Guide / Linux
Linux VPS Basics
A practical starting point for maintaining a small Ubuntu VPS.
1. Update the system
Start with package metadata and installed updates. Keeping the base system current reduces the amount of old software that needs to be diagnosed later.
apt update
apt upgrade -y
2. Check the machine
hostnamectl
uptime
free -h
df -h
ip addr
ss -lntup
3. Inspect services
systemd provides a consistent way to inspect and control services.
systemctl --failed
systemctl status nginx
journalctl -u nginx --no-pager -n 100
4. Check network listeners
When a web service is unavailable, first establish which process owns the expected port.
ss -lntup
ss -lntp | grep ':80'
ss -lntp | grep ':443'
5. Keep diagnostics simple
Good troubleshooting usually starts with the smallest useful observation: DNS resolution, TCP connectivity, HTTP response, service status and logs.