https://server.express/blog Straight answers about hosting, servers and networks, written by the people who run ours. en-gb Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://server.express/blog/shared-hosting-or-vps https://server.express/blog/shared-hosting-or-vps The honest version: most websites don't need a VPS, and most applications shouldn't be on shared hosting. Here's where the line actually falls. Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/what-is-a-vps https://server.express/blog/what-is-a-vps A VPS is a private slice of a physical server with its own OS and root access. Here's how the virtualisation works, what you control, and how to size one. Thu, 05 Nov 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/what-is-colocation https://server.express/blog/what-is-colocation Colocation means you own the servers and rent the rack space, power, cooling and network around them. What a U is, what remote hands does, and the break-even. Thu, 05 Nov 2026 09:00:00 GMT Colocation Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/website-slow-how-to-diagnose https://server.express/blog/website-slow-how-to-diagnose Why is my website slow? Work through DNS, network, server, application and browser in order, measuring each layer, and you'll find the answer in twenty minutes. Tue, 03 Nov 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/what-is-a-dedicated-server https://server.express/blog/what-is-a-dedicated-server A dedicated server is one physical machine rented to one customer, with nothing virtualised. What unmanaged means, how IPMI works, and when it beats a VPS. Tue, 03 Nov 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/high-load-average-linux https://server.express/blog/high-load-average-linux Load average isn't CPU percentage, which is why everyone misreads it. Here's what high load average on Linux measures, and how to find what's causing yours. Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/raid-levels-explained-for-servers https://server.express/blog/raid-levels-explained-for-servers RAID levels explained for real servers — usable capacity, fault tolerance and write penalty per level, the rebuild-window problem, and why RAID is not a backup. Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/nvme-vs-ssd-vs-hdd-for-servers https://server.express/blog/nvme-vs-ssd-vs-hdd-for-servers NVMe vs SSD vs HDD explained by IOPS, throughput and latency — why p99 write latency decides your database, and when spinning disks still win. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/when-to-move-from-vps-to-dedicated-server https://server.express/blog/when-to-move-from-vps-to-dedicated-server The real signals that you've outgrown a VPS — sustained CPU, IOPS ceilings, per-core licensing — and the honest counter-case for staying put. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/ipv6-for-server-admins https://server.express/blog/ipv6-for-server-admins A working IPv6 setup for your server: why you get a /48, SLAAC vs static, firewalling v6 properly, reverse DNS and the Docker traps. With real commands. Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Network Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/reverse-dns-ptr-records-explained https://server.express/blog/reverse-dns-ptr-records-explained What a reverse DNS PTR record is, why mail servers refuse you without one, how forward-confirmed rDNS works, and how delegation works for a /24 and an IPv6 /48. Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Network Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/how-to-choose-a-web-host https://server.express/blog/how-to-choose-a-web-host How to choose a web host: the six questions that predict whether you will still be happy in two years — renewals, migrations, restores, support, exit. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/uptime-sla-what-the-numbers-mean https://server.express/blog/uptime-sla-what-the-numbers-mean What does 99.9% uptime mean in real minutes? A conversion table, what an SLA credit is really worth, and the exclusions in every SLA you will sign. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Business Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/amd-epyc-vs-intel-xeon-for-hosting https://server.express/blog/amd-epyc-vs-intel-xeon-for-hosting AMD EPYC vs Intel Xeon for hosting, argued on memory channels, NUMA, PCIe lanes and power per useful core — not on spec-sheet core counts. Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/data-centre-power-redundancy-explained https://server.express/blog/data-centre-power-redundancy-explained What data centre power redundancy really means — N, N+1, 2N, A+B feeds — what a single-corded server does to it, and how to test the whole chain honestly. Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Colocation Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/hosting-migration-checklist https://server.express/blog/hosting-migration-checklist A complete website migration checklist — DNS inventory, TTL, email and MX, SSL, cron and a rollback plan — from the person who reads the tickets. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/server-colocation-costs-explained https://server.express/blog/server-colocation-costs-explained A line-by-line breakdown of colocation costs — rack units, power commit vs metered, cross-connects, transit and remote hands — with a worked half-rack example. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Colocation Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/ddos-attack-types-explained https://server.express/blog/ddos-attack-types-explained The types of DDoS attacks explained by what they exhaust: bandwidth, connection tables or your application. Plus which defence actually works against each. