> If you start "self hosting" on a cloud based instance ... I can't anti-suggest this more. Everything I've done on anything labeled "cloud" is weird and spec

> If you start "self hosting" on a cloud based instance ... I can't anti-suggest this more. Everything I've done on anything labeled "cloud" is weird and special, in ways that would impede learning or dilute its quality. They're several wrapper layers above what's really going on. Get a bare VPS (I'd start with one listed at LowEndBox for a couple bucks a month) or dedicated host for learning. After you've learned there, you can try learning the significant extra complexity of "cloud".