I'm launching my own software development freelancing business and I'm in the midst of planning everything out. I'd love to hear from anyone with experience in setting up something similar. Here's my current setup:
I have two domains and two VPS/root servers:
|Domain|Server|Nickname|Usage|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|myCompany.com|4c AMD EPYC 9645, 8 GB DDR5 ECC, 256 GB NVMe SSD, 1 IPv4|BaseFort01|Admin / Control / Company Website|
|myCompany.cloud|8c AMD EPYC 9645, 16 GB DDR5 ECC, 512 GB NVMe SSD, 1 IPv4|BaseCamp01|Client SaaS platform|
I'm thinking of adding more BaseForts later for high availability. For the BaseCamps, I plan to use subdomains for each client app, with multiple apps per client if needed. The subdomain structure would look something like this: app1.client1.mycompany.cloud, app2.client1.mycompany.cloud, and so on.
Here's my planned approach:
1. BaseFort servers to handle admin tasks, my company website, and set up for HA later.
2. BaseCamps for Client SaaS apps. For deployment, I'm planning to use Dokploy on BaseFort and leverage its multiserver capabilities for BaseCamps.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Does this strategy sound reasonable?
2. How do industry professionals typically handle this kind of setup?
3. What should I consider when using Dokploy?
A little background: I'm currently working on two unique projects—a custom ERP for a manufacturing company and a custom HMS for a small hospital, focusing on patient onboarding and generating prescriptions. I aim to tailor my projects to each client's specific needs. I also deal with ADHD, which makes it extra important for me to nail down my setup before diving into the development phase. Any advice or critiques on my plans would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
It's a smart move to keep your website completely separate from your main infrastructure. You don't want any vulnerabilities from your website to compromise your other servers. Hosting it elsewhere or ensuring there's no direct network connection is a good idea, since websites face constant scanning.
I think a dedicated VPS for each of your clients can be beneficial. It gives you more control and isolation for their applications. Alternatively, if you go for a dedicated server, using VMs or LXC containers for each client might make management easier.
That sounds promising, but how do you handle updates and maintenance across all those servers?
Totally agree! Security should be a priority when setting up your servers.