Do I need to disable root access on vps?

Question

Debian

Hello. I am setting up vps hosting for the first time. I read articles, but many of them contradict each other.
Interested in current, for 2018 approaches. So, my newbie questions are:

1. Do I need to create a ban on login as a root? (there will be only one server administrator)
   
2. Is it relevant to set denyhosts? Or is there already another, more relevant software?
   
3. Which firewall to install?
   
4. What should be the standard steps, besides updating, when creating a hosting configuration?
   

The config is: ovh host, debian 8 system, drupal 7, php 7, apache2, mysql 5

Answer 1

If I were you, I would set the site to Drupal Nginx + php-fpm, not Apache
Root login can be disabled by first creating a user and adding it to the sudoers group .

Answer 2

Sudo can screw up just as well as root.

Answer 3

1. Disable root, create your own user and put it in the sudo group, while disabling the sudo password request, and creating as complex a password as possible for your user
2. Create your own ssh-key and log into the server using it
3. For a firewall, I can recommend for you UFW, so it's simple and suits your tasks
4. As Twelfth Doctor already said - throw out apache, instead take a bunch of Nginx + php-fpm
5. I would also recommend enabling swap

Answer 4

How about without root. You only need to disable remote login as root and put fail2ban behind a firewall (ufw?).
Well, you can immediately pack it into virtual machines under lxd for mobility.