5 ms·

You can get a Mac Mini M1 as Server for as low as 49$ per month from hetzner. If you need more CI „hours“ this is a good way to go. For signing and the workflo

You can get a Mac Mini M1 as Server for as low as 49$ per month from hetzner. If you need more CI „hours“ this is a good way to go. For signing and the workflows a base subscription is maybe a good deal. https://www.hetzner.com/dedicated-rootserver/brands/matrix-apple/?country=ot https://www.hetzner.com/dedicated-rootserver/brands/matrix-a... Those parallel Test will get through your hours very quickly.

novok 4y ago
And then you need to spend all of that time managing that machine for a lot of labor cost. It's all about a balance overall.
- 10000truths 4y ago
  Managing what, exactly? I get that there’s a one time cost you have to pay to set things up, but that’s true of cloud builds as well.
  - MBCook 4y ago
    Software updates, for one.
    - chaxor 4y ago
      I'm confused, if you're running an M2 Mac, you're probably going to be running Asahi Linux. (Not really sure there is any other option :P) That would be set up on the first day with the simple asahilinux she'll script, and then theres essentially nothing else needed after that. So you should be able to just `pacman -Syu`
      - arianvanp 4y ago
        If you run Asahi Linux you won't be able to do your XCode build so that kind of seems to defeat the whole purpose.
  - spiderice 4y ago
    Isn't this a little like saying "Don't pay for Github, just buy a server rack"? My point being, A Mac mini != Xcode Cloud. There are other services that Xcode Cloud offers beyond a roll your own Mac mini solution. Just like how Github offers more services than a roll your own home server offers.
  - hot_gril 4y ago
    Managing the difference between a home server and a cloud service. I used to manage some rack-mount servers for a garage startup. That meant dealing with: - power (including UPS and remote power strips) - network (LAN, router, ISP, DNS) - server hardware - server BIOS (i.e. pls reboot after power failure) - OS and software updates - user admin - backups And living 500 miles away from the server room taught me how many things can go wrong when I'm away, and what it takes to even monitor that. Can't easily conclude it wasn't worth, since these were multi-purpose and the equivalent capacity on EC2 would've cost a ton, but doing all that just for Xcode builds would've been silly. Closer to the topic, I also used to just manage a remote Mac mini server. It was also not automatic. Even had both disks in my RAID1 set fail over time.
    - arianvanp 4y ago
      Many of those things are included in the Hetnzer contract though. They have service technicians that can perform any physical operation for you remotely. Just open a ticket. Been hosting bare metal with them for ages and it has been very pleasant.
      - hot_gril 4y ago
        Then you still have to deal with the OS, user admin, and all the software yourself, right?
      - smoldesu 4y ago
        Will Hetzner install Linux on it for me and fix all the problems when they come up? If not, there's zero reason to purchase one of these for any professional purposes aside from iOS/MacOS CICD.
  - onion2k 4y ago
    Managing what, exactly? I get that there’s a one time cost you have to pay to set things up, but that’s true of cloud builds as well. Yes, because XCode famously never crashes.
zionic 4y ago
Why would I ever pay hetzner money when they dare to dictate what software I can/can not run.
- hamandcheese 4y ago
  Care to explain this one?
  - powerhour 4y ago
    Folks are sad that Hetzner, like most mainstream providers, has a policy against running crypto software and port scanners.
- rfrey 4y ago
  So instead you'll give your money to... Apple?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Cthulhu_ 4y ago
Amazon also has M1 available now: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2022/07/general-availability-amazon-ec2-m1-mac-instances-macos/ https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2022/07/general-a... We've just set up our CI in it (set it up as a Gitlab runner), it seems to work fine. To add more complexity, it isn't even a native iOS app but Nativescript. I think we use it to make the Android builds as well.
- meowtimemania 4y ago
  How do you like nativescript? I haven’t met anyone using it yet
- MrDOS 4y ago
  For $475/month, I hope you're able to use it for more than just iOS builds. I know I'm too hobbyist- and small-business-minded for lots of folks on HN, but that monthly fee is a mind-boggling non-starter for me. I know that cloud services are never the cheapest option and I don't want to come off as a skinflint, but AWS' Mac pricing is just absurd. Two months' rental pays for the machine outright (three, if you upgrade the RAM or storage). I wouldn't leap into running a public-facing service on a machine parked in the back corner of an office somewhere, but it's not a big deal if your CI/CD machine goes offline for a few minutes if power or data connectivity stumbles.
  - klausa 4y ago
    I've worked for a startup where we begged the IT folks to just buy us an M1 Mac Mini to stuff in the closet somewhere, or at least sign us up for Mac Stadium or something, but it was borderline impossible to convince them to do that. Talking to DevOps folks to spin up two dedicated instances on AWS? I had access within 10 minutes.
    - BonoboIO 4y ago
      Absolutely insane.
- BonoboIO 4y ago
nix23 4y ago
Or use virtualbox: https://github.com/myspaghetti/macos-virtualbox https://github.com/myspaghetti/macos-virtualbox

novok 4y ago

And then you need to spend all of that time managing that machine for a lot of labor cost. It's all about a balance overall.

