Hostinger VPS Hosting Guide 2025

1. Configure NGINX for Optimal Performance

Edit your NGINX configuration file to optimize performance:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add or modify these settings:

worker_processes auto;
worker_connections 1024;
keepalive_timeout 65;
gzip on;
gzip_comp_level 6;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

Then restart NGINX:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

2. Set Up Caching

Implement NGINX caching to improve performance:

sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/nginx
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/cache.conf

Add the following configuration:

proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx levels=1:2 keys_zone=STATIC:10m inactive=24h max_size=1g;
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    
    location / {
        proxy_cache STATIC;
        proxy_cache_valid 200 1d;
        proxy_cache_use_stale error timeout updating http_500 http_502 http_503 http_504;
        proxy_cache_lock on;
        add_header X-Proxy-Cache $upstream_cache_status;
        
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
    }
}

3. Optimize MySQL/MariaDB

If you're using MySQL or MariaDB, optimize its configuration:

sudo nano /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Add these settings under the [mysqld] section:

innodb_buffer_pool_size = 256M
innodb_log_file_size = 64M
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 2
innodb_flush_method = O_DIRECT
query_cache_size = 32M
query_cache_limit = 1M

Restart MySQL:

sudo systemctl restart mysql

4. Implement PHP-FPM

If you're using PHP, implement PHP-FPM for better performance:

sudo apt install php-fpm
sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

Optimize these settings:

pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 25
pm.start_servers = 5
pm.min_spare_servers = 5
pm.max_spare_servers = 10
pm.max_requests = 500

Restart PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php7.4-fpm

1. Create a Non-Root User

Avoid using the root account for daily operations:

adduser username
usermod -aG sudo username

This creates a new user with sudo privileges.

2. Set Up SSH Key Authentication

On your local machine, generate an SSH key pair:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Upload the public key to your server:

ssh-copy-id username@your_server_ip

Disable password authentication:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Set these options:

PasswordAuthentication no
PermitRootLogin no

Restart SSH:

sudo systemctl restart sshd

3. Install Fail2Ban

Fail2Ban helps protect against brute force attacks:

sudo apt install fail2ban
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban

Create a custom configuration:

sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Add this configuration:

[sshd]
enabled = true
port = ssh
filter = sshd
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 3600

Restart Fail2Ban:

sudo systemctl restart fail2ban

4. Set Up Automatic Security Updates

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

This ensures your server automatically installs security updates.