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Security Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/hidden-costs-of-cheap-hosting https://server.express/blog/hidden-costs-of-cheap-hosting The hidden costs of cheap hosting, added up: renewal cliffs, paid backups and migrations, per-site SSL, overage — with a three-year total cost table. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Business Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/bgp-explained-for-hosting-customers https://server.express/blog/bgp-explained-for-hosting-customers BGP explained without the textbook: what an AS is, how routes spread, why traffic to a neighbour country goes via Frankfurt, and what running an AS buys you. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Network Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/self-host-ghost-blog https://server.express/blog/self-host-ghost-blog Self-host Ghost on a VPS with Docker, MySQL and working email. Full compose file, the url setting that breaks everything, newsletters, themes and backups. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/website-speed-and-server-location https://server.express/blog/website-speed-and-server-location Does server location affect website speed? Yes — but only for round trips. Here's the latency maths, when a CDN erases the problem, and when it genuinely can't. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/wordpress-hosting-requirements https://server.express/blog/wordpress-hosting-requirements The real WordPress hosting requirements — PHP version, memory limit, opcache, object cache, database sizing — plus how to tell if it is the host or the plugins. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/how-to-read-a-traceroute https://server.express/blog/how-to-read-a-traceroute How to read a traceroute properly: why middle hops lie, what ICMP rate limiting looks like, and what to send support instead of "your network is slow". Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Network Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/self-host-uptime-kuma-monitoring https://server.express/blog/self-host-uptime-kuma-monitoring Set up self-hosted uptime monitoring with Uptime Kuma and Docker: notifications that reach you, sane check intervals, status pages, and where to put the monitor. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/self-host-gitea-git-server https://server.express/blog/self-host-gitea-git-server Run your own Git server with Gitea and Docker: compose file, SSH on a second port, CI runners, storage sizing, and pulling your repos across from GitHub. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/ssh-connection-refused-fix https://server.express/blog/ssh-connection-refused-fix SSH connection refused, timed out and permission denied are three different failures with three different causes. Here's how to tell them apart and fix each. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/securing-a-new-linux-server https://server.express/blog/securing-a-new-linux-server The eight steps that actually secure a new Linux server: SSH keys, a non-root user, firewall defaults, auto updates. Why most guides give you forty. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Security Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/what-is-ssh-and-how-to-use-it https://server.express/blog/what-is-ssh-and-how-to-use-it SSH is the encrypted way you log into a server's command line. Keys beat passwords, here's how to make one on any OS, plus the four errors everyone hits. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/502-bad-gateway-nginx-fix https://server.express/blog/502-bad-gateway-nginx-fix A 502 bad gateway in nginx means your upstream failed, not nginx. Here's how to read the error log and fix the five causes that account for nearly all of them. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/self-host-grafana-and-prometheus https://server.express/blog/self-host-grafana-and-prometheus A working Grafana and Prometheus stack in Docker: node_exporter, scrape config, retention and what it costs in disk, a first dashboard, and alerts that don't cry wolf. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/linux-server-out-of-memory-oom https://server.express/blog/linux-server-out-of-memory-oom Something died and dmesg says "Killed process". Here's how to find what the Linux OOM killer took, why free -m looks worse than it is, and how to stop it. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/windows-vps-hosting-guide https://server.express/blog/windows-vps-hosting-guide A practical guide to Windows VPS hosting — SPLA vs your own licence, why 2 GB of RAM isn't enough, hardening RDP properly, and when Windows beats Linux. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/how-many-chrome-instances-fit-on-a-9950x https://server.express/blog/how-many-chrome-instances-fit-on-a-9950x Measuring Chrome density properly: why resident memory double-counts, the flags that change the answer, the knee where page loads fall apart, and the rig it ran on. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hardware Tim Hartland https://server.express/blog/cheap-vps-what-you-actually-get https://server.express/blog/cheap-vps-what-you-actually-get A cheap VPS can be honest or it can be hollow. Here's the arithmetic behind a £5 plan, what gets quietly cut to hit that price, and what should never be cut. