Just a short post to put it out there that I am pretty much always looking for new clients for ops consulting and systems maintenance, on projects big and small.
More than 25 years of experience building and running internet-connected servers and networks of all shapes and sizes for happy clients, some of whom have been with the company for more than 15 years.
Need your server(s) maintained? Want to move out of the US cloud? Upgrades? Migrations? Let me know! 😄
Boosts welcome 🙏🏻
OK, since tariffs fuckery is impacting my bottomline faster than I expected, with multiple clients having projects cancelled and being late with paying their invoices to the point where it is starting to become my problem, a renewed call for ops consulting and systems maintenance work.
I have just updated the company website with a link to the rate card in PDF format;
Direct link;
https://www.ur.nl/support/urcbv-services-and-fees-2025.pdf
What follows is a thread detailing the options you have for engaging my help with computers, networks, or basically anything of a technical nature.
Boosts welcome!
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Updated the rate card based upon feedback, will add some practical examples to the end of the thread as well ⬇️
2/ 🧵
The simplest and cheapest option is ‘Ask A Technical Question’, which I will build a nice website for at some point, but think of it as your own personal technical assistant, a human who answers your questions via e-mail.
€ 25 per month, best effort turnaround.
No ‘AI’ nonsense, for pretty much anything of a technical nature that you want to ask. What do you buy to do X? How do you solve Y? You just got an error message, or something broke, and you are not sure what to do next? Need someone to read a proposal you received or are about to send, and want a second opinion? Etcetera, etcetera.
Ask, via e-mail.
The monthly fee gets you about 15-20 minutes of my time per month. I am very efficient with it, and it if you do not use it, it accumulates, so with a year paid you can have me spend three hours, etc.
3/ 🧵
If you require a time-sensitive response or a service level agreement, you have two options;
1) Incident response. Reactive. This is for when something is seriously broken, and you need help on short notice. Starts at € 299 for the first hour, after we should have a decent idea of how to continue.
2) A support contract. Proactive. This is when we set up a long term agreement to help you with your infrastructure on an ongoing basis, often taking responsibility for the maintenance thereof. Starts with a ‘Concierge’ SLA, and a minimum of four (4) hours per month. See the rate card for details, but this is effectively € 99 per hour for all practical work.
This is also the basis for more abstract consulting engagements, such as the SOC2 compliance project I did for @HalvarFlake a few years ago. Basically, if you are not sure if it fits, ask 🙂
Next up: services!
4/ 🧵
The most basic of services is domain registration, and the associated DNS, web, and mail services. Whether it is a single domain or an entire corporate domain portfolio, I will happily manage it for you, including web redirection or parking, SMTP, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, DNSSEC, and so forth. Pick your desired ‘Concierge’ level, and add € 19 a month, plus registration and renewal costs.
By default, I work with Key-Systems GmbH, a European domain registrar with a long track record that is now part of CentralNic, but I will happily work with any modern registrar that does not fuck around, and is not subject to government capture or influence.
The supported providers list for DNSControl is a decent starting place for this, if you have specific requirements;
https://docs.dnscontrol.org/provider/index
I have been doing these for 25+ years at this point, including sunrise applications for new top-level domains, so if you have a need, come talk to me, chances are I have answers 😄
5/ 🧵
Do you have just a single server that you need help with, or a few? That is where baseline administration comes in, as a service. Existing or new, current or legacy; I will happily support that one server or appliance that you (still) need, but don’t have enough time or expertise to maintain yourself.
The rate card lists Linux, Mac, and Windows, since those are the most common, but I can support pretty much any operating system or appliance you have or require via a custom support agreement.
Support for common Linux distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox, and RHEL-derivates starts at € 49 per host per month, with legacy support, for systems which are no longer supported by the vendor, adding € 149 per host per month.
6/ 🧵
Oh, and last but not least; security audits.
A per-host baseline security audit costs € 199, and has me doing a baseline analysis of the state of an internet-connected server or appliance, followed by recommendations via e-mail.
A two-day infrastructure security audit extends the scope to pretty much everything you have connected to the internets, including your DNS zones, firewall settings, your cloud account(s), and so forth. This tends to be a great place to start if you have no clear picture of your current security stance, or for mergers and acquisitions.
Should specific expertise be required, such as for code review, or when serious problems are found that require incident response, third parties can be recommended and interfaced with.
