email deliverability, CDN setup, incident checklists. The coverage stays close to buying decisions: renewal price, backup ownership, support response, migration cost, and the limits hidden behind generous marketing language.
How they review hosting
One failed restore taught him that a backup nobody tests is only a receipt for storage. That experience keeps the review style practical. The goal is simple: show the cost, the failure mode, and the next practical check before a reader buys hosting.
Published articles
What Is a Load Balancer? Roles and Risks
What is a load balancer, and what does it actually protect? Learn L4 versus L7 routing, health checks, draining, retries, TLS, and failover limits.
SOA DNS Record Explained: Fields and Checks
SOA DNS record fields control zone identity, secondary refresh, serial changes, and negative caching. Learn what each field means and how to verify …
Ubuntu Server for VPS: Why It Is the Default
Ubuntu Server for VPS is common for good reasons. Learn how LTS support, package policy, cloud-init, updates, and image quality affect the choice.
Fix 502 Bad Gateway Without Guesswork
Fix 502 Bad Gateway errors by locating the failed proxy-to-upstream phase, reading the right logs, testing safely, and keeping a rollback path.
Self-host GitLab: Requirements and Setup
Self-host GitLab with realistic sizing, isolated runners, TLS, SMTP, upgrades, complete backup scope, restore drills, and an exit plan.
MySQL vs PostgreSQL: Choose for Your App
Compare MySQL vs PostgreSQL by SQL features, concurrency, workload performance, replication, hosting support, and migration risk.
Fix 403 Forbidden: A Safe Diagnostic Guide
Fix 403 Forbidden errors by locating the denying layer, reading evidence, and changing one scoped permission, server, WordPress, or WAF rule.
Fix 500 Internal Server Errors Safely
Diagnose HTTP 500 errors with request scope, Apache or Nginx logs, PHP-FPM evidence, safe config tests, targeted rollback, and recovery checks.
What Is Docker? Images, Containers, and Hosting
Docker explained for self-hosters: how images, containers, registries, runtimes, volumes, networking, and virtual machines fit together.
Fix Slow MySQL Queries Without Guessing
Fix slow MySQL queries with a measured workflow: find the real statement, read EXPLAIN safely, test one index or rewrite, and verify the workload.
Self-host n8n on a VPS: a safe setup plan
Self-host n8n on a VPS with persistent Docker storage, TLS, correct webhook URLs, credential protection, backups, and a tested update plan.
Self-host OpenClaw with Docker: secure VPS setup
Self-host OpenClaw with Docker using the official Compose flow, persistent state, restricted access, verified backups, and practical health checks.