Postgresql on DevOps Engineer & CloudAdmin

CI/CD & Production Infrastructure for a Social App

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Client

Puzzle Master — a social matching platform

Challenge

The startup had a production-ready Nest.js backend and Angular frontend, but zero infrastructure: deployments were manual, there was no CI/CD, no monitoring, no backups, and no separation between dev and prod environments. The goal was to build a complete DevOps stack from scratch before the public launch.

Solution

1. Application Containerization

Multi-stage Dockerfile for backend (Nest.js + Prisma, non-root user)
Multi-stage Dockerfile for frontend (Angular 12, legacy OpenSSL, Nginx for static assets)
Docker Compose full stack: PostgreSQL 15, Redis 7, imgproxy, Nginx
Healthchecks and depends_on for correct startup ordering
Isolated dev and prod environments in /opt/dev and /opt/prod

2. GitLab CI/CD

Migration of repository from Bitbucket to GitLab
Pipeline for backend and frontend: build → push → deploy
GitLab Container Registry for Docker image storage
Automatic deploy to dev on every push; manual trigger for prod
SSH deployment to VPS via SSH_PRIVATE_KEY

3. Nginx Reverse Proxy

Environment-agnostic config via envsubst for dev/prod parity
SSL/TLS (TLSv1.2, TLSv1.3) with Cloudflare certificates
Routing: /api/* → backend:4000, /* → frontend:80
www → root domain redirect (301)
Separate imgproxy stack with SSL termination

4. Security (Ansible)

Server hardening via Ansible: SSH key-only auth, root login disabled
UFW Firewall: only ports 80, 443, and custom SSH open
Database accessible only via SSH tunnel
All secrets stored in GitLab CI/CD variables

5. Monitoring

Prometheus + Grafana with automated dashboard provisioning
Exporters: Node, cAdvisor, Postgres, Redis, Nginx, Blackbox
5 Grafana dashboards: server, Docker containers, PostgreSQL, Redis, Nginx
Alertmanager with Slack/webhook integration; alerts on CPU/RAM/Disk/API/SSL

6. Database Backups

Automated pg_dump every hour
gzip compression and upload to S3-compatible object storage (Cloudflare R2)
Prometheus backup metrics: success status, size, timestamp
Alerts: DatabaseBackupMissing, DatabaseBackupFailed, DatabaseBackupSizeAnomaly

Technologies

GitLab CI

Docker

Ansible

Prometheus

Nginx

PostgreSQL

Results

✅ Deploy: git push to main → automatic build and deploy to server
✅ Environments: full dev/prod isolation on a single VPS
✅ Monitoring: 5 dashboards, alerts across 6 categories
✅ Backups: automated hourly pg_dump to Cloudflare R2
✅ Security: UFW, key-based SSH, database inaccessible from outside
✅ Scalability: architecture ready for database extraction to a dedicated server

CI/CD & Production Infrastructure for a Web Application

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Production Infrastructure & CI/CD for a Company Website

Client

A manufacturer of branded research products that needed a website to present its product catalog to customers

Challenge

The developers had written the code of a conventional web application (NestJS backend + Next.js frontend), but infrastructure was completely missing: manual deployments, no CI/CD, no server setup, no monitoring, no backups and no separation between test and production environments. The goal was to build a complete DevOps stack from scratch: GitLab CI/CD, a self-hosted server, two isolated environments, HTTPS, monitoring, alerting and automated backups.

Self-Hosted Cloud Storage with Nextcloud

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Self-Hosted Corporate Cloud

Client

Mid-sized business with strict data privacy and data residency requirements

Challenge

The company relied on third-party cloud services to store and share work files, creating data leakage risks and dependency on external providers. They needed a self-hosted solution with in-browser document editing, deleted file recovery, revision history, and additional collaboration tools — calendar, notes, and email — all under their own control.

