Welcome to the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Today we’re looking at Architecture & Tech Stack.

So let’s start with what we’re actually talking about here. NZRT runs its own instance of Nextcloud, which is a self-hosted file sync and collaboration platform. You can reach it online at cloud dot nzrtnetwork dot com slash nextcloud. If you’re working locally on Nathan’s laptop, everything syncs down automatically through the Nextcloud desktop client into a folder called Nextcloud2 under the main user directory. So when you’re offline, your files are still right there on disk.

Now let’s walk through the tech stack — in other words, what’s actually powering this thing under the hood. There are seven components worth knowing about. First, hosting. Nextcloud lives on Hoopla, which is a shared Linux hosting environment managed through cPanel. Second, the web server is Apache, and cPanel handles its configuration. Third, PHP — again cPanel-managed, running version 8 or higher. Fourth, the database is MySQL version 8, and the specific database name is nzrtnetw underscore nc. Fifth, storage lives on the cPanel filesystem under the home directory for the nzrtnetw account. Sixth, caching — and this is worth noting — there’s no caching layer available here because shared hosting doesn’t support it. And seventh, search uses Nextcloud’s own built-in search engine. There’s no Elasticsearch, again because shared hosting doesn’t give you that option.

Now let’s talk about the system architecture — how all the pieces connect. Picture it as three layers stacked on top of each other. At the top you have the client layer, which is the Nextcloud desktop client running on the laptop. It connects over a secure HTTPS connection down to the middle layer, which is the Nextcloud web application itself — Apache and PHP running on Hoopla’s shared hosting at that cloud dot nzrtnetwork dot com address. From there, Nextcloud splits into two directions. On one side it talks to the MySQL database to store metadata and application data. On the other side it reads and writes actual files to the cPanel filesystem. And here’s the interesting part — sitting beneath that same database layer, sharing the same cPanel hosting account, you also have Dolibarr and WordPress. So all three applications — Nextcloud, Dolibarr, and WordPress — are running as neighbours on the same Hoopla account.

That shared hosting arrangement is actually central to how NZRT’s systems fit together, so it’s worth keeping in mind when you’re thinking about integrations or troubleshooting.

Speaking of integrations, there are four key ones to know. First, Dolibarr — that’s the ERP system used for document management and business workflows, and it sits right there on the same cPanel instance. Second, WordPress handles the public-facing website and content management, also on the same instance. Third, the desktop client keeps files synced to the laptop at that Nextcloud2 folder path, giving you offline access to the vault and shared folders. And fourth, WebDAV — this is the protocol that agents and automation scripts use to access files programmatically. The WebDAV endpoint lives at cloud dot nzrtnetwork dot com slash nextcloud slash remote dot php slash dav slash.

To wrap it all up — NZRT’s Nextcloud setup is deliberately lean. It’s shared hosting, so you don’t get extras like caching or Elasticsearch, but what you do get is tight co-location with Dolibarr and WordPress, solid file sync to the laptop, and a clean WebDAV interface for automated access. Everything runs under one cPanel account, which keeps the infrastructure simple and in one place.

That’s it for this episode of the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Thanks for listening.