Securing a New Sokhumi Server
Any new public address attracts automated login attempts within minutes, so harden the server before you install your application. Update every package, create a normal user with sudo rights, copy your SSH key to it and disable password logins and direct root login in the SSH configuration.
Next, enable a firewall that allows only SSH and the ports your service needs, and install a tool such as fail2ban to block repeated failures. On a small 100 Mbps link it is also worth limiting connection rates, so a noisy scanner cannot crowd out real visitors to your site or game server.
Checking GeoIP Before You Rely on It
The Abkhazia range is registered abroad, so geolocation services do not agree on where it is. Some show Abkhazia or Georgia, others show the country where the block was first allocated. If your project depends on being seen as local, test the published range in the services you care about before you order.
After delivery, check your assigned address in two or three databases and keep a note of the results. Databases refresh on their own schedules, and if one keeps showing an unexpected country, send us the details and we will contact the registry or the database provider on your behalf.
Backups for a Small Regional Network
A location like Sokhumi is valuable precisely because it is unusual, and that also means you should plan for it. Keep an off-site copy of your data on another provider or in object storage, and automate it with tools such as restic or borg so the copy is always recent.
Test a restore at least once. A backup you have never restored is only a hope, and a short rehearsal shows how long it would take to rebuild the service elsewhere, for example on a Georgia VPS, if the regional link is under maintenance.
Measuring Latency Across the Caucasus
Before committing to the location, run simple measurements from the networks your users are on. Ping and mtr from Sochi, Batumi and Tbilisi show both the round-trip time and the route the traffic takes, which matters more than a single speed test.
Repeat the tests at busy evening hours and on a few different days, and compare the median rather than the best result. If most of your audience is in Georgia or Russia, compare the figures with our Tbilisi and Moscow locations before you decide where the project should live.