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Reasonable is relative to what you want to do: Cloud instances are only cheap if your machines are usually idle, and you overprovisioned your datacenter massive

by corty 6y ago

Reasonable is relative to what you want to do: Cloud instances are only cheap if your machines are usually idle, and you overprovisioned your datacenter massively. Cloud instances are only cheap if there is no great amount of output/input data to transfer like simulation results or large model input datasets. Cloud instances are only cheap if you don't need assurances about locality or security for compliance. Cloud instances are only cheap if you can live with a slow network between the instances, as soon as you want Infiniband or at least dedicated Ethernet links, you are either out of luck or in "really expensive" territory again.

acdha 6y ago
You left out management cost. Once you’re talking something more than a personal laptop the cost of administration needs to be factored in. This is where cloud environments have some big advantages since you’re not paying skilled people to run cables, debug firmware, swap parts, etc. Yes, you can still beat cloud (especially if you serve a lot of network traffic) but it’s not easy unless you’re giving up security, features, or availability.
- Retric 6y ago
  > run cables, debug firmware, swap parts, etc. Data centers already do that. You could build your own rack and send it to them, but the more common model is renting preconfigured servers on a monthly or annual basis with them swapping out broken hardware as needed etc. Cloud computing can save on administrative costs, but there is a huge world between building everything in house and AWS.
  - acdha 6y ago
    Data centers do that for additional costs. It can be a way to save if your needs are simple and don’t change but it’s also often a source of downtime or operational overhead since you’re looking at managing separate groups of people versus using an API. You can definitely save money this way but it rarely ends up being as much as touted - double digit percentages, not whole multiples - unless you’re really bandwidth intensive.
martamorena918 6y ago
Perhaps have a look at Profitbricks. They are an interesting small alternative to AWS for a niche market.

by corty 6y ago

acdha 6y ago

You left out management cost. Once you’re talking something more than a personal laptop the cost of administration needs to be factored in. This is where cloud environments have some big advantages since you’re not paying skilled people to run cables, debug firmware, swap parts, etc. Yes, you can still beat cloud (especially if you serve a lot of network traffic) but it’s not easy unless you’re giving up security, features, or availability.

Retric 6y ago
> run cables, debug firmware, swap parts, etc. Data centers already do that. You could build your own rack and send it to them, but the more common model is renting preconfigured servers on a monthly or annual basis with them swapping out broken hardware as needed etc. Cloud computing can save on administrative costs, but there is a huge world between building everything in house and AWS.
- acdha 6y ago
  Data centers do that for additional costs. It can be a way to save if your needs are simple and don’t change but it’s also often a source of downtime or operational overhead since you’re looking at managing separate groups of people versus using an API. You can definitely save money this way but it rarely ends up being as much as touted - double digit percentages, not whole multiples - unless you’re really bandwidth intensive.

martamorena918 6y ago

Perhaps have a look at Profitbricks. They are an interesting small alternative to AWS for a niche market.