Getting Started
This section walks you through everything you need before deploying your first service. By the end of it you will have a running server with a hardened OS baseline and a clear understanding of which deployment track — Docker-only or Kubernetes (K3s) — suits your situation.
What this section covers
- Prerequisites and choices: bare metal vs. VPS (Linode, Hetzner, etc.)
- Hardware and VPS sizing recommendations (RAM, CPU, storage)
- OS baseline: Ubuntu Server install, swap configuration, SSH hardening
- Choosing your deployment path: Docker-only track vs. Kubernetes (K3s) track
Choose your deployment path
The guide presents two parallel tracks. Pick one now and follow it throughout the subsequent sections:
| Track | Best for | Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Docker-only | Single-node, simple setups, getting started fast | Lower |
| Kubernetes (K3s) | Multi-node clusters, GitOps, production-grade resilience | Higher |
Both tracks are fully documented. Each section that differs between tracks presents both options side by side.