Ghost on Aruba Cloud
Deploy a production-ready Ghost blog on Aruba Cloud using Terraform and cloud-init. No manual server configuration required.
Provider version: arubacloud/arubacloud
~> 0.5| Terraform: ≥ 1.9
Introduction
Ghost is a modern open-source publishing platform built with Node.js, designed for professional bloggers, newsletters, and membership sites. This example provisions a complete Ghost stack on Aruba Cloud with:
- A CloudServer VM running Node.js 20 and Ghost served behind nginx, fully bootstrapped by cloud-init
- A Managed MySQL 8.0 DBaaS instance — no self-managed database server
- A dedicated VPC, subnet, and security groups via the shared network module
- Elastic IPs for the VM and DBaaS
- Optional Let's Encrypt HTTPS when a custom domain is provided
The Ghost admin account is created on first browser visit to /ghost — no passwords are set during provisioning.
Architecture Overview
Ghost listens on port 2368 and is proxied by nginx on port 80/443. The database runs on a separate managed DBaaS instance in the same VPC. The MySQL security group allows inbound connections only from the VM's Elastic IP.
Infrastructure Created
| Resource | Name pattern | Description |
|---|---|---|
arubacloud_project | ghost-prod | Project container |
arubacloud_vpc | ghost-prod-vpc | Virtual Private Cloud |
arubacloud_subnet | ghost-prod-subnet | Basic subnet |
arubacloud_securitygroup | ghost-prod-vm-sg | VM security group |
arubacloud_securitygroup | ghost-prod-db-sg | DBaaS security group |
arubacloud_securityrule | ghost-prod-vm-ssh | SSH ingress (restricted CIDR) |
arubacloud_securityrule | ghost-prod-vm-http | HTTP ingress (0.0.0.0/0) |
arubacloud_securityrule | ghost-prod-vm-https | HTTPS ingress (0.0.0.0/0) |
arubacloud_securityrule | ghost-prod-db-mysql | MySQL ingress from VM IP only |
arubacloud_elasticip | ghost-prod-vm-eip | VM public IP |
arubacloud_elasticip | ghost-prod-db-eip | DBaaS public IP |
arubacloud_blockstorage | ghost-prod-boot | 30 GB boot disk (Performance) |
arubacloud_keypair | ghost-prod-keypair | SSH public key |
arubacloud_dbaas | ghost-prod-dbaas | Managed MySQL 8.0 |
arubacloud_database | ghost | Ghost logical database |
arubacloud_dbaasuser | ghost | MySQL application user |
arubacloud_databasegrant | — | liteadmin grant |
arubacloud_cloudserver | ghost-prod-vm | CloudServer VM |
VM Sizing Recommendation
| Workload | vCPU | RAM | Disk | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal blog / newsletter | 2 | 4 GB | 30 GB | CSO2A4 (default) |
| High-traffic / membership site | 4 | 8 GB | 40 GB | CSO4A8 |
For the DBaaS: DBO2A8 (2 vCPU / 8 GB) covers most Ghost sites. Ghost is Node.js-based and is more memory-efficient than PHP stacks, so the 2 vCPU / 4 GB VM tier handles typical blog and newsletter workloads well.
Estimated Monthly Cost
Approximate prices for ITBG-Bergamo, hourly billing. Actual prices may vary — verify in the ArubaCloud console.
| Resource | Spec | Est. cost/mo |
|---|---|---|
| CloudServer VM | CSO2A4 — 2 vCPU / 4 GB | ~€18 |
| Boot disk | 30 GB Performance | ~€4 |
| Managed MySQL | DBO2A8 — 2 vCPU / 8 GB | ~€35 |
| DBaaS storage | 20 GB | ~€3 |
| Elastic IP × 2 | — | ~€5 |
| Total | ~€65/mo |
Requirements
- Terraform ≥ 1.9
- ArubaCloud Terraform Provider
~> 0.5 - An ArubaCloud account with OAuth2 API credentials
- An SSH key pair
Variables
Required
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
arubacloud_client_id | ArubaCloud OAuth2 client ID |
arubacloud_client_secret | ArubaCloud OAuth2 client secret |
ssh_public_key | SSH public key content (e.g. contents of ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub) |
db_password | MySQL password for the Ghost user (min 16 chars, no newlines) |
Optional
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
app_name | "ghost" | Short name used in all resource names |
environment | "prod" | Environment label (prod, staging, dev) |
location | "ITBG-Bergamo" | ArubaCloud region |
zone | "ITBG-1" | Availability zone |
billing_period | "Hour" | "Hour" or "Month" |
vm_flavor | "CSO2A4" | CloudServer flavor |
vm_image | "LU22-001" | Boot disk image (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS) |
vm_disk_size_gb | 30 | Boot disk size in GB |
ssh_cidr | "0.0.0.0/0" | CIDR for SSH access — restrict to your IP in production |
dbaas_flavor | "DBO2A8" | DBaaS flavor |
db_storage_gb | 20 | DBaaS initial storage in GB |
domain | "" | Custom domain for HTTPS — leave empty to use the Elastic IP |
Deployment Instructions
1. Clone and navigate
git clone https://github.com/arubacloud/terraform-arubacloud-examples.git
cd terraform-arubacloud-examples/ghost
2. Configure variables
cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars
Edit terraform.tfvars with your credentials and database password.
