Does anyone know if there are any competing hosting alternatives I can explore other than Amazon Web Services for running very small instances of Windows virtual machines? I have used AWS for years but am thinking that it might be worth-while to see if there are better alternatives.
In particular, the scenario I have is this: I have created a Windows virtual machine image with the applications and configuration I want and then spin up VMs based on that image as I need from on the AWS spot market. I can go weeks at a time without needing any virtual machines but then will spin up 20 VMs for a few hours to do a particular job. I typically pay around .61 cents an hour per micro Windows VM running on AWS (keep in mind that the AWS spot market is way cheaper than reserved instances).
Does Microsoft Azure or any other service support a similar scenario? I don't mind paying a little more if the performance and such is better. However, it is absolutely critical that I can set things up so I only have to pay for VMs when I actually need them rather than keep paying for VMs that aren't in use.
Microsoft Azure has the capability you are looking for. You can upload your own images and then quickly deploy extra-small machines based on it. On Azure you can turf off the VM's through the Azure portal after you are finished with them and you will not be charged. Make sure that you do it through the portal and not the windows session or you will continue to be billed.
Check out this link for pricing information:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/
You can follow these steps to upload your image to your azure account:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-create-upload-vhd-windows-server/
Also, you can scale up very easy in the azure portal so this might help reduce your need for spinning up multiple machines.
My team is developing an application which will enable end users to easily create, configure and destroy amazon instances without having to use Amazon SDKs themselves. The process at our end comprises of 3 steps.
1. Create / Destroy VMs in the amazon cloud using Amazon SDK (Done)
2. Configure/Install new software in the newly created instance.
3. Track usage/command and control.
We are currently in the second step. I just realized that Amazon SDK does not provide APIs for installing new software in the remote machine. I am not talking about AmazonCloudFormation APIs because those APIs are used to create and manage AWS resources rather a software like, say, a browser.
Has anyone installed new software in an amazon instance? If yes, did you use one of a)Amazon SDK, b) Any third party APIs and c) custom solution?
Also, is it even possible to install new software in an amazon instance through java code?
The Amazon API primarily controls infrastructure. It does not have any control as to what happens inside the instance.
There are a couple of ways you can bootstrap your instance and install software. You can use user-data to pass a script that will run on first launch. You could use a provisioning system like chef or puppet. You could roll your own if it works better for you.
What you are describing sounds a lot like a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).
A PaaS would allow you to submit an application to the PaaS and let it start the machines and set up your software on them. A PaaS would also give you additional features like monitoring, cross-cloud support and updating the application on the fly.
There are a several PaaS vendors mentioned here: Looking for Paas Recommendations
Disclaimer: I work for Cloudify, an open-source PaaS.
I have a basic but serviceable web hosting plan, but it doesn't support all the Java EE functionality I want to experiment with.
I've been thinking of signing up for some kind of VPS or Amazon ec2 service so I have a machine on the web that I can tinker with; that is, having direct control to install my own servers and databases and so on.
Where's a good inexpensive place to go to get started with a simple VPS system? Or is ec2 the right place for me?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks!
rob
Instance Types
ec2 Pricing
Console
(If you have non trivial bandwidth/storage requirements, you will have to factor those into the price equation accordingly)
Yes, you will have "direct control to install your own software"
Is this a good place to start? - yes
Is this the best/cheapest available option? - depends
Does it give you direct control over the "machine"? - yes
I just found out about amazon EC2. I am wondering what it actually offers. I use to go with VPS servers and now I want to learn if EC2 give me the same options as a VPS with some host company.
Are there any limitations on what I can install?
Thanks
Cristian
Probably the main difference between EC2 and a conventional VPS hosting service is the pricing model. EC2 charges for CPU time (and other resources) by the hour, whereas many conventional services charge by the month (or greater). The best way to learn about EC2 would be to jump into the documentation, and then sign up for the free usage tier.
Within reason, there are no limitations on what you can install.
Closed. This question needs to be more focused. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it focuses on one problem only by editing this post.
Closed last year.
The community reviewed whether to reopen this question last year and left it closed:
Original close reason(s) were not resolved
Improve this question
Is it possible to load / host an entire website using AWS? Or is it only a service that can load specific pieces of a website - such as images, etc. Obviously, I'd want to use my own domain. If you can use it, are there any limitations?
Here's the AWS link, for context:
http://aws.amazon.com/s3/
AWS = Amazon Web Services = a suite of different web services.
S3 (which you linked to) is an object store. You can't host a web service on S3.
EC2, also under the AWS umbrella, is virtualized compute space. You CAN host a web service on EC2. It is just like having a server in a rack somewhere, except that when you shut down an instance, it is gone forever. But using EBS, which is like a virtualized hard drive, will prevent you from losing your data when the EC2 instance shuts down.
See http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/ and http://aws.amazon.com/ebs/
EDIT: Aug 12, 2016 they have a dedicated section on how to get started hosting a website on AWS. Please note S3 only allows STATIC websites but AWS provides SDKs in case you want to run PHP, ASP.NET, etc on your instance. See the links for more details.
http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/WebsiteHosting.html
https://aws.amazon.com/websites/
So guess what I just found while doing some Google searches for hosting on AWS?! A blog post by the AWS stating that you can (now) host a website on S3. (Funny enough, the StackOverflow and the AWS post were right next to each other in the SERPs!)
http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2011/02/host-your-static-website-on-amazon-s3.html
Yes it is completely possible to host websites on AWS in 2 ways:
1.) Easy - S3 (Simple Storage Solution) is a bucket storage solution that lets you serve static content e.g. images but has recently been upgraded so you can use it to host flat .html files and your site will get served by a default Apache installation with very little configuration on your part (but also little control).
2.) Trickier - You can use EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and create a virtual Linux instance then install Apache/NGinx (or whatever) on that to give you complete control over serving whatever/however you want. You use SecurityGroups to enable/disable ports for individual machines or groups of them.
#danben your EC2 instance does not have a constant public IP by default. Amazon makes you use a CNAME - not an A record as your IP may change under load. You have to pay for an ElasticIP to get a consistent public IP for your setup (or use some sort of DynDNS)
As #danben mentioned, there is a difference between S3 and EC2.
One thing that may be interesting for people looking to host a website on Amazon, specially if they want to start small is that Amazon started offering a free tier some months ago. Together with services like BitNami Cloud Hosting (disclaimer, I helped design it, so it is a bit like my baby :) means you can get your site on the Amazon cloud in just minutes, for basically 0 dollars. You still need to give credit card info to Amazon, but it will not be charged if you stay within the limits of their free tier.
One thing to consider too is that at the time of writing this (Jul 2011), Amazon restricts you to one IP address per server. If you need to host multiple domains, you may need to use name-based virtual hosts or some tricks using their Elastic Load Balancer (which will cost you more). But all in all, it is worth a try if you are a bit technical and want more control than what shared hosting provides you
At reinvent 2018, AWS launched the Amplify Console, a continuous deployment and hosting service for single page and static apps with serverless backends. Check it out: http://console.amplify.aws
Yes! You can easily host your website on AWS.
There are two ways;
One with Native AWS - This is a tricky method that requires expertise and a series of commands to run. You need to manage security, DNS, SSL, server protocols, and more by yourself.
Managed Cloud Platforms like Cloudways - You can easily launch an AWS server and host your website with a few clicks. Moreover, you can quickly manage your server protocols, packages, security firewalls, DNS, and more from its intuitive platform.