The Nxeon Blog
Guides for people who run their own servers.
Straight-talking tutorials and comparisons on VPS hosting, game servers, Linux and security. No fluff, just what actually works. 346 guides from the team that runs the servers.
Networking guides
16 guides · newest first
How to Diagnose DNS Problems with dig and nslookup
When a domain won't resolve, dig and nslookup tell you exactly why. A practical, example-driven guide to reading their output and finding the real problem.
How to Point a Subdomain to a Different App or Port
Run several apps on one VPS, each on its own subdomain — api.yourdomain.com, app.yourdomain.com — using a reverse proxy. DNS plus the Nginx and Caddy configs.
How to Self-Host Pi-hole for Network-Wide Ad Blocking
Block ads and trackers for every device on your network at the DNS level. Install Pi-hole on a VPS with Docker and point your router at it.
How to Set Up a TeamSpeak 3 Server on a VPS
Install a TeamSpeak 3 server on a Linux VPS: download the server, create a user, grab the admin token and ServerQuery password, open the ports, and run it with systemd.
How to Set Up a Mumble (Murmur) Voice Server
Host your own low-latency Mumble voice server with the Murmur daemon on a Linux VPS: install, configure mumble-server.ini, set the SuperUser password, and secure it.
Port Forwarding vs a VPS: How to Make a Minecraft Server Public
To let friends join, you either port-forward your home router or run a VPS. Here's an honest comparison of both, with the tradeoffs.
How to Add a Custom Domain to a Minecraft Server
Give players a memorable address like play.yourserver.com instead of a raw IP. Here's how to point a domain at a Minecraft server.
MX records and email deliverability: SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Getting email to the inbox is about DNS, not luck. Here's how MX records route your mail and how SPF, DKIM and DMARC keep it out of the spam folder.
Diagnosing 'connection refused' errors
'Connection refused' is one of the most misread errors in networking. Here's what it actually means, how it differs from a timeout, and a step-by-step fix.
How to point a domain at your VPS
Bought a domain and spun up a server? The last step is connecting them. Here's exactly how to point a domain at your VPS with A records — and verify it worked.
Common ports every developer should know (22, 80, 443, 3306…)
You don't need to memorise all 65,535 ports — just the ones that come up daily. Here's the working developer's reference to the ports you'll actually use.
Subnetting made simple: CIDR, netmasks, and host counts
CIDR and subnet masks stop being scary once you see the pattern. Here's a clear, math-light guide to /24s, netmasks, host counts and splitting a network.
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