10000truths 4y ago
Managing what, exactly? I get that there’s a one time cost you have to pay to set things up, but that’s true of cloud builds as well.
- MBCook 4y ago
  Software updates, for one.
  - chaxor 4y ago
    I'm confused, if you're running an M2 Mac, you're probably going to be running Asahi Linux. (Not really sure there is any other option :P) That would be set up on the first day with the simple asahilinux she'll script, and then theres essentially nothing else needed after that. So you should be able to just `pacman -Syu`
    - arianvanp 4y ago
      If you run Asahi Linux you won't be able to do your XCode build so that kind of seems to defeat the whole purpose.
- spiderice 4y ago
  Isn't this a little like saying "Don't pay for Github, just buy a server rack"? My point being, A Mac mini != Xcode Cloud. There are other services that Xcode Cloud offers beyond a roll your own Mac mini solution. Just like how Github offers more services than a roll your own home server offers.
- hot_gril 4y ago
  Managing the difference between a home server and a cloud service. I used to manage some rack-mount servers for a garage startup. That meant dealing with: - power (including UPS and remote power strips) - network (LAN, router, ISP, DNS) - server hardware - server BIOS (i.e. pls reboot after power failure) - OS and software updates - user admin - backups And living 500 miles away from the server room taught me how many things can go wrong when I'm away, and what it takes to even monitor that. Can't easily conclude it wasn't worth, since these were multi-purpose and the equivalent capacity on EC2 would've cost a ton, but doing all that just for Xcode builds would've been silly. Closer to the topic, I also used to just manage a remote Mac mini server. It was also not automatic. Even had both disks in my RAID1 set fail over time.
  - arianvanp 4y ago
    Many of those things are included in the Hetnzer contract though. They have service technicians that can perform any physical operation for you remotely. Just open a ticket. Been hosting bare metal with them for ages and it has been very pleasant.
    - hot_gril 4y ago
      Then you still have to deal with the OS, user admin, and all the software yourself, right?
    - smoldesu 4y ago
      Will Hetzner install Linux on it for me and fix all the problems when they come up? If not, there's zero reason to purchase one of these for any professional purposes aside from iOS/MacOS CICD.
- onion2k 4y ago
  Managing what, exactly? I get that there’s a one time cost you have to pay to set things up, but that’s true of cloud builds as well. Yes, because XCode famously never crashes.

zionic 4y ago

Why would I ever pay hetzner money when they dare to dictate what software I can/can not run.

hamandcheese 4y ago
Care to explain this one?
- powerhour 4y ago
  Folks are sad that Hetzner, like most mainstream providers, has a policy against running crypto software and port scanners.
rfrey 4y ago
So instead you'll give your money to... Apple?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

Cthulhu_ 4y ago

Amazon also has M1 available now: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2022/07/general-availability-amazon-ec2-m1-mac-instances-macos/ https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2022/07/general-a... We've just set up our CI in it (set it up as a Gitlab runner), it seems to work fine. To add more complexity, it isn't even a native iOS app but Nativescript. I think we use it to make the Android builds as well.

meowtimemania 4y ago
How do you like nativescript? I haven’t met anyone using it yet
MrDOS 4y ago
For $475/month, I hope you're able to use it for more than just iOS builds. I know I'm too hobbyist- and small-business-minded for lots of folks on HN, but that monthly fee is a mind-boggling non-starter for me. I know that cloud services are never the cheapest option and I don't want to come off as a skinflint, but AWS' Mac pricing is just absurd. Two months' rental pays for the machine outright (three, if you upgrade the RAM or storage). I wouldn't leap into running a public-facing service on a machine parked in the back corner of an office somewhere, but it's not a big deal if your CI/CD machine goes offline for a few minutes if power or data connectivity stumbles.
- klausa 4y ago
  I've worked for a startup where we begged the IT folks to just buy us an M1 Mac Mini to stuff in the closet somewhere, or at least sign us up for Mac Stadium or something, but it was borderline impossible to convince them to do that. Talking to DevOps folks to spin up two dedicated instances on AWS? I had access within 10 minutes.
  - BonoboIO 4y ago
    Absolutely insane.
BonoboIO 4y ago

nix23 4y ago

Or use virtualbox: https://github.com/myspaghetti/macos-virtualbox https://github.com/myspaghetti/macos-virtualbox