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/vps-vs-shared-hosting-vs-dedicated https://server.express/blog/vps-vs-shared-hosting-vs-dedicated A straight comparison of VPS vs shared hosting vs dedicated server across cost, control, isolation and scaling — and the honest signals that you've outgrown each one. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/how-much-ram-does-a-vps-need https://server.express/blog/how-much-ram-does-a-vps-need Real memory footprints for WordPress, Postgres, Node, Docker, Minecraft and GitLab — plus why your VPS showing 90% RAM used is almost certainly fine. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/kvm-vs-openvz-vs-lxc https://server.express/blog/kvm-vs-openvz-vs-lxc KVM vs OpenVZ vs LXC, explained by what each one shares with the neighbours — the kernel, the page cache, and why free -m lies to you inside a container. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Chris Maywood https://server.express/blog/dedicated-vcpu-vs-shared-vcpu https://server.express/blog/dedicated-vcpu-vs-shared-vcpu Dedicated vCPU vs shared vCPU, and how to prove which one you bought — steal time, CPU credits, noisy neighbours, and the words on a spec sheet that give it away. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT VPS Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/self-host-paperless-ngx-documents https://server.express/blog/self-host-paperless-ngx-documents Run Paperless-ngx on a VPS with Docker: compose file, OCR language packs, the consume folder and scanner workflows, tagging rules, and backups you can restore. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/disk-full-on-server-what-to-delete https://server.express/blog/disk-full-on-server-what-to-delete Your Linux disk is full and df and du disagree. Here's how to find the space, what's safe to delete, and the lsof trick that recovers it when du shows nothing. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/self-host-plausible-analytics https://server.express/blog/self-host-plausible-analytics Self-host Plausible analytics with Docker, ClickHouse and Postgres. Full compose file, proxying the script through your own domain, retention and the privacy position. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/self-host-n8n-on-a-vps https://server.express/blog/self-host-n8n-on-a-vps Self-host n8n with Docker Compose, Postgres and automatic HTTPS — including the WEBHOOK_URL setting that silently breaks every webhook you build. Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/self-host-vaultwarden-password-manager https://server.express/blog/self-host-vaultwarden-password-manager How to self-host Vaultwarden with Docker Compose — TLS the clients will actually accept, a hashed admin token, signups locked down, and a backup you can restore. Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/caddy-vs-nginx-reverse-proxy https://server.express/blog/caddy-vs-nginx-reverse-proxy Caddy vs Nginx as a reverse proxy — automatic TLS against certbot, the same site configured both ways, and an honest answer on which one is actually faster. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/self-host-nextcloud-guide https://server.express/blog/self-host-nextcloud-guide Self-host Nextcloud with Docker Compose, Postgres and Redis — the PHP limits everyone hits, the cron job everyone skips, and honest advice on sizing the server. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Hannah Davies https://server.express/blog/backup-strategy-for-a-vps https://server.express/blog/backup-strategy-for-a-vps A practical VPS backup strategy for one small server: 3-2-1 without a second site, snapshots vs dumps vs file backups, restic worked through, and how to test a restore. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/docker-compose-for-self-hosting-beginners https://server.express/blog/docker-compose-for-self-hosting-beginners A practical docker compose tutorial for people self-hosting apps on a VPS: services, volumes, networks, .env files, healthchecks, and how to read the logs when nothing starts. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/how-to-self-host-immich https://server.express/blog/how-to-self-host-immich Google Photos wants £8 a month and your photos held hostage. Here's how to run your own library on a VPS instead — one-click, or by hand with every command. Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guides Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/move-your-site-without-downtime https://server.express/blog/move-your-site-without-downtime A migration is mostly waiting for DNS. Here's the order of operations that keeps your site up while you do it. Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Hosting Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/what-unmetered-actually-means https://server.express/blog/what-unmetered-actually-means Unmetered, unlimited and fair use are three different promises. Only one of them survives contact with a busy month. Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT Network Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/ddos-mitigation-in-plain-english https://server.express/blog/ddos-mitigation-in-plain-english What an attack actually does, why "we'll null-route you" is not protection, and what to ask a host before you need the answer. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Security Gositha Ranadewa https://server.express/blog/what-to-look-for-in-a-premium-colocation-provider https://server.express/blog/what-to-look-for-in-a-premium-colocation-provider Power, network, remote hands, transparency — the signals that separate a premium colocation provider from a cheap cage rental. Wed, 27 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT Colocation Gositha Ranadewa