diff --git a/server/backend/device.go b/server/backend/device.go
index 0250f4e7..3ab3068b 100644
--- a/server/backend/device.go
+++ b/server/backend/device.go
@@ -18,23 +18,22 @@ import (
 
 // deviceBuffer stores all recent device calls in a buffer and flushes them to the database periodically
 type deviceBuffer struct {
-	lock     sync.Mutex
-	devices  map[string]*model.Devices // key is uuid
-	interval time.Duration             // flush interval
+	lock    sync.Mutex
+	devices map[string]*model.Devices // key is uuid
 }
 
 func newDeviceBuffer() *deviceBuffer {
 	return &deviceBuffer{
-		lock:     sync.Mutex{},
-		devices:  make(map[string]*model.Devices),
-		interval: time.Minute,
+		lock:    sync.Mutex{},
+		devices: make(map[string]*model.Devices),
 	}
-
 }
 
+const FlushingInterval = time.Minute
+
 func (s *CampusServer) RunDeviceFlusher() error {
 	for {
-		time.Sleep(s.deviceBuf.interval)
+		time.Sleep(FlushingInterval)
 		if err := s.deviceBuf.flush(s.db); err != nil {
 			log.WithError(err).Error("Error flushing device buffer")
 		}
diff --git a/server/backend/ios_notifications/ios_apns/iosAPNsRepository.go b/server/backend/ios_notifications/ios_apns/iosAPNsRepository.go
index 05c03edb..339c4019 100644
--- a/server/backend/ios_notifications/ios_apns/iosAPNsRepository.go
+++ b/server/backend/ios_notifications/ios_apns/iosAPNsRepository.go
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func NewCronRepository(db *gorm.DB) (*Repository, error) {
 
 	token, err := ios_apns_jwt.NewToken()
 	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Fatal("Could not create APNs token")
+		log.WithError(err).Error("Could not create APNs token")
 	}
 
 	return NewRepository(db, token), nil
diff --git a/server/backend/rpcserver.go b/server/backend/rpcserver.go
index 2bcf45f0..3544fef1 100644
--- a/server/backend/rpcserver.go
+++ b/server/backend/rpcserver.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func NewIOSNotificationsService() *IOSNotificationsService {
 
 	token, err := ios_apns_jwt.NewToken()
 	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Fatal("failed to create new token")
+		log.WithError(err).Error("failed to create new token")
 	}
 
 	return &IOSNotificationsService{
diff --git a/server/main.go b/server/main.go
index 9e624b66..8481f15d 100644
--- a/server/main.go
+++ b/server/main.go
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ func main() {
 		grpc.WithUnaryInterceptor(addMethodNameInterceptor),
 	}
 	if err := pb.RegisterCampusHandlerFromEndpoint(context.Background(), grpcGatewayMux, httpPort, opts); err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Panic("could not RegisterCampusHandlerFromEndpoint")
+		log.WithError(err).Fatal("could not RegisterCampusHandlerFromEndpoint")
 	}
 	httpMux.Handle("/v1/", http.StripPrefix("/v1", grpcGatewayMux))
 
@@ -128,18 +128,15 @@ func main() {
 
 // setupDB connects to the database and migrates it if necessary
 func setupDB() *gorm.DB {
-	// Connect to DB
-	var conn gorm.Dialector
-	if dbHost := os.Getenv("DB_DSN"); dbHost == "" {
+	dbHost := os.Getenv("DB_DSN")
+	if dbHost == "" {
 		log.Fatal("Failed to start! The 'DB_DSN' environment variable is not defined. Take a look at the README.md for more details.")
-	} else {
-		log.Info("Connecting to dsn")
-		conn = mysql.Open(dbHost)
 	}
 
-	db, err := gorm.Open(conn, &gorm.Config{Logger: gorm_logrus.New()})
+	log.Info("Connecting to dsn")
+	db, err := gorm.Open(mysql.Open(dbHost), &gorm.Config{Logger: gorm_logrus.New()})
 	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Panic("failed to connect database")
+		log.WithError(err).Fatal("failed to connect database")
 	}
 
 	// Migrate the schema