In short, I think there should be a “comprehensive” mean to get your server/box up and running from “zero to 100” so you can “get down to business” so to speak… So I made this up so I can get hopefully soon to receiving 6 cores/12 threads machine’s very basics up and running in minutes instead of hour(s). So I thought it might helps you do the same! 
I have used the following sources coupled with my personal experiences with running boxes/VPSes mainly for gaming purposes…
16 Commands to Check Hardware Information on Linux - BinaryTides, https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/eight-ways-secure-ssh, https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/securing-your-server/, https://www.tecmint.com/tuned-automatic-performance-tuning-of-centos-rhel-servers/ and https://haydenjames.io/linux-performance-almost-always-add-swap-space/
Setting aside as little as an hour should be plenty, being deaf and blind even so I got it done in within the hour.
Below are the steps I believe one should probably starts with when it comes to SSH security (“config” means you need to input said configurations)…
#Backup SSH configurations
cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config ~/sshd_config_original
#Configuring SSH banner for unauthorized notifiying
nano /etc/issue.net
"Warning! Authorized use only.
This server is the property of MyCompanyName.com"
#Enter SSH configuration
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
#Then find line reading "# no default banner path" and configures
Banner /etc/issue.net
#Restart SSH
systemctl restart sshd
#Enter SSH configuration
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
#Find line reading "PermitEmptyPasswords" and change it to...
"PermitEmptyPasswords no"
#Restart SSH
systemctl restart sshd
#Create sudo user to replace "root" user for logins
adduser example_user
#Then that same user to the sudo "group"
adduser example_user sudo
#Exit current "root" session
exit
#Test login with limited user
ssh example_user@YOURIP
#Make sure you can still sudo to "root" still
sudo su
#Not allowing "root" to login through the network
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
"PermitRootLogin no"
#Restricting WHO can login, I would put it near the above configuration
AllowUsers example_user
#Putting sshd behind a non-standardized port
"#Run SSH on a non-standard port
#Port 22
Port yourporthereabove1024"
#Restarts SSH
systemctl restart sshd
#Configuring Keypair on Linux PC
ssh-keygen
#Pass key to machine now
ssh-copy-id -p configuredport example_user@YOURIP
#Testing ssh key connection
ssh example_user@IP
#Final configuration for SSH Security
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
"PasswordAuthentication no"
#Restart SSH once more
systemctl restart sshd
Next if you got a dedicated server, it might pays to make sure you actually got what the quote/agreements said what you would be working with…
#Checking General Hardware Configurations
sudo lshw -short
#Others may be needed for instance drives' details see https://www.binarytides.com/linux-commands-hardware-info/
Finally these are OS configurations that I always do before I install everything else (firewall, game panel, etc)
#Update OS
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
#Install and Setup Automatic Updates
sudo apt-get install unattended-upgrades
sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades
"APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "1";
APT::Periodic::Download-Upgradeable-Packages "1";
APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval "7";
APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade "1";"
#Check Network Services
sudo ss -atpu
#Remove any Excess Services
sudo apt purge package_name
#Install Tuned
sudo apt-get install tuned tuned-utils tuned-utils-systemtap
#Tuned Setup
sudo systemctl enable tuned
sudo systemctl start tuned
sudo systemctl status tuned
#To see profiles (really there actually quite a few out there now of days with good descriptors)
sudo tuned-adm list
#Then proceed accordingly
sudo tuned-adm profile yourchoosenprofile
sudo tuned-adm active
#Conversative Swap Setup (for optimized performance where RAM isn't limited)
sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf
"vm.swappiness= 10
vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50"
#(if causing excessive RAM usages) Disabling Journaling, set to none for storage
sudo nano /etc/systemd/journald.conf
#Restarts the Journaling
sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald.service
#Set Timezone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York
Hope this helps you guys get up and running more consistently and quicker so you can get down to business sooner than later!