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Infrastructure Overview

Overview​

This document provides an overview of our infrastructure, server architecture, and key systems.

Infrastructure Stack​

Web Hosting​

Platform: DirectAdmin on Linux servers

Servers:

  • Location: UK data centers
  • Specifications: [Add specs]
  • Operating System: [CentOS/AlmaLinux/etc.]
  • Panel: DirectAdmin (Reseller account)

Key Services:

  • Apache/Nginx web server
  • PHP (multiple versions)
  • MySQL/MariaDB databases
  • FTP/SFTP
  • SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt)

Backup System:

  • Daily automated backups
  • Retention: [X days]
  • Storage location: [Location]

Email Service​

Platform: SmarterMail

Server:

Components:

  • SmarterMail webmail interface
  • Built-in SMTP server
  • IMAP/POP3 support
  • Integrated spam filtering
  • Antivirus protection

Features:

  • DKIM signing
  • SPF validation
  • DMARC reporting
  • Greylisting
  • Rate limiting

Discord Bot Hosting​

Platform: Pterodactyl Panel

Server:

  • Location: [Location]
  • Panel URL: [Panel URL]
  • Node: [Node name/IP]

Supported Languages:

  • Node.js
  • Python
  • Java

Management:

  • Resource allocation per plan
  • Console access for clients
  • File management
  • Backup system

DNS​

Nameservers:

  • ns1.alfieweb.com
  • ns2.alfieweb.com

Management:

  • Via DirectAdmin
  • Cloudflare (for some domains)

Domain Management​

Registrar(s): [List registrars used]

Management:

  • WHMCS integration
  • Manual registration where needed

Access & Credentials​

Security

All credentials stored in password manager. Never share passwords in plain text.

Password Manager: [Tool name and URL]

Stored in password manager:

  • DirectAdmin reseller/admin credentials
  • SmarterMail admin credentials
  • Pterodactyl admin credentials
  • Server root/SSH access
  • WHM/cPanel (if applicable)
  • Registrar accounts
  • Cloudflare accounts
  • WHMCS admin access
  • Database credentials

Monitoring​

Server Monitoring​

Uptime Monitoring:

  • Tool: [Uptime Robot / Pingdom / other]
  • Monitors: HTTP/HTTPS response, ping, port checks
  • Alerts: Email/SMS when service down

Resource Monitoring:

  • CPU usage
  • RAM usage
  • Disk space
  • Bandwidth usage
  • Load averages

Alerts configured for:

  • Service downtime
  • High resource usage (>80%)
  • Disk space warnings (>85% full)
  • Failed backups
  • Security alerts

Application Monitoring​

Web Hosting:

  • DirectAdmin system monitoring
  • Apache/PHP error logs
  • Database performance
  • Client resource usage

Email:

  • SmarterMail dashboard
  • Queue size
  • Spam score trends
  • Delivery rates

Bot Hosting:

  • Pterodactyl dashboard
  • Node resource usage
  • Active servers count

Maintenance Windows​

Regular Maintenance:

  • Time: [e.g., 2-4 AM GMT]
  • Frequency: [Weekly/Monthly]
  • Notification: Advance notice to clients if impactful

Emergency Maintenance:

  • Performed as needed
  • Client notification within 1 hour
  • Status updates every 30 minutes during work

Backup Procedures​

Web Hosting Backups​

Automated:

  • Frequency: Daily
  • Time: [e.g., 3 AM GMT]
  • Retention: [7/14/30 days]
  • Includes: Files, databases, email (if hosted)

Manual backups:

  • Before major changes
  • Before account migrations
  • On client request

Restoration:

  • Via DirectAdmin backup restoration
  • Typical time: 15-30 minutes depending on size
  • Test restore quarterly to verify

Email Backups​

Automated:

  • Frequency: [Daily/Weekly]
  • Includes: Mailboxes, settings, DNS config
  • Retention: [X days]

Restoration:

  • Via SmarterMail backup feature
  • Individual mailbox or full system restore

Bot Hosting Backups​

Automated:

  • Frequency: [Daily/Weekly]
  • Per-server basis
  • Client-initiated also available

Manual:

  • Before updates
  • On client request before deletion

Backup Verification​

Monthly check:

  • Verify backups are completing
  • Test restoration on sample account
  • Check backup integrity
  • Verify backup storage not full

Security​

Server Hardening​

Applied on all servers:

  • SSH key authentication (password auth disabled)
  • Firewall (CSF, UFW, or similar)
  • Fail2ban for brute force protection
  • Regular security updates
  • Minimal open ports
  • SELinux/AppArmor

