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Why Dexta · Hosting

Our cloud in India, or your own server.

The same eleven apps run either way. Choose our cloud when you want nothing to look after. Choose your own server when a client contract, your auditors or your IT policy say where staff and financial data must live.

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Option A

Our cloud in India

We run the server for you in India. Your people open the Hub in a browser or on their phone, and that's it.

  • No server, certificates or patching for your IT team
  • Daily encrypted backups, copied every six hours to a second location in India
  • Your Microsoft, Google Workspace or Okta sign-in, if you want it
  • Export all your data at any time

Option B

Your own server

The whole suite runs on one Linux server you own: in your office with no internet name at all, or in your own cloud account.

  • Your data stays where your contracts say it must
  • Works on an office network with names only the office knows
  • Reads people and groups from your Active Directory over LDAPS
  • The same backups, upgrades and features as our cloud

Side by side

The two options compared.

 Our cloud in IndiaYour own server
Who runs the serverWe do.You do, on your hardware or your own cloud account. The install follows our written guide, and each step ends with a check.
Where your data livesOn our servers in India.On your server, inside your network if you like. Encrypted backup copies go to a storage bucket in an Indian region that you choose.
What people openThe Hub, at a web address we give you.The Hub, at a name under your own domain, or a name only your office network knows.
CertificatesHandled by us.Your choice of three: free public certificates, the suite's own certificate authority, or a certificate from your IT.
Daily encrypted backupsYesYes
Copied off the server every 6 hours, kept 400 days in IndiaYesYes, to your bucket
UpgradesNamed releases, at a quiet time announced in advance.Named releases, with a check first and a way back.
Microsoft, Google Workspace or Okta sign-inYes, with your own accountYes, with your own account
Directory syncMicrosoft Entra ID sync is the usual choice.Active Directory on your network, or Microsoft Entra ID.
Attendance machinesMachines push punches over the internet.Machines push punches over your office network.
Same apps and featuresYesYes

Pricing for each option is on the pricing page, or ask us in the demo.

For your IT team

What you provide for your own server.

One server runs all eleven apps: one MySQL 8.4 database server with a database per app, the apps themselves, three backup jobs and a front door that holds the certificates. People only ever open the Hub.

  1. One Linux server with DockerUbuntu 22.04 or 24.04 is easiest. At least 4 CPU cores and 8 GB of memory, with 4 GB of swap. 12 GB is safer if you patch or upgrade during working hours.
  2. Disk to match your headcountAbout 2 GB of database per 1,000 staff a year, plus the daily backups kept on the server. Selfie clock-in needs much more. 80 GB is enough only for a trial.
  3. Twelve names in your DNSOne per app, plus one for attendance machines, all pointing at the server. A single wildcard record also works.
  4. Network accessPeople's PCs reach the server on port 443. The server needs outgoing HTTPS to fetch the code and updates, to your mail server and to your backup bucket.
  5. A mail accountAny SMTP mailbox for invitations, approvals and alerts. Until there is one, mail is held, not lost.
  6. A backup bucket in IndiaStorage in an Indian region, such as AWS Mumbai, or any S3-compatible store in India, with a key that may write to it.
  7. A password manager entryThe server's settings and keys are kept off the server, in an entry two named people in your company can open.

Optional, when you want them: a Microsoft Entra ID app registration for sign-in or sync; an Active Directory service account that can read the directory; an MSG91, Gupshup or Twilio account for WhatsApp and SMS alerts; and eSSL or ZKTeco attendance machines. Phone notifications need no outside account.

Certificates

Three ways to keep every page on HTTPS.

Every page is served over HTTPS, with HSTS, a content security policy and frame protection. Pick the certificate set-up that fits your network.

A · Public names

Free public certificates

For a server on the internet. Free Let's Encrypt certificates are issued and renewed automatically, a month before they run out.

B · Office server

The suite's own authority

For an office server with names only your network knows. The suite makes its own certificate authority. Each PC trusts one file, once. No internet is needed for this.

C · Your IT's certificate

A certificate you issue

For companies whose IT already issues certificates. One certificate covers all twelve names, and your PCs already trust it.

Backups

Encrypted every day, kept in India for 400 days.

The Companies (Accounts) Rules want your books backed up on a server in India, apart from the one running the app. Dexta does that for every app, not just the books.

Dailyevery database dumped at 02:30 India time, and uploaded files archived at 03:00
AES-256every backup is encrypted; an unencrypted one is never copied off the server
6 hoursbackups are copied off the server to storage in an Indian region
400 dayscopies kept off the server; 35 days of backups kept on it
8 yearsa month-end copy of the books, as section 128(5) of the Companies Act asks
  • Each backup is read back to the end before it counts as good.
  • An hourly check emails an alert for a stale or failed backup, or a disk below 20% free.
  • Restore commands and a restore rehearsal are part of the install guide. One client's books can be restored without touching anyone else's.
  • The keys are kept off the server, in a password manager two named people can open.

Upgrades

Upgrades you can check first and undo.

Dexta ships as named releases. On your own server, an upgrade is one command run at a quiet time, after telling your people. The apps are away for a few minutes while they restart.

  • A check first shows what the release brings, and changes nothing
  • A fresh backup is taken and checked before anything changes; the upgrade stops if it isn't good
  • If anything fails, one command goes back to the release before and the databases as they were just before the upgrade
  • Monthly patching brings the operating system, Python, nginx and MySQL security fixes
  • Each app reports its release and health to an outside uptime monitor

Going back after people have started using the new release puts the databases back to just before the upgrade, so anything entered in between would need entering again. That's why the check comes first.

Sign-in and directory

Your Microsoft sign-in, your directory.

Each needs your own Microsoft, Google, Okta or Active Directory set-up. Your IT team sets it up in the Hub with your org admin, and the Hub explains each step.

  • Single sign-on with Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace or another OpenID Connect provider
  • New staff on your proved email domain get an account the first time they sign in
  • Active Directory sync over LDAPS, with a guard that stops a run from switching off many people at once
  • Linked AD groups become access groups in Dexta; membership follows AD
  • Microsoft Entra ID sync reads people and groups through Microsoft Graph, read-only, with a preview before each sync
  • Single-sign-on-only mode, with one to five break-glass admins

Worth knowing

A few limits, said plainly.

  • On an office server, links in emails (invitations, password resets, approvals) open only inside the office or on your VPN.
  • On an office server using the suite's own certificate authority, HR's offer-letter PDF prints without your logo.
  • Attendance machines that can't use HTTPS send punches unencrypted, unless you use an office relay.
  • Each app runs as one process on one server. It doesn't spread across several servers.

Try Dexta

Talk to us about where Dexta should run.

Bring your IT head to the demo. We'll walk through both options, the install guide and the backup set-up.

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