Hosting is responsible for the hardware being on. Everything above — versions, backups, access, updates and a response at night — belongs to the owner. We take that on.
01AuditWhat runs, which versions, where backups live and who has access — including forgotten contractors
02AccessThe access list is reviewed: extras revoked, key-based login enabled, password login closed
03BackupsA schedule, off-server storage and — crucially — a test restore
04MonitoringNot just “the server responds”, but the site, the mail and the data exchange as well
05UpdatesApplied on a schedule, in an agreed window, with a rollback path
06The procedureWhat counts as critical, how fast we respond and who decides at night
THE FIRST MONTH
How a server comes under management
ops.vmtech.rs
Onboarding: web-01
OK
Audit
3 risks found
Access
key-based access
Backups
restore in 14 min
Monitoring
12 checks
Updates
window: Sun 03:00
The procedure
under management
AuditWhat runs, which versions, where backups live and who has access — including forgotten contractors
AccessThe access list is reviewed: extras revoked, key-based login enabled, password login closed
BackupsA schedule, off-server storage and — crucially — a test restore
MonitoringNot just “the server responds”, but the site, the mail and the data exchange as well
UpdatesApplied on a schedule, in an agreed window, with a rollback path
The procedureWhat counts as critical, how fast we respond and who decides at night
WHAT WE MOST OFTEN FIND
The usual state of an unattended server
Before onboarding
Backups are configured, but not one has ever been restored as a test
System and application versions have not been updated in years — “it works, don't touch it”
Password login is exposed, and the logs show brute-force attempts
The certificate is renewed by hand, and one day it is forgotten
A staging copy lives on the same server and gets indexed by search engines
After onboarding
Backups are verified by restore, and the recovery time is a known number
Updates run on a schedule, in a window, with services verified afterwards
Key-based login only, extra access revoked, actions recorded
Certificates renew automatically, with expiry watched by monitoring
Production and staging are separated, and staging is closed to indexing
WHAT THE SERVICE COVERS
Scope of work
Onboarding audit
An inventory of services, versions, access and backups with a list of risks and priorities.
Environment setup
Web server, database, cache, queues and separation of production from staging.
Backups
Schedule, retention, an off-server copy and regular restore verification.
Monitoring and alerts
Availability, resources, certificates and key services, alerting the on-call engineer.
Security
Updates, restricted access, brute-force protection and review of suspicious activity.
Incident response
A procedure with priorities and timings: what counts as critical for your business.
Migrations and scaling
Moving to another provider, adding resources and splitting load as you grow.
Reporting
What happened over the month, which incidents occurred and what prevents a repeat.
TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE
What we work with
LinuxWeb servers, databases, queues and background jobsWeb server and databaseTuned for the load, with caching and sensible limits instead of defaultsTLSCertificates with automatic renewal and expiry trackingOff-server backupsStored away from the main site, so a copy survives losing itMonitoringService checks, warning thresholds and metric historyLogsCollection and rotation, so incidents are diagnosed from facts
The server, the domain and the hosting are registered to your company. We receive access for the work, actions are recorded, and you can revoke access at any point without losing the infrastructure.
QUESTIONS
What people usually ask
We pay for hosting. Why also pay for administration?
Hosting guarantees the server is powered and the network works. Updates, configuration, backups, mail and incident response are outside that. The difference shows during an outage: the provider will confirm the hardware is fine, and nobody will be there to restore data and bring services back.
How fast do you respond to an outage?
Response times are set out before the work starts and depend on what is critical for you: for a store that is taking orders, for a clinic it is booking. Monitoring runs around the clock, and critical checks page the on-call engineer immediately rather than in the morning.
Do you only manage your own projects?
No, we take over other people's too. We start with an audit: you have to know what runs and in what state before accepting responsibility for uptime. If we find something cheaper to rebuild than to repair, we say so immediately with an estimate for both routes.
What if we decide to leave?
The infrastructure is yours from the start: server, domain and accounts are registered to the company. On parting we hand over documentation, diagrams and access and, if needed, help the next team get up to speed. We keep no keys to the flat.
Do we need to move to another server?
Not necessarily. Often it is enough to put order into what already runs. We propose a move when the current environment cannot deliver — no provider-side backups, or resources that no longer match growth. The recommendation always comes with numbers rather than generalities.
Hosting is responsible for the hardware being on. Everything above — versions, backups, access, updates and a response at night — belongs to the owner. We take that on.