Web Hosting Security:

  • ClamAV antivirus scanning
  • ModSecurity WAF
  • SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt auto-renewal)
  • PHP security settings
  • File permission enforcement

Email Security:

  • Spam filtering (Rspamd)
  • Virus scanning (ClamAV)
  • DKIM signing
  • Rate limiting
  • Greylisting
  • Blacklist monitoring

SSL Certificates​

Let's Encrypt:

  • Auto-renewal every 90 days
  • Wildcard certs where needed
  • Renewal monitoring

Monitoring:

  • Certificate expiry alerts
  • Renewal failure notifications

Security Updates​

Frequency:

  • Security patches: As released (critical within 24-48hrs)
  • Regular updates: Monthly maintenance window
  • Panel updates: After testing, during maintenance

Process:

  1. Review update notes
  2. Test in staging if major
  3. Schedule maintenance window
  4. Take pre-update backup
  5. Apply updates
  6. Verify services operational
  7. Monitor for issues

Network & Connectivity​

DDoS Protection​

Level: [Basic/Advanced/Enterprise]

Features:

  • Traffic filtering
  • Rate limiting
  • Attack mitigation
  • Clean pipe routing (if available)

Bandwidth​

Allocation:

  • Web Hosting: Unmetered/[X TB]
  • Email: Unmetered
  • Bot Hosting: [X TB] per node

Monitoring:

  • Usage tracking
  • Alerts for excessive usage
  • Traffic analysis for anomalies

Scalability​

Horizontal Scaling​

Web Hosting:

  • Add additional DirectAdmin servers
  • Load balancing (if implemented)
  • DNS round-robin

Bot Hosting:

  • Add Pterodactyl nodes
  • Distribute load across nodes

Vertical Scaling​

Resources can be upgraded:

  • CPU cores
  • RAM
  • Disk space
  • Bandwidth

Process:

  • Schedule downtime
  • Upgrade resources
  • Test services
  • Update documentation

Disaster Recovery​

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)​

Target time to restore services:

  • Critical services: 2-4 hours
  • Standard services: 4-8 hours
  • Non-critical: 24 hours

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)​

Acceptable data loss:

  • Daily backups = up to 24 hours of data
  • Database replication (if implemented) = minutes

DR Plan​

In case of server failure:

  1. Assess situation

    • What failed?
    • Scope of impact?
    • Can it be fixed quickly?

  2. Communication

    • Alert clients immediately
    • Provide ETA if known
    • Update regularly

  3. Recovery

    • Restore from backup, OR
    • Failover to backup server, OR
    • Provision new server and restore

  4. Verification

    • Test all services
    • Verify data integrity
    • Confirm client access

  5. Post-mortem

    • Document what happened
    • Identify prevention measures
    • Update procedures

Documentation​

Keep updated:

  • Server specifications
  • IP addresses
  • Access credentials (in password manager)
  • Service configurations
  • Network topology
  • Contact information for providers

Useful Commands​

Server Status​

# Check disk space
df -h

# Check memory usage
free -m

# Check CPU and load
top
htop

# Check running services
systemctl status [service-name]

# Check logs
tail -f /var/log/messages
journalctl -f

DirectAdmin​

# Restart DirectAdmin
systemctl restart directadmin

# Check DirectAdmin status
systemctl status directadmin

# View DirectAdmin logs
tail -f /var/log/directadmin/error.log

SmarterMail​

# Check SmarterMail service status
systemctl status smartermail

# Restart SmarterMail
systemctl restart smartermail

# View logs
tail -f /opt/SmarterMail/Logs/[log-file].log

Pterodactyl​

# Panel maintenance mode
php artisan down
php artisan up

# Clear cache
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:clear

Contact Information​

Data Center / Hosting Provider:

  • Name: [Provider name]
  • Support: [Contact info]
  • Emergency: [Emergency contact]

Domain Registrar(s):

  • [Registrar]: [Contact info]

DNS Provider:

  • [Provider]: [Contact info]

Escalation:

  • For infrastructure emergencies, contact Tom or Alfie immediately

Quick Reference​

ServicePanel URLAdmin AccessMonitoring
Web Hostinghttps://da.alfieweb.com:2222DirectAdmin reseller[Monitoring tool]
Emailhttps://mail.alfieweb.com/adminSmarterMail adminSmarterMail dashboard
Bot Hosting[Panel URL]Pterodactyl adminPterodactyl dashboard
Client Portalhttps://portal.alfieweb.comWHMCS adminN/A

Last updated: [Date] Document owner: [Tom/Alfie]