Overview & Prerequisites

Must read first! Make sure to have everything ready beforehand.

About

This series will be all about free and open-source software that you can self-host on your own servers. In Europe, we must try to comply with all GDPR regulations, when we are working with customer/client data, and on-premises software can help us greatly achieve 3rd party software independence and stay compliant because all data will stay on your own server.

We will be focusing on mainstream alternatives to various products like Google Workspace, Google Analytics, Airtable, Plesk/Cpanel, and many more.

Strategy

Let’s assume that we are just starting out our journey to build a digital agency, specializing in web development. Our main goal is to offer complete in-house solutions and minimize dependency on 3rd party software. By doing this, we can greatly reduce our costs to a minimum, since we are just starting out and do not have clients yet.

Our starting out budget is 50€/month and we try to keep our costs to a minimum, if possible.

Video Walkthrough

Phases

This project will be split into different phases.

Preparation | Phase 0

In order to do anything, we need to get our compatible domain and set up our server network.

Domain Registrar

You will need to obtain a domain name from the registrar, that supports:

Glue Records

Glue records are DNS records created at the domain’s registrar. The record provides a complete answer when the TLD nameserver returns a reference for an authoritative nameserver for a domain.

Custom Nameservers

A custom or private name server allows you to run your own name server to respond to DNS requests for your domains.

Without those requirements, you won't be able to set up DNS and email servers! Make sure to check recommendations.

Server Provider

If you are located in Europe, it is good to have a DPA-protected server provider.

You can choose any server provider you are outside Europe or GDPR does not apply to you.

Server Specifications

For a smooth experience without any bottlenecks along the way, I recommend servers with the following specs:

2GB Ram server - Server dedicated to VPN.
2GB Ram server - Server dedicated to DNS management, email hosting & website hosting.
8GB Ram server - Server dedicated to our Docker instance, where we will deploy various applications & containers.

Choose a server provider, that supports rDNS, Email ports, and has a hardware level firewall. Please check recommendations.

Reverse DNS (rDNS or RDNS) is a Domain Name Service (DNS) lookup of a domain name from an IP address.

Required Software

This series will be all about free and open-source software if possible.

Terminal Manager

In my case, I will use Termius terminal manager which I highly recommend using. It has everything built in from SSH, sFTP, and SSH key generator. The only downside is, that it is not open-source and advanced features, that I using requires subscription (120$ year).

If you don't want to use it and want to stick to only open-source software, please install following applications or you can stick to your default OS interfaces.

Putty for ssh connections on Windows. Download link.
Reminna for ssh, sftp on Linux. Download link.
Default Terminal for ssh on macOS.
FileZilla for sftp connections on Linux & macOS. Download link.
WinSCP for sftp connections on Windows. Download link.

If you want to stick with one software across all devices with cloud sync, please check Termius terminal manager.

Litespeed License

If you decide to go with the Litespeed Enterprise webserver, you will have to get your free starter license at Litespeed website.

Recommendations

You are free to choose any service provider of your liking, but here are my recommendations, which I am using in my company and never have any issues with.

Compatible Domain Registrars

Porkbun. I will be using Porkbun for this series.
Namecheap
Gandi. EU based domain registrar, but never used their services.

Compatible Server Providers

Hetzner. DPA-protected service provider. Choose from EU and US server locations.

If you choose Linode, starting budget 50€ will not be enough. Recommended budget with Linode is 80€.

Webnestify. Webnestify can provide all necessary infrastructure for you for under 40€/month.

If you rent servers from Webnestify, you don't have to worry about server optimization & security configurations. All our servers are optimized and secured out of the box. Please reach me at this email address to get a special start-up discount and Webnestify benefits!

Server Deployment & Installation| Phase 1

Just an overview of what is to come in future videos.

VPN Deployment | Part 1

VPN server is crucial for securing our environments. We will install and configure Wirehole VPN stack.

Cyberpanel Installation & Configuration | Part 2

Complete installation walkthrough, DNS setup and email configuration. Check Cyberpanel website.

Portainer and Vaultwarden & Configuration | Part 3

To manage our Docker containers in modern GUI and to save sensitive information in open-source password manager. Also we will install NGINX proxy manager and configure backup system.

Learn more about Portainer and Vaultwarden.

Services Deployment & Installation| Phase 2

Crucial services to run in a digital agency.

Adding nodes to Portainer & Nextcloud Installation | Part 1

We will connect our VPN server into the main Portainer server and install Nextcloud AIO.

Nextcloud Configuration | Part 2

Emails, adding users and more tweaks.

Plausible Installation | Part 3

Open-source alternative to Google Analytics.

Learn more about Plausible.

Listmonk Installation | Part 4

Free and open-source newsletter and mailing list manager.

Learn more about Listmonk.

Perfex CRM Installation | Part 5

Open-source CRM system.

Learn more about Perfex CRM.

Bookstack Installation | Part 6

Documentation wiki system for everyone.

Learn more about Bookstack.

Vikunja Installation | Part 7

The open-source, self-hostable to-do app for teams and businesses.

Learn more about Vikunja.

Code Server Installation | Part 8

Code-server is VS Code running on a remote server, accessible through the browser.

Learn more about Code Server.

Additional Services & Installation| Phase 3

Additional services, that are also used by digital agencies.