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Meanwhile, for those of you with limited means, such as non-profits and public good projects that rely on volunteers; if you have a need, let me know, and I will see what I can do 💜
7/ 🧵
OK, some examples of how services work;
1) Need someone to manage your online presence for you, with your own domain(s), website(s), and email? Like, say, WordPress, a cloud-hosted email service like M365 or Google Apps? Or to move away from those, because Reasons?
➡️ Concierge + Basic DNS, Web & Mail Services, starts at € 49 setup plus 49 + 19 = € 68 ex VAT per month
2) Have a VPS somewhere that runs software you need for your business, such as an online store, a Mastodon server, a control panel, and so forth? Self-hosting, but no time to maintain?
➡️ Concierge + Managed VM, starts at € 199 setup plus 49 + 49 = € 98 ex VAT per month
3) Physical hardware, such as a dedicated server, a network appliance, a firewall, a build box, and so forth?
➡️ Concierge + Dedicated Server, starts at € 199 setup plus 49 + 79 = € 128 ex VAT per month
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This generally includes everything needed to keep you up and running, including keeping the configuration current, certificate renewal, log monitoring, and so forth.
Inquire within! 😎
But what if you need to keep using something old? Something the vendor has declared end-of-life, but which cannot be taken offline yet, because some part of your business still depends on it, and replacing it carries a prohibitive cost? Or maybe the vendor has gone out of business, the person responsible for it has left the company, or retired?
Maybe it is a Windows system that interfaces with an expensive machine. An old Mac that runs a PDF workflow that drives a big printer. A server appliance that runs your phone system, the building HVAC, or the door controls. Perhaps legal requirements dictate that an old database remain accessible. Or you acquired a bunch of Linux systems somewhere in the cloud that cannot immediately be phased out.
That is where legacy support comes in.
➡️ Concierge + Managed VM or Dedicated Server + Legacy Support, Per Host, starting at € 199 setup plus 49 + 49 + 149 = € 247 ex VAT per month
(Continues)
9/ 🧵
(Continued)
For internet-connected or otherwise vulnerable systems this might involve additional hard- and software, shielding such systems from attacks, but in its most basic form this service consists of making sure someone is paying attention, keeping the attack surface to a minimum while maintaining continuity.
It can be as involved as your business requires, though; service level agreements, on-site support, cold and hot spares, sourcing legacy parts or compatible replacements, etc.
At that point you are probably looking at a support contract tailored to the specific needs of the business, and we should talk about a TimeTicket 🤓
10/ 🧵
By the way, this works for both existing (brownfield) as well as new (greenfield) infrastructure, and can be a great assist if you want to move away from US cloud services or stay independent for data sovereignty reasons.
https://ngmx.com/@mejofi/114898228154095206
Move from GitHub to your own GitLab or Forgejo instance? Check. Your own Nextcloud? Check. Self-hosted Bitwarden or Passbolt for credential management? Check. Your own fediverse presence? Check. Zulip as a Slack alternative? Check. Your own mail server, such as Dovecot/Postfix, Zimbra, or similar? Check. Your own custom backend to distribute updates, support your app or service? Check.
On-prem, in the cloud, or on dedicated hardware, data migrated, supported for years to come.
Attached: 1 image OK, some examples of how services work; 1) Need someone to manage your online presence for you, with your own domain(s), website(s), and email? Like, say, WordPress, a cloud-hosted email service like M365 or Google Apps? Or to move away from those, because Reasons? ➡️ Concierge + Basic DNS, Web & Mail Services, starts at € 49 setup plus 49 + 19 = € 68 ex VAT per month 2) Have a VPS somewhere that runs software you need for your business, such as an online store, a Mastodon server, a control panel, and so forth? Self-hosting, but no time to maintain? ➡️ Concierge + Managed VM, starts at € 199 setup plus 49 + 49 = € 98 ex VAT per month 3) Physical hardware, such as a dedicated server, a network appliance, a firewall, a build box, and so forth? ➡️ Concierge + Dedicated Server, starts at € 199 setup plus 49 + 79 = € 128 ex VAT per month — This generally includes everything needed to keep you up and running, including keeping the configuration current, certificate renewal, log monitoring, and so forth. Inquire within! 😎
Joni, like in Mitchell