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BMLT Cloud VM Guide

Welcome to the comprehensive guide for managing BMLT (Basic Meeting List Toolbox) and YAP (Yet Another Phonebot) installations on Ubuntu cloud servers.

What is BMLT?​

The Basic Meeting List Toolbox (BMLT) is a powerful web application designed to help 12-step recovery fellowships manage and display their meeting information. It provides a centralized database for meeting data that can be displayed on websites, mobile apps, and used by phone systems.

What is YAP?​

YAP (Yet Another Phonebot) is a telephone helpline system that integrates with BMLT to provide meeting information and helpline services over the phone using Twilio.

Who This Guide Is For​

This guide is designed for:

  • System administrators managing BMLT servers
  • Service body tech coordinators responsible for meeting data systems
  • Volunteers with basic Linux knowledge who need to maintain BMLT installations
  • Cloud server users running BMLT on Digital Ocean, AWS, or other cloud providers

What You'll Learn​

This comprehensive guide covers:

🚀 Initial Setup​

  • Server preparation and LAMP stack installation
  • BMLT and YAP application deployment
  • SSL certificate configuration
  • Security hardening

🛠️ Daily Management​

  • System monitoring and health checks
  • Apache web server management
  • MySQL database administration
  • Log monitoring and analysis

🔄 Updates & Maintenance​

  • System package updates
  • BMLT application updates
  • YAP application updates
  • PHP version upgrades

💾 Backup & Recovery​

  • Database backup strategies
  • File system backups
  • Automated backup scripts
  • Disaster recovery procedures

🔒 Security​

  • Firewall configuration
  • SSL certificate management
  • MySQL security hardening
  • System monitoring

🔧 Troubleshooting​

  • Common issues and solutions
  • Performance optimization
  • Database troubleshooting
  • SSL certificate problems

Prerequisites​

Before starting, you should have:

  • A cloud Ubuntu server (24.04 LTS recommended)
  • SSH access to your server
  • Basic familiarity with command line operations
  • A domain name (recommended for SSL)

Support Resources​

Getting Started​

Ready to begin? Start with the Initial Setup Prerequisites to prepare your environment.

info

This guide focuses on Ubuntu-based cloud servers. While the concepts apply to other Linux distributions, commands may vary.

tip

Always backup your data before making significant changes to your server configuration.