Brennan Blog

Technical blog about cloud computing, DevOps, and personal projects

Welcome to My Cloud Infrastructure Journey

Welcome to My Cloud Infrastructure Journey

Welcome to my technical blog! This is the first post on my newly deployed cloud infrastructure running on DigitalOcean. In this post, I’ll share the journey of setting up a complete personal cloud platform from scratch.

What This Blog Covers

This blog will document my adventures in:

  • Cloud Computing: Building and managing infrastructure on DigitalOcean
  • DevOps Practices: Docker, CI/CD, automation, and monitoring
  • Personal Projects: Blogging, media servers, and cloud storage
  • Technical Challenges: Troubleshooting and problem-solving
  • Performance Optimization: Making the most of limited resources

The Infrastructure Stack

My current setup includes:

  • Droplet: DigitalOcean 2GB RAM, 70GB SSD, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
  • Containerization: Docker + Docker Compose for service orchestration
  • Web Services: Nginx reverse proxy with SSL/TLS
  • Monitoring: Grafana + Prometheus for system metrics
  • Storage: Nextcloud for personal cloud storage
  • Media: Jellyfin for media streaming
  • CI/CD: GitLab Runner for automated deployments

Why This Matters

This isn’t just about hosting a blog—it’s about building a complete, production-ready cloud infrastructure that showcases:

  • Technical Skills: System administration, networking, security
  • DevOps Expertise: Containerization, automation, monitoring
  • Problem Solving: Real-world troubleshooting and optimization
  • Cost Management: Making the most of GitHub Education credits
  • Best Practices: Security, performance, and reliability

What’s Next

In upcoming posts, I’ll dive deeper into:

  1. SSL/TLS Implementation: Setting up Let’s Encrypt certificates
  2. Service Configuration: Nextcloud, Jellyfin, and Grafana setup
  3. Monitoring Setup: Creating meaningful dashboards
  4. Performance Tuning: Optimizing for 2GB RAM constraint
  5. Backup Strategies: Automated backup systems
  6. Security Hardening: Firewall, SSH, and access control

Join the Journey

Whether you’re learning about cloud computing, interested in DevOps, or just curious about building personal infrastructure, I hope you’ll find value in sharing this journey.

Feel free to explore the live infrastructure at brennan.page and check out the status dashboard to see all the services running in real-time!


This is just the beginning of an exciting cloud computing adventure. Stay tuned for more technical deep-dives and practical insights!