How to Get Started with Cloud Server – be it Rackspace or Amazon or any brand which basically delivers Cloud Server as IaaS so you can allocate RAM yourself. This basic question How to Get Started with Cloud Server has been asked by a new user, who used Server before, but knew that, Server means a Web Hosting Control Panel. He tried both Rackspace or Amazon and found no way how to get started with cloud server. This is actually very common phenomenon.
How to Get Started with Cloud Server : Understand How You Get The Service or The Model
Basically, if you feel uncomfortable, there is no need to understand Cloud Computing itself, just because the label is Cloud Server. Most does this mistake. They mess up with terminologies, get head spinning and ultimately end up hopelessly.
Usual traditional server or Cloud Server, we have only one way to connect for initial setup – that is the black screen or Command Line Interface (CLI). We have lot of guides and articles on CLI itself, you can search on our website using the search function if you need somehow. Through the CLI we use SSH / Telnet to run the commands on the remote computer or server.
How to Get Started with Cloud Server : Why That Black Screen ?
The server is few hundred to few thousand Miles away from you. You have connect with it and use it as if you are physically present there only via the Internet connection. There are hackers, slow connection and many issues. The black screen, that is the CLI is the easiest way to make that remote computer working. Yes, you can see here, that remote computer or server actually just like your own computer.
1 | If I give you access remotely, it will be a 8GB Mac Server to you. |
Usually the Cloud Server is deliver one level up than usual shared or virtual dedicated server or dedicated server. Its somewhat like handling your own colocation server, where you can allocate different amount of RAM to each guest OS. The difference is, in case of Cloud Server, it is a rental system. The confusion of Web Hosting Control Panel can be eliminated if you read how we have installed cPanel on Rackspace Cloud Server. If I open a company and install in that way and sell to you, practically you will get the URL of cPanel and this is usual method particularly for the Shared Hosting.
You are thinking for 1 GB RAM for one Server ? Hostgator like Grade C webhosting companies deliver 700 – 1200 clients on one such shared server with 512 MB RAM. The marketing buzz is – cPanel Hosting, cPanel Partner etc. Can you imagine how much profit they have ? Forget $3 / month, if they resells for 3 cents per month, there will be profit. The server’s cost is nearly $15 / month on average. So practically only 4 clients negotiates the minimum running cost. Rest 696 (if there is 700 clients), the $3 x 696 per month is full profit. That is the basic reason behind downtime, slowness, huge amount they spend behind ads, affiliates.
You will not hear cPanel Hosting, Plesk Hosting etc. with Rackspace, Amazon, HP, Fuzitsu, Dell – what ever you use, because with Cloud Server you are actually using the virtual physical computer, that is what said Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and it became one terminology related with Cloud Computing. Any of these brands will give you over 99% uptime as you are the sole virtual dedicated user. You commitment is – you will use 1 GB of RAM at maximum. You are basically reserving 1 GB from their huge resource. 512 MB RAM is enough to run one average WordPress website, 1 GB makes a bit ‘easy’ to run. Over 1 GB need must be evaluated by an UNIX expert. Otherwise its not cost effective.
