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Deploy a Web Application

Deploy a production-ready web application on Octos Cloud. This guide walks through VM provisioning, Nginx setup, SSL configuration, and domain mapping.

Architecture​

User → DNS (yourdomain.com)
       → Octos Cloud Public IP
         → Nginx (reverse proxy, SSL termination)
           → Application (Node.js / Python / PHP)
             → Database (PostgreSQL / MySQL)

Step 1: Provision infrastructure​

Create the VM​

  1. Navigate to Create Virtual Machine in your project
  2. Select Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  3. Choose a plan: gp.medium (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB NVMe) is a solid starting point
  4. Attach to a public network
  5. Add your SSH key
  6. Deploy

Configure the firewall​

Create a security group with the following rules:

DirectionProtocolPortRemote
InboundTCP22Your IP
InboundTCP800.0.0.0/0
InboundTCP4430.0.0.0/0

Step 2: Install your application stack​

SSH into your VM and install dependencies:

# Update packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# Install Node.js (example)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install nodejs -y

# Install PM2 for process management
sudo npm install -g pm2

Deploy your application​

# Clone your repo
git clone https://github.com/your-org/your-app.git /var/www/app
cd /var/www/app

# Install dependencies and build
npm install
npm run build

# Start with PM2
pm2 start npm --name "my-app" -- start
pm2 save
pm2 startup

Step 3: Configure Nginx​

Create a reverse proxy configuration:

# /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 4: Add SSL with Let's Encrypt​

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Certbot will automatically configure Nginx for HTTPS and set up auto-renewal.

Step 5: Point your domain​

Using Octos DNS​

  1. Navigate to DNS Management → Create DNS Domain
  2. Add an A record pointing to your VM's public IP
  3. Update your domain registrar's nameservers to Octos DNS

Using an external DNS provider​

Create an A record with your domain registrar pointing to the VM's public IP address.

Production checklist​

  • Security group restricts SSH to known IPs
  • SSL certificate installed and auto-renewing
  • Application runs via process manager (PM2, systemd)
  • Automated snapshots configured for the VM
  • Monitoring and alerts set up
  • Firewall rules audited

Next steps​