I came across this blog today while searching and I’m finding it very detailed, human, and instructive. For a beginner like me, this kind of resource is invaluable. What does a server failure feel like at a personal level? How do you make decisions about cost or utilizing existing hardware? These kind of thoughtful reflections along with practical walkthroughs of solutions make this a very nice resource when planning both the how and the why.
Maybe someone else will find it useful too.
Old article by someone who seems to be an absolute newbie in that field.