# Infrastructure & Cloud

> Servers, containers, and cloud platforms - where your code actually runs.

12 guides.

- [What a Server Actually Is](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/what-a-server-is) _(beginner)_ - A server is just a computer running a program that waits for requests and answers them - this guide demystifies the word, the role, and the path from a box under a desk to the cloud.
- [SSH & Keys, Explained](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/ssh-and-keys) _(beginner)_ - What SSH actually is (an encrypted remote terminal into another machine), how key pairs replace passwords, and how to live with SSH day to day - config shortcuts, the agent, and the errors that bite everyone.
- [Docker Without the Magic](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/docker-without-the-magic) _(intermediate)_ - What a container actually is, how a Dockerfile builds an image layer by layer, and the gotchas that bite everyone - so 'works on my machine' stops being a thing that happens to you.
- [Docker Compose for Real Projects](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/docker-compose-for-real-projects) _(intermediate)_ - Real apps are several containers at once - web, API, database, cache. Compose declares the whole stack in one file and brings it up with a single command.
- [Deploying to a VPS (From Zero to Live)](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/deploying-to-a-vps) _(intermediate)_ - How to get your app onto a rented Linux box and reachable on the real internet - from spinning up the server and SSHing in, to running your app as a service that survives crashes and reboots, to a domain, a reverse proxy, and HTTPS.
- [Load Balancers & Reverse Proxies (nginx)](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/load-balancers-and-nginx) _(intermediate)_ - What a reverse proxy actually is, why you put nginx in front of your app, how load balancing spreads traffic across instances, and what nginx really does in production - TLS, gzip, caching, and rate limiting.
- [Cloud Platforms, Explained (AWS / GCP / Azure)](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/cloud-platforms-explained) _(intermediate)_ - What 'the cloud' actually sells, the handful of building blocks that matter across AWS, GCP, and Azure, and how to stay sane about bills, permissions, and lock-in.
- [Kubernetes, Explained Without the Hype](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/kubernetes-without-the-hype) _(advanced)_ - What Kubernetes actually does (keeps your declared desired state true across many machines), the handful of objects you really meet - Pod, Deployment, Service, controllers - and a straight answer to whether you need it at all.
- [Ship Your Side Project to the Internet](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/ship-your-side-project) _(intermediate)_ - The full journey from 'it works on my laptop' to 'a stranger can use it at a real URL' - pick a VPS, SSH in, run it with Docker, point a domain, put it behind Cloudflare, and auto-deploy on merge - with every first-time gotcha flagged.
- [Backups and Disaster Recovery](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/backups-and-disaster-recovery) _(intermediate)_ - The 3-2-1 rule, RPO and RTO, and the one practice that matters most: actually testing the restore before the disaster forces you to.
- [Object Storage (S3)](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/object-storage-s3) _(intermediate)_ - Buckets, keys, and signed URLs - how cloud object storage really works, what it is good and bad at, and the public-bucket leak that makes the news.
- [Auto-Scaling, Explained](https://themissingmanual.dev/guides/auto-scaling-explained) _(intermediate)_ - Why fixed capacity always loses to real traffic, how auto-scaling decides when to add or remove servers, and the gotchas that catch teams who turn it on and walk away without a load balancer.