So… did I actually get through all the things I planned last week? Honestly? Kind of — and then early Thursday morning… boom. Out of nowhere, another server went down. This time, I hadn’t even touched it. That’s the part that really stings.
This is exactly why I host my own infrastructure now. I’m just so tired of relying on people who clearly don’t have the technical skills to handle things properly. The server completely stopped responding via terminal. I tried everything — rebooting, rescue mode, you name it. Nothing. I figured maybe it was just maintenance, so I opened a support ticket.
Their response?
“You can unlock your port 22 this way…”
Really? How am I supposed to unlock port 22 when I can’t even access the terminal? Absolute madness. That kind of answer just fuels the frustration. It’s been years of this — and every time something like this happens, it reinforces why I do what I do. If they can’t fix it properly, I’ll do it myself to the best of my ability.
And of course, when that server went down, it took multiple sites with it — including NodeDawnGroup, The Dawn Shift, and Kalye De Manila. Thankfully, I had a backup of Kalye, so nothing critical was lost. But still. That moment of helplessness hits hard.
Yesterday, after the school run, I sat down at 9:30am and didn’t move from my desk until 2:45pm. I rebuilt the server from scratch, sorted out all the DNS records, and managed to get everything back up and running — with SSL fully working too. That part felt good, even if it came with a heavy dose of fatigue.
In terms of a longer-term solution, I think I’ve found one for the bigger client sites. I’ve decided to use a Webuzo panel to migrate from their current host. I don’t love it — it’s basically CPanel with a slightly more technical twist — but for now, it’ll do. It gives me control without forcing me to do a messy full migration or take on hosting those clients myself.
Meanwhile, the heat has been brutal. It’s been over 30°C, and none of us slept well last night. I maybe got an hour of sleep, tops, before jumping back into the chaos today. My left hand — especially around the thumb — is absolutely throbbing. I’m pretty sure I’ve pulled something with all this constant typing and server work.
And just to top it all off, I’ve got three websites to rebrand and redeploy this weekend. Oh, and tomorrow’s supposed to be 33°C. At this rate, the fan is going to be permanently glued to the wall. I’m also trying to learn how to automate backups with my server panel, but I don’t want to add any extra costs — so it looks like I’ll be doing it manually for now. Fun!
Still, it’s not all bad news. I finally got around to updating one of my flagship client sites — Audio Force Radio. I made some long-overdue changes to the page structure so it’s easier for everyone to manage and update going forward. One of those “we should’ve done it this way from the start” kind of moments, but hey — you live, you learn, and then you refine.
So yeah — that’s the week. Not exactly smooth sailing, but we’re still moving forward. Fingers crossed for a quieter, more productive stretch ahead. 🤞💛
P.S. Want more of the raw, behind-the-scenes stuff I don’t always post here? Subscribe to Dawn Uncut—the unfiltered version of what’s happening at my desk at 1AM.