Systems & identity
Linux and Windows servers, virtualization with Proxmox, Active Directory and Entra ID, Exchange on-prem and online. At work and on two sites of my own.
LinuxProxmoxActive DirectoryEntra IDExchange
aka Skyfay · ZurichSystem engineer · aka Skyfay · ZurichHi, I'm Manu.I build software and the servers it runs on.
System engineer from Zurich, known online as Skyfay. I run my own infrastructure, from firewalls and virtual machines to containers and backups, host free services on it and build open source tools like SkySend and DBackup. Off the keyboard: video games and my motorcycle.
7 servicesHosted for free on skyfay.ch
CH + DETwo sites, Zurich and Hetzner
DailyEncrypted snapshots, kept 30 days
24/7Monitoring of every service
What I do
From the firewall to the frontend.
Most of my work happens where software meets the machines it runs on. I like owning the whole path.
Network & security
Firewalls, network access control and the security side of operations, from detection to endpoint protection. Every service I run sits behind a firewall and opens only what it needs.
FirewallsNACNDRXDREDR
Software
Open source tools that come out of running things myself: encrypted sharing with SkySend, database backups with DBackup.
TypeScriptNext.jsReactHono
Infrastructure
Two sites, one setup.
My services live in two places: my own setup in Zurich and servers at Hetzner in Germany. Each site has its own firewall, backups and monitoring cover both.
CH
Site 1
Zurich, Switzerland
My own setup, in my hands from the firewall to the containers.
- Protected by
- Own firewall
- Runs
- SkySend and more
DE
Site 2
Hetzner, Germany
Servers in a Hetzner data center for everything that needs a second home.
- Protected by
- Own firewall
- Runs
- Services in Docker
Every night
Encrypted snapshots
Both sites are snapshotted daily, encrypted and rotated after 30 days.
Around the clock
Monitoring
Both sites are watched 24/7. When something breaks I know first, and updates go out on Discord.
terminal
$ docker ps --format table NAME STATUS traefik Up (healthy) skysend Up (healthy) vaultwarden Up (healthy) $ backup --nightly ✓ snapshot encrypted ✓ stored off-site ✓ rotated, keeping 30 days
Only where it fits
Cloudflare
The static websites like skyfay.ch, skysend.app and dbackup.app run on Cloudflare Workers, a few services use it too. SkySend is served straight from Zurich, so large files take the shortest path.
Skills
What I work with.
Most of it from the day job as a system engineer, the rest from running my own two sites and building DBackup, which taught me more databases and storage protocols than I ever planned to learn.
Microsoft & identity
Active DirectoryEntra IDExchange On-PremExchange OnlineWindows Server
Linux & automation
Linux serversDockerTraefikAnsibleBashPython
Virtualization
ProxmoxVMwareVirtual machinesSnapshots
Network
FortiGateFirewallsNetworkingDNSTLSCloudflare
Security
Network Access ControlNDRXDREDRHardeningEncryption
Backup & storage
Backup strategySynology NASS3SFTPSMB + VSSWebDAVrsync
Operations
PRTGJamf MDMTicketingNotionAlertingDocumentation
Databases
SQL ServerMySQLMariaDBPostgreSQLMongoDBRedisSQLite
Software
TypeScriptNext.jsReactHonoNode.jsPrisma
Projects
Things I build and run.
Two open source tools born from operating my own servers, and the services they keep alive.
SkySend
End-to-end encrypted file and note sharing
Zero-knowledge sharing you can run on your own server. One Docker container, the key lives in the link after the #.
skysend.app/file/7Qm2xK9a#k3Y9fQe-vR2pLx4Zt2w
Docker imageS3 or filesystemCLIWeb Crypto
DBackup
Database backups for people who run servers
Scheduled backups for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis and more, encrypted, compressed and with retention rules.
02:00:01 postgres-prod dump ✓ 02:00:15 aes-256-gcm encrypt ✓ 02:00:19 s3 + local upload ✓github.com/skyfay/dbackup
Skyfay Services
Free services I host for everyone
My production playground. No subscription, no premium tier, run in Switzerland and Germany.
SkySendSkySecureDBackupSkyPingSkyToolsSkyBlogSkyCraft
skyfay.chSkyBlog
Tech, tutorials, news and worklogs
Where I write about what I build, what breaks at 2 a.m. and how I fixed it.
HostingTutorialsWorklogsNewsMusic
About
Systems by day, side projects by night.
Computers got me early. I built my first PCs at around 12 and never really stopped. Today I am a system engineer by day. Online I go by Skyfay, and what started as tools for myself grew into services other people rely on.
- Since May 2025System EngineerBackups, Linux servers, SQL Server, Exchange, Active Directory and Entra ID, network and security, storage, monitoring and device management.
- BeforeICT specialistSeveral companies in support and system administration.
- 2020 to 2023ICT Specialist EFZApprenticeship with the Swiss Federal VET Diploma.
- Around age 12The first PCsBuilding my own computers, taking them apart again and learning how everything fits together.
Zurich, SwitzerlandVideo gamesMotorcycle rides
Links
Find me elsewhere.
Contact
An idea, a question or a server on fire?
Write me an email or find me on Discord. I read everything, even if the answer takes a day.