In 2021, I created a 6-part series on creating a highly available WordPress site. The goals were:

1. Even if a VPS fails, the site will continue to function.
2. Any failure will be transparent to the end user. If I come along to example.com and one node is down, I won’t notice any difference.
3. Data will not be stale between the nodes. Every user sees the same info.

Back then we used DRBD, MariaDB replication, and OCFS2 to create a two-node environment that was durable and resistant to single points of failure.

Now it’s 2024 and it’s time for an update.  The 2021 architecture still works fine, but we’re going to take a different approach this time around to leverage some different technologies.  We’re also going to leverage Ansible for automation.

Here’s our stack:

• Nginx and php-fpm
• GlusterFS for the filesystem (instead of DRBD/OCFS2)
• MariaDB Galera for database high availability
• Round-robin DNS again
• Let’s Encrypt for https
• Ansible to make deployment simpler

Here’s how it’ll look when we’re done:

Last time around I used Linode but since they’re not around any more (I mean, they are, but they’ve rebranded), For this tutorial, I’ll be using VPSes in Hetzner’s Hillsboro, Oregon location.

Here’s the outline we’ll follow:

Part 1 – Introduction, Considerations, and Architecture (this article)
Part 2 – Ordering the VPSes
Part 3 – Ansible
Part 4 – Gluster
Part 5 – WordPress install
Part 6 – MariaDB Multi-Master
Part 7 – Round-Robin DNS, Let’s Encrypt, & Conclusion

We’re dropping one tutorial every day, so come back tomorrow to get started!

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raindog308

Dread Lord of LowEnd Content at LowEndBox

I'm raindog308, techno polymath and long-time LowEndTalk community Administrator. My technical interests include all things Unix, perl, python, golang, shell scripting, vintage operating systems such as MVS, and relational database systems such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.

I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308

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