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"I could move all 4 servers to a dedicated Hetzner box " How do you deal with hardware failure when you have a dedicated box at Hetzner? Specifically if/when s

by larrys 14y ago

"I could move all 4 servers to a dedicated Hetzner box " How do you deal with hardware failure when you have a dedicated box at Hetzner? Specifically if/when something fails are there spares etc?

gtaylor 14y ago
This is a really common oversight. The thing that posts like this fail to address is whether, in their theoretical application's case, downtime is a ballbreaker, or a minor annoyance. There is no one-size-fits-all or simple, formulaic solution to choosing cloud vs. bare metal. It's hugely dependent upon the organization and the application.
randall 14y ago
That's specifically why we're moving to Linode + AWS / Rackspace for backups. Hardware is something we're not willing to deal with. My cofounder is good at / likes to deal w/ server software, but hardware is just a dealbreaker for us. We'd rather view the extra spent as an insurance policy on bad hardware.
mootothemax 14y ago
How do you deal with hardware failure when you have a dedicated box at Hetzner? Specifically if/when something fails are there spares etc? Just to play devil's advocate, it's not unknown for large VPS providers to have major issues. This is something you need to consider regardless of whether you're using dedicated or VPS.
- larrys 14y ago
  "This is something you need to consider regardless" I'm not talking though about a separate issue which is proper backup procedures. I mean if you have a server racked at Hetzner (or elsewhere) what is your "plan b" when there is a hardware failure. In the case of a server that I just racked somewhere I will purchase a supply of the most logical parts to fail (fan, hard drive, board, power supply etc.) so that the parts are available and can be replaced quickly. I know that some providers take care of this for you so if the hardware fails (your hardware) you are back up and running quickly. In the case of a VPS, by contrast, it can generally be assumed (nice if a way to verify this but I'm guessing there isn't) that they take have taken care of and planned for hardware issues and spares and have a strategy. Of course if they haven't you have a big problem. At least with your own hardware you can plan accordingly and insure a better outcome. There are other issues as well. If the colo place is close to you do you keep the spare parts yourself or do you leave the spare parts with them? The answer depends on many factors (such as is there security where the parts are and who has access to them. If that is not the case better to keep the spares and drive over yourself with them even in the middle of the night).
  - TillE 14y ago
    You're talking about colo issues, not dedicated servers as originally mentioned (the Hetzner EX6 package). It's simpler and sometimes even cheaper to just rent the hardware and let the hosting company deal with all those issues, while of course taking care of redundancy yourself.

by larrys 14y ago

"I could move all 4 servers to a dedicated Hetzner box " How do you deal with hardware failure when you have a dedicated box at Hetzner? Specifically if/when something fails are there spares etc?

gtaylor 14y ago

This is a really common oversight. The thing that posts like this fail to address is whether, in their theoretical application's case, downtime is a ballbreaker, or a minor annoyance. There is no one-size-fits-all or simple, formulaic solution to choosing cloud vs. bare metal. It's hugely dependent upon the organization and the application.

randall 14y ago

That's specifically why we're moving to Linode + AWS / Rackspace for backups. Hardware is something we're not willing to deal with. My cofounder is good at / likes to deal w/ server software, but hardware is just a dealbreaker for us. We'd rather view the extra spent as an insurance policy on bad hardware.

mootothemax 14y ago

How do you deal with hardware failure when you have a dedicated box at Hetzner? Specifically if/when something fails are there spares etc? Just to play devil's advocate, it's not unknown for large VPS providers to have major issues. This is something you need to consider regardless of whether you're using dedicated or VPS.

larrys 14y ago
"This is something you need to consider regardless" I'm not talking though about a separate issue which is proper backup procedures. I mean if you have a server racked at Hetzner (or elsewhere) what is your "plan b" when there is a hardware failure. In the case of a server that I just racked somewhere I will purchase a supply of the most logical parts to fail (fan, hard drive, board, power supply etc.) so that the parts are available and can be replaced quickly. I know that some providers take care of this for you so if the hardware fails (your hardware) you are back up and running quickly. In the case of a VPS, by contrast, it can generally be assumed (nice if a way to verify this but I'm guessing there isn't) that they take have taken care of and planned for hardware issues and spares and have a strategy. Of course if they haven't you have a big problem. At least with your own hardware you can plan accordingly and insure a better outcome. There are other issues as well. If the colo place is close to you do you keep the spare parts yourself or do you leave the spare parts with them? The answer depends on many factors (such as is there security where the parts are and who has access to them. If that is not the case better to keep the spares and drive over yourself with them even in the middle of the night).
- TillE 14y ago
  You're talking about colo issues, not dedicated servers as originally mentioned (the Hetzner EX6 package). It's simpler and sometimes even cheaper to just rent the hardware and let the hosting company deal with all those issues, while of course taking care of redundancy yourself.