DigitalOcean Deployment

Table of Contents

Documentation - This article is part of a series.

Part 4: This Article

🌊 DigitalOcean Droplet Deployment
#

Deploy SSP Server on DigitalOcean with our optimized one-click installation process. This guide covers everything from droplet creation to production-ready configuration.

📋 Minimal Requirements
#

For a production-ready SSP Server deployment on DigitalOcean, use the following droplet specification:

Droplet Size: ubuntu-s-2vcpu-4gb (2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM)
Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or later
Storage: 80GB+ SSD (minimum 64GB recommended)
Network: Standard networking with IPv4
Region: Choose closest to your target audience

🚀 Step-by-Step Installation
#

1. Create and Access Your Droplet
#

# SSH into your droplet as root
ssh root@your-droplet-ip

2. Prepare Installation Directory
#

# Navigate to the optimal installation directory
cd /opt/

# Create SSP Server directory (if not exists)
mkdir -p sspserver
cd sspserver

3. Run One-Click Installation
#

Interactive Installation (Recommended for first-time setup):

bash <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sspserver/deploy/refs/heads/main/standalone/install.sh)

Automated Installation with default settings:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sspserver/deploy/refs/heads/main/standalone/install.sh | bash -s -- -y

📊 Installation Process Overview
#

The installer will automatically:

System Check: Verify OS (Ubuntu), architecture (x86_64), CPU (2+ cores), RAM (4GB+), and storage (64GB+)
Dependency Installation: Install curl, unzip, jq, git, build-essential, ca-certificates
Docker Setup: Install Docker CE and configure container runtime
Service Configuration: Download and configure SSP Server services
Environment Setup: Configure domains and environment variables
Service Start: Start all SSP Server components via systemd

📝 Expected Installation Output
#

16-11-2025 10:22:04 [INFO] System Information:
OS Name: linux (6.11.0-9-generic)
OS Type: ubuntu-s-2vcpu-4gb-fra1-01-demossp
OS Arch: x86_64
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] Check OS [ubuntu]
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] Check architecture [x86_64]
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] Check CPU [2]
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] Check RAM [3.82 GB]
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] Free storage check [64.94 GB] in /var/lib
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [OK] All checks passed. Proceeding with the installation...

===============================================

16-11-2025 10:22:04 [INFO] Ready to download and execute OS-specific installation script.
16-11-2025 10:22:04 [INFO] This will install SSP Server and all required dependencies.

Do you want to continue with the installation? [y/N]: y
16-11-2025 10:22:10 [INFO] Starting installation...
16-11-2025 10:22:21 [OK] SSP service started successfully

⚙️ Post-Installation Configuration
#

After successful installation, your SSP Server will be running with these default domains:

API Domain: api.sspserver.org
Control Panel: control.sspserver.org
SSP Endpoint: ssp.sspserver.org

🛡️ DigitalOcean Specific Configuration
#

Firewall Setup
#

Configure DigitalOcean firewall to allow necessary traffic:

# Using DigitalOcean Cloud Firewall (recommended)
# Allow HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) inbound traffic
# Allow SSH (22) for administration

# Or using UFW on the droplet
ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH
ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP
ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS
ufw enable

Domain Configuration
#

Point your domains to the droplet’s public IP address via DNS A records
Update environment variables in /opt/sspserver/.env with your custom domains
Restart services after domain changes:

systemctl restart sspserver

💡 Pro Tip: For enhanced performance, security, and SSL management, consider using Cloudflare as your DNS provider. See our Cloudflare Configuration Guide for complete setup instructions including DNS records, SSL certificates, and performance optimizations.

SSL Certificates
#

For production deployments, set up SSL certificates:

# Install Certbot for Let's Encrypt
apt update && apt install -y certbot

# Generate certificates for your domains
certbot certonly --standalone -d your-api-domain.com
certbot certonly --standalone -d your-control-domain.com
certbot certonly --standalone -d your-ssp-domain.com

📈 Monitoring and Maintenance
#

Resource Monitoring
#

Enable DigitalOcean monitoring for your droplet:

CPU usage tracking
Memory utilization
Disk I/O monitoring
Network traffic analysis

Automated Backups
#

Set up automated backups:

DigitalOcean Snapshots: Enable weekly automated snapshots
Database Backups: Configure PostgreSQL backups
Configuration Backups: Backup /opt/sspserver/ directory

# Manual backup command
tar -czf sspserver-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /opt/sspserver/

✅ Verification and Testing
#

Service Status Check
#

# Check if SSP Server is running
systemctl status sspserver

# View installation logs
tail -f /var/log/sspserver/sspserver_1click_standalone.log

# Check Docker containers
docker ps

# Check all services are healthy
docker-compose -f /opt/sspserver/docker-compose.yml ps

Health Endpoints
#

Test your SSP Server endpoints:

# Test API endpoint
curl -I http://your-droplet-ip:8080/health

# Test Control Panel
curl -I http://your-droplet-ip:3000

# Test SSP endpoint
curl -I http://your-droplet-ip:8090/health

🔧 Troubleshooting
#

Common DigitalOcean Issues
#

Port Access Issues: Check DigitalOcean firewall settings
Domain Resolution: Verify DNS A records point to droplet IP
Resource Constraints: Monitor CPU/RAM usage in DigitalOcean dashboard
Docker Issues: Restart Docker service if containers fail

Debug Commands
#

# Check droplet resources
free -h                    # Memory usage
df -h                     # Disk usage
top                       # CPU usage

# Check network connectivity
netstat -tuln             # Open ports
curl -I http://localhost:8080  # Local connectivity test

# Check SSP Server logs
journalctl -u sspserver -f    # Service logs
docker logs sspserver_api_1   # Container logs

🔄 Updates and Scaling
#

Updating SSP Server
#

# Re-run installation script to update
cd /opt/sspserver
bash <(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sspserver/deploy/refs/heads/main/standalone/install.sh)

Scaling Options
#

Vertical Scaling: Resize droplet to larger configuration
Load Balancer: Use DigitalOcean Load Balancer for multiple droplets
Database: Consider DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL for production

💰 Cost Optimization
#

Right-sizing: Monitor resource usage and adjust droplet size
Reserved Instances: Use DigitalOcean reserved pricing for long-term deployments
Snapshots: Regular snapshots for disaster recovery
Monitoring: Set up alerts for unusual resource usage