Afrihost cuts cloud hosting prices