First Post from my IPhone
I just downloaded the wordpress app from iTunes so I am taking it for a spin.
Seems to write pretty well and adding photos is fairly simple.
Good for quick posts or something to do while waiting.
Slicehost – First Impressions
It's been a couple of weeks since I began using slicehost and here are my first impressions.
1) Although I would not be considered a linux noob, the documentation available for setting up the normal-use server is exactly what I am looking for. Specific and tested. No need sifting through the flamewars of linux geeks on obscure blogs trying to figure out how to set up and use the iptables.
2) The size of the smallest slice is *almost* perfect for development needs. I have a SVN server running and use the slice to deploy applications in a preliminary sandbox. Sanity check for testing and demos. That being said, when my maven tomcat:deploy starts running, I can almost see the lights dim. But realistically, I am only deploying at development break points, which might be once or twice a day so it's not a deal at all.
3) The web-based console is great for those of us boxed in by corporate firewalls. You can still check system processes and tweak during your lunch break.
4) I could see this service being a reasonable alternative for small and medium size development shops. For example, buying a single slice for imaging purposes would maximize the time it takes to reinitialize an environment that's been plundered. Even if you wanted to manage your own production environment, having an image slice, a development slice, and a QA slice could reduce the amount of headaches in the development processes.
5) Forget proFTPd. Use vsftpd.
Overall, I am impressed and will continue to use the service. I am looking forward to possibly taking a new product into production and seeing how the slice upgrades work. If it is as simple as everything else, then it should be cake.
What I've done so far:
SVN
Apache
Tomcat
MySQL
Future:
Clustered JBoss
LDAP
Want to burn AVI as a DVD?
Easiest piece of DVD authoring software I have ever used. And. it's. free.
Slicehost – Taking VPS for a Spin
For the longest time, I have been looking for a solution to my specific hosting needs. I am a Java developer so naturally, I would like to be able to use the skills I already have in my personal development. Although I have tried building and maintaining my own server at my house, it's mostly been a failure due to bandwidth issues and power issues.
PHP Hosting
I currently have a hosting account with Bluehost and they are the typical PHP/web hosting company providing mysql, php, etc. For PHP developers, that is great and although I have done some smaller projects in PHP and trust it to be a great solution for small and medium size projects, the language is tedious and it doesn't have a good IDE, especially with all the benefits I enjoy from Eclipse. I need code completion. I need automatic refactoring when I change a class name. I NEED Maven.
Need My Own Playground
So what I need is full control - 100% access to installing and configuing a server from the OS up. Server colocation is expensive and tedius again because of all the hardware. In walks VPS (Virtual Private Server), and I think my life has changed. Here's a quick diagram of what a VPS is.
Hello, Slicehost
20 bucks. 256 MB RAM. 10 GB Hard Drive. 100 GB Bandwidth. Perfect to start. You have a choice of Linux OS, so I am going to go with the one I know best - Ubuntu. The plan is to build out a development box including JBoss, MySQL, Subversion, Maven, and ProFTPd and learn how to lock it down correctly.
Time to get started.