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Even when the comparison is with a web-hosting provider such as GoDaddy or Digital Ocean? I want to host a few custom developed web apps on a VPS and I'm confus

Even when the comparison is with a web-hosting provider such as GoDaddy or Digital Ocean? I want to host a few custom developed web apps on a VPS and I'm confused between AWS and DO/GoDaddy. Which one would you suggest?

minxomat 10y ago
Web apps on VPS sounds like something fit for micro or tiny instances, in which case a month pre-commitment might actually be cheaper if you look at OVH's Kimsufi programme: https://www.kimsufi.com/en/vps-ssd.xml https://www.kimsufi.com/en/vps-ssd.xml. These are cheap, but in my experience reliable (after multiple suboptimal experiences with DO) KVMs. While KS is probably more important for EU customers, the KS-VPS line has three regions to choose from: Gravelines (Northern France), Strasbourg (Eastern France) or Beauharnois (North-America). You can also DIY your own cloud with https://www.ovh.ie/vps/vps-cloud.xml https://www.ovh.ie/vps/vps-cloud.xml, though I've never tested this. Personal point: I may be very old-fashioned, but after using GCE and AWS for various tasks, I still prefer the transparency of pre-committed billing. E.g., I don't know if this changed by now, but I ran into dozens of inexplicable administration errors with GCE, to the point where I couldn't manage my own projects anymore. Plus, after creating billing details, I couldn't detach my credit card from the platform. The only way around that was to disable all projects, but that still left me with an uneasy feeling. I don't have automatic billing setup for KS/OHV. I get billing reminders 30/15/7 days before each cycle and authorize each payment.
pcorsaro 10y ago
DO is more comparable to AWS than GoDaddy. Essentially a VPS provider is someone who rents you a server instance on a much larger server running other instances of other people's servers. You are in complete control of your server instance. You have to manage all the application installations, firewalls, security, etc. A GoDaddy or Bluehost is someone who gives you folder space on a server. They have the web server, database, and any other application all setup for you already. Typically those types of providers only allow you to serve static content, or certain scripting languages (mostly PHP). It depends what stack you wrote your web apps with for which provider you should go with. With a VPS, Linode is going to be cheaper than Digital Ocean, which in turn is cheaper than AWS when you compare specs to specs. If you're app is a simple PHP app that talks to a database, you could probably host it way cheaper on GoDaddy or Bluehost. You just wouldn't have very much control over all the different versions of the DB/PHP, etc. that you might want.
quicksilver03 10y ago
I would suggest a DO droplet since the learning curve is very small compared to the AWS services, the cost is predictable and they have a decent bandwidth allowance. If you want to compare for prices, just search for "VPS with hourly billing" and you should find some alternatives to DO which may be worth considering. And if you want to dig deeper, I have written a book [1] which I hope can clear the confusion and give you a better idea of what hosting you need for your apps. [1]: https://www.hostingforappdevelopers.com/ https://www.hostingforappdevelopers.com/

minxomat 10y ago

Web apps on VPS sounds like something fit for micro or tiny instances, in which case a month pre-commitment might actually be cheaper if you look at OVH's Kimsufi programme: https://www.kimsufi.com/en/vps-ssd.xml https://www.kimsufi.com/en/vps-ssd.xml. These are cheap, but in my experience reliable (after multiple suboptimal experiences with DO) KVMs. While KS is probably more important for EU customers, the KS-VPS line has three regions to choose from: Gravelines (Northern France), Strasbourg (Eastern France) or Beauharnois (North-America). You can also DIY your own cloud with https://www.ovh.ie/vps/vps-cloud.xml https://www.ovh.ie/vps/vps-cloud.xml, though I've never tested this. Personal point: I may be very old-fashioned, but after using GCE and AWS for various tasks, I still prefer the transparency of pre-committed billing. E.g., I don't know if this changed by now, but I ran into dozens of inexplicable administration errors with GCE, to the point where I couldn't manage my own projects anymore. Plus, after creating billing details, I couldn't detach my credit card from the platform. The only way around that was to disable all projects, but that still left me with an uneasy feeling. I don't have automatic billing setup for KS/OHV. I get billing reminders 30/15/7 days before each cycle and authorize each payment.

pcorsaro 10y ago

DO is more comparable to AWS than GoDaddy. Essentially a VPS provider is someone who rents you a server instance on a much larger server running other instances of other people's servers. You are in complete control of your server instance. You have to manage all the application installations, firewalls, security, etc. A GoDaddy or Bluehost is someone who gives you folder space on a server. They have the web server, database, and any other application all setup for you already. Typically those types of providers only allow you to serve static content, or certain scripting languages (mostly PHP). It depends what stack you wrote your web apps with for which provider you should go with. With a VPS, Linode is going to be cheaper than Digital Ocean, which in turn is cheaper than AWS when you compare specs to specs. If you're app is a simple PHP app that talks to a database, you could probably host it way cheaper on GoDaddy or Bluehost. You just wouldn't have very much control over all the different versions of the DB/PHP, etc. that you might want.

quicksilver03 10y ago

I would suggest a DO droplet since the learning curve is very small compared to the AWS services, the cost is predictable and they have a decent bandwidth allowance. If you want to compare for prices, just search for "VPS with hourly billing" and you should find some alternatives to DO which may be worth considering. And if you want to dig deeper, I have written a book [1] which I hope can clear the confusion and give you a better idea of what hosting you need for your apps. [1]: https://www.hostingforappdevelopers.com/ https://www.hostingforappdevelopers.com/