Solution

1. Nextcloud AIO Deployment

Nextcloud All-in-One — official Docker image with the full stack out of the box
PostgreSQL for application data storage
Redis for caching and background job queues
Nginx as a reverse proxy with automatic SSL/TLS

2. In-Browser Document Editing

Nextcloud Office (Collabora Online) — built-in office suite
Support for .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and ODF formats
Real-time collaborative editing
No local software installation required

3. File Management

Deleted files trash bin with configurable retention period
File version history — roll back to any previous revision
Granular access control: folders, share links, passwords
Mobile and desktop sync clients

4. Collaboration Tools

Calendar (CalDAV) — team scheduling and events
Notes — personal and team notes with Markdown support
Mail — built-in web client for corporate email (IMAP/SMTP)

5. Backup

Borg Backup — incremental backup built into Nextcloud AIO
Data deduplication and compression
Scheduled automatic runs
Remote storage for backups (S3-compatible / SFTP)

Technologies

Nextcloud

Docker

PostgreSQL

Nginx

Linux

Results

✅ Data ownership: files stay on company servers, no third-party providers
✅ In-browser editing: office documents open and edit directly in the browser
✅ Safety net: version history and trash bin protect against accidental data loss
✅ Unified platform: single solution for files, calendar, notes, and email
✅ Automated backups: incremental backup via Borg Backup on a set schedule

Self-Hosted Corporate Messenger (Matrix)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Self-Hosted Secure Messenger for Enterprise Communications

Client

Mid-size business with strict data privacy and security requirements

Challenge

The company required full control over its internal communications — no third-party servers, no data leakage risks. The solution had to support end-to-end encryption, voice and video calls, file sharing, and seamless integration with existing corporate infrastructure, all manageable by an internal team.

Solution

1. Server Stack

Matrix Synapse as the core messaging server
PostgreSQL 16 for persistent data storage
Caddy as reverse proxy with automatic SSL/TLS
Docker Compose for service orchestration

2. Client Applications

Element Web for browser access
Element Desktop for Windows/macOS/Linux
Element Mobile for iOS/Android
Consistent interface across all platforms

3. Voice & Video Calls

Coturn (TURN/STUN server) for NAT traversal
Group video call support
UDP ports 49160–49200 for media traffic
Automatic configuration via environment variables

4. Administration

Synapse Admin web UI for user and room management
Usage statistics and monitoring
Accessible on a dedicated port (8888)

5. Security

End-to-end encrypted messages
Automatic SSL/TLS certificates via Caddy
Public registration disabled
Optional federation with other Matrix servers
Healthchecks on all services

6. Automation

Single Bash script for full stack initialization
Automatic Synapse config generation
Automated admin user creation via expect
Docker Compose with dependency ordering and healthchecks

Technologies

Docker

PostgreSQL

Caddy

Bash

Linux

Element + Matrix + Synapse

Results

✅ Data ownership: full control over messages and user data — no third-party servers
✅ Scale: 100+ concurrent users
✅ Features: text, voice, video, file sharing up to 1.5 GB, E2E encryption
✅ Speed: full deployment in 5 minutes with a single script
✅ Reliability: automatic SSL certificates, healthchecks, auto-restart

Self-Hosted Project Management with Plane

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Self-Hosted Project Management with Plane So

Client

A company seeking its own project management tool hosted on their office infrastructure

Challenge

The client wanted an open-source alternative to Jira/Linear for project and task management, deployed on their own server within an existing Coolify environment. Requirements included: installing the latest version of Plane CE, ensuring proper operation behind Traefik reverse proxy, extracting the database as a separate Coolify service for convenient archiving, and setting up regular backups for all data.

Postgresql on DevOps Engineer & CloudAdmin

CI/CD & Production Infrastructure for a Social App

Production Infrastructure & CI/CD for a Social App Launch

Client

Challenge

Solution

1. Application Containerization

2. GitLab CI/CD

3. Nginx Reverse Proxy

4. Security (Ansible)

5. Monitoring

6. Database Backups

Technologies

Results

CI/CD & Production Infrastructure for a Web Application

Production Infrastructure & CI/CD for a Company Website

Client

Challenge

Self-Hosted Cloud Storage with Nextcloud

Self-Hosted Corporate Cloud

Client

Challenge

Solution

1. Nextcloud AIO Deployment

2. In-Browser Document Editing

3. File Management

4. Collaboration Tools

5. Backup

Technologies

Results

Self-Hosted Corporate Messenger (Matrix)

Self-Hosted Secure Messenger for Enterprise Communications

Client

Challenge

Solution

1. Server Stack

2. Client Applications

3. Voice & Video Calls

4. Administration

5. Security

6. Automation

Technologies

Results

Self-Hosted Project Management with Plane

Self-Hosted Project Management with Plane So

Client

Challenge