NetBay journal

Guides for operators

Practical guides for Linux, containers, CI/CD, self-hosting, and running VPS infrastructure from Netbay Engineering.

499 articles · 24 topics

Ansible Variables, Facts, and Conditionals Explained

Use Ansible variables, auto-gathered facts, and when conditions to tune one playbook so it runs correctly across every host in your fleet.

API & AutomationMarch 18, 20267 min read

CPU Embeddings with Sentence Transformers

Encode docs on CPU with MiniLM or llama.cpp, normalize 384-d vectors, and keep embeddings on one Lucknow VPS instead of a billed embedding API.

AI InfrastructureMarch 18, 20268 min read

Installing and Tuning fail2ban on a Linux VPS

Set up fail2ban to auto-ban brute-force sources across SSH, web, and mail, then tune jails, bantimes, and notifications for real-world traffic.

Linux SecurityMarch 17, 20266 min read

Debian 13 Trixie: Conservative Defaults and apt Best Practices

Debian 13 trixie behaves like the Debian you already trust: security suite, backports, pinning, and apt habits that keep a conservative server boring.

LinuxMarch 17, 20267 min read

Multi-Stage Builds: Slash Your Final Image Size

Use multi-stage Dockerfiles to compile in one layer and copy only the runtime artifacts forward — image sizes drop from gigabytes to tens of megabytes.

ContainersMarch 17, 20266 min read

Automating GitHub Issues: Templates, Labels, and Triage Bots

Standard templates, reusable labels, and a little triage bot turn a noisy public issue queue into an actionable backlog, and nothing real slips through.

GitHubMarch 17, 20267 min read

Setting Up Nextcloud for File Sync and Backup

Deploy Nextcloud with Docker Compose to self-host file sync and backup, then tune clients, cron jobs, caching, and storage backups on your VPS.

Self-HostingMarch 17, 20268 min read

Installing a Single-Node Kubernetes Cluster with k3s on a VPS

Install k3s on a single VPS node to get a working Kubernetes cluster in minutes, then verify nodes, pods, and kubectl access.

KubernetesMarch 16, 20266 min read

Rocky Linux 9 Initial Server Setup for Production Workloads

Build a hardened Rocky Linux 9 baseline: admin users, SSH keys, firewalld rules, fail2ban, and automatic security updates before your app ever ships.

LinuxMarch 12, 20267 min read

Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: When a Simple Orchestrator Wins

Compare Docker Swarm and Kubernetes for a few dozen containers on just a handful of nodes, and learn where Swarm's simplicity genuinely pays off.

Containers & OrchestrationMarch 12, 20267 min read

Feature Flags: Shipping Half-Built Features Without Breaking Trunk

Ship incomplete features safely by hiding them behind flags, so every merge stays green and the trunk is always deployable.

CI/CDMarch 12, 20267 min read

Self-Hosted Stacks: Put a Reverse Proxy First

Route every self-hosted app through one Nginx Proxy Manager entry point so TLS, hostnames, and access rules stay consistent as your stack grows.

Self-HostingMarch 12, 20267 min read