One Server. Small Business
7 hours ago
- #Bootstrapping
- #Rails
- #Server Management
- Hosts a Rails app for curated newsletters serving over 100,000 subscribers and sending hundreds of thousands of emails monthly.
- Deployed on a single server costing under $30 per month since 2014.
- Custom-built solution supporting subscriber lifecycle, content management, and sponsorship backend.
- Uses a private GitHub repository with simple git hooks and scripts for CI and deployment via Capistrano.
- Server setup includes Ubuntu LTS, nginx, Passenger, Postgres, Redis, and Sidekiq, configured manually.
- Implements security measures like unattended upgrades, SSH lockdown, and firewall configuration.
- Backups managed with pg_dump and restic, stored in Backblaze B2 with retention policies.
- Monitoring via DigitalOcean add-ons and Sentry for application errors.
- Advocates for simplicity and cost-effectiveness for solo founders or small businesses.