Tip: Store credentials as environment variables to avoid writing them to disk:
export TF_VAR_arubacloud_client_id="your-id"
export TF_VAR_arubacloud_client_secret="your-secret"
3. Initialize and deploy
terraform init
terraform plan # review the execution plan
terraform apply
4. Access Ghost
After apply completes (typically 10–15 minutes for cloud-init):
terraform output site_url # e.g. http://203.0.113.10
terraform output ghost_admin_url # e.g. http://203.0.113.10/ghost
Open the admin URL in your browser. The first visit registers your admin account — fill in your name, email, and password. This is the only user created during setup.
5. Follow cloud-init progress (optional)
While cloud-init runs, you can tail the bootstrap log:
ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)
sudo tail -f /var/log/cloud-init-output.log
Destroy Instructions
terraform destroy
This removes all created resources. The DBaaS data is destroyed — take a snapshot first if you need to preserve it:
# Take a DBaaS backup before destroying (manual step via console or API)
terraform destroy
Security Recommendations
-
Restrict SSH to your IP. Set
ssh_cidr = "your.ip.address/32"interraform.tfvars. The default0.0.0.0/0is for getting-started convenience only. -
Use a custom domain with HTTPS. Set the
domainvariable. Certbot will automatically provision and renew a Let's Encrypt certificate. -
Choose a strong admin password. When registering the admin account on first visit, use a unique password of at least 16 characters.
-
Keep Ghost updated. SSH into the VM and run
ghost update --dir /var/www/ghostas the ghost user (see Upgrade Considerations below). -
Do not expose MySQL publicly. The DBaaS security group already restricts MySQL to the VM's IP. Do not add
0.0.0.0/0ingress rules to the DBaaS security group.
Upgrade Considerations
Ghost version upgrades
Ghost CLI handles in-place upgrades:
ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)
sudo -u ghost ghost update --dir /var/www/ghost
Always review the Ghost changelog for breaking changes before upgrading.
Node.js version upgrade
Change the NodeSource setup script URL in cloud-init.yaml.tpl (e.g. setup_22.x) and trigger a VM replacement by modifying user_data. Run terraform apply to replace the instance with a fresh bootstrap.
Provider upgrade
When the provider releases a new minor version, update the constraint in versions.tf and run terraform init -upgrade. Always review the provider CHANGELOG before upgrading.
Screenshots
Screenshot placeholder. After deployment, add screenshots of the Ghost front page and admin dashboard here.
| Admin dashboard | Front page |
|---|---|
| (screenshot) | (screenshot) |
Login Credentials After Deployment
Ghost does not set an admin password during provisioning. On first access, navigate to the admin URL and register your account.
| Service | URL | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost Admin | $(terraform output ghost_admin_url) | (set on first visit) | (set on first visit) |
| MySQL | $(terraform output dbaas_host):3306 | ghost | $(terraform output -raw db_password) |
| SSH | $(terraform output ssh_command) | ubuntu | SSH key |
Troubleshooting
Ghost is not reachable after apply
-
cloud-init still running. Ghost installation takes 10–15 minutes after VM boot. Check the log:
ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)sudo tail -f /var/log/cloud-init-output.log -
DBaaS not ready yet. cloud-init waits up to 15 minutes for MySQL. If the wait timed out, check the DBaaS status in the console and restart cloud-init manually.
-
Ghost service not started. Verify Ghost is running:
sudo -u ghost ghost status --dir /var/www/ghost
nginx returns 502 Bad Gateway
Ghost is not running or listening on port 2368:
sudo -u ghost ghost status --dir /var/www/ghost
sudo -u ghost ghost start --dir /var/www/ghost
Certbot fails to issue a certificate
- DNS must resolve the domain to the VM's Elastic IP before
terraform apply. - Certbot requires ports 80 and 443 to be reachable. Verify your security group rules.
- Check
/var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.logfor details.
cloud-init bootstrap did not complete
ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)
sudo systemctl status cloud-init
sudo cat /var/log/cloud-init-output.log
Look for the final_message near the end of the log. If missing, scroll up to find the error.
Plan errors: "resource name already exists"
A previous terraform destroy may not have completed. Either finish destroying or change app_name / environment to use a different resource name prefix.