Docker on VPS: Best practices for containerized deployments

Docker on a VPS is common, but a few practices keep things stable and easy to manage.

Resource limits

Set memory and CPU limits on containers so one app can’t starve the rest. Use docker run --memory and --cpus (or Compose equivalents). On a small VPS, leave headroom for the host and other containers.

Logging and restarts

Use a logging driver (e.g. json-file with rotation) so logs don’t fill the disk. Set restart: unless-stopped (or similar) so containers come back after a reboot. Keep images updated and use specific tags, not latest in production.

On Oneraap

Our VPS plans give you full root and a clean OS—install Docker and run your stack the way you want. NVMe storage helps when containers do a lot of I/O. Need more than one node? We can help you scale to multiple VPS or dedicated boxes.