Server & DevOps

Full-stack app back online after an end-of-life Ubuntu failure

Sylvester A. · USA

Django · React · PostgreSQL on DigitalOcean

Role: DevOps / Full-Stack Systems Engineer

Frontend, backend and database all went down at once — and the domain stopped resolving.

Frontend · API · DatabaseDowntoOnline
SSL & DNSSECRe-secured
Client rating5.0★

The situation

The client's production Django/React application on DigitalOcean went completely offline. The server was running an end-of-life Ubuntu release, and when it failed, everything failed at once: the React frontend, the Django backend and the PostgreSQL database were all unreachable, and the domain itself stopped resolving.

What I found

Outdated OS dependencies on an end-of-life Ubuntu release
Missing and broken package requirements
Misconfigured Docker containers
DNS propagation problems that kept the domain from resolving

What I did

1Diagnosed each layer separately instead of patching symptoms
2Rebuilt the server environment and repaired the package requirements
3Corrected the Docker container configuration
4Restored the Nginx configuration
5Re-secured the application with SSL
6Validated DNS and DNSSEC before bringing everything back online

The result

The full stack — frontend, backend and database — is back online, resolving correctly and served securely over SSL.

Verified on Upwork

“AL did a fantastic job getting everything restored and back up and running. He was knowledgeable, efficient, and communicated clearly throughout the process. What initially looked like it could be a major issue ended up being resolved much quicker than I expected. I really appreciate his expertise and would absolutely recommend working with him again. Thanks, AL!”

Sylvester A. · USA · Aug 2026

Stack

Ubuntu
Docker
Nginx
PostgreSQL
DigitalOcean
DNSSEC

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