“Cloud” is an advertising word, not a specification. In some places it means an ordinary virtual server, in others several machines linked in a network, in others just shared hosting under another name. Before you buy, ask what you receive exactly. These four questions work for any provider, ourselves included.
The four questions
| Question |
Why it matters |
| 1. Do I get a machine of my own or a shared slice? |
A shared slice with per-account limits is shared hosting. A virtual machine with reserved resources and root access is a VPS or a cloud machine. |
| 2. Is there a private network between my machines? |
It is what sets cloud apart from a VPS. With several servers talking to each other, a private network avoids exposing ports to the internet. See VPS vs Cloud: the difference is the network. |
| 3. Who administers it, and what comes as standard? |
Operating system, panel, backups, firewall, monitoring. On cloud machines and unmanaged VPS it is almost always the customer. See managed or unmanaged VPS. |
| 4. How do I grow, and what does that involve? |
Moving up a plan may mean a restart, or a migration. Ask before you need it. |
Using the questions, step by step
| 1 |
Write down what your project requires: how many machines, what software, who will administer it.
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| 2 |
Read the product page looking for the answers to the four questions. Our Cloud servers are on the Cloud server page and the VPS on the VPS server page, with each plan’s current specifications.
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| 4 |
Ask support before buying if an answer is unclear. It costs less than moving twice.
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Three words to read with suspicion
“Scalable”: can it grow, but with a restart, with a migration, or on the spot? “High availability”: is there redundancy, and what happens if the physical machine fails? “Dedicated resources”: reserved for you, or only partly guaranteed? None of these words has a single meaning, and any provider should be able to say concretely what it means by them.
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“In the cloud” does not mean “managed by them”. On a cloud server without management, updates, firewall and backups are the customer’s. Do not take it for granted, with us or with anyone: read what the plan includes. See how far our support goes.
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Not sure whether you need cloud, a VPS or just a shared plan? Describe the project and we will tell you which is enough.
Open a support ticket
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