feat: Add comprehensive Cumulus machine setup guide
📋 Summary
This MR adds a complete step-by-step guide for setting up and configuring Cumulus machines for course 1DV026. The guide covers everything from initial SSH connection to deploying production-ready web applications.
🎯 What's Added
-
Complete Cumulus setup guide (
your-first-cumulus-machine.md) - SSH key setup and connection instructions
- nginx web server installation and configuration
- HTTPS/TLS certificate setup with LNU FTK Campus CA
- Static website creation and deployment
- Express 5 application development and deployment
- PM2 process manager configuration
- Comprehensive troubleshooting section
🔧 Technical Coverage
Infrastructure & Security:
- SSH key management and secure connections
- nginx web server with HTTPS encryption
- SSL/TLS certificates via Certbot and LNU CA
- Security hardening (server tokens, etc.)
Application Development:
- Node.js and npm installation
- Express 5 application deployment
- Reverse proxy configuration
- Modular nginx configuration approach
Process Management:
- PM2 ecosystem configuration
- Automatic crash recovery
- Boot persistence setup
- Application monitoring and logging
🎓 Learning Outcomes
Students will master:
-
✅ Linux system administration basics -
✅ Web server configuration and management -
✅ SSL/TLS certificate handling -
✅ Modern Node.js application deployment -
✅ Production-ready process management -
✅ Troubleshooting common server issues
📚 Guide Structure
- Prerequisites - SSH setup and verification
- Server Setup - Package updates and core installations
- Web Server - nginx installation and basic configuration
- Security - HTTPS setup and hardening
- Development - Static and dynamic application deployment
- Production - Process management and monitoring
- Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
✅ Quality Assurance
- Step-by-step instructions tested on the Cumulus environment
- Consistent command formatting and examples
- Comprehensive error handling and troubleshooting
- Modular configuration approach for scalability
- Production-ready security practices
This guide provides students with hands-on experience in real-world server administration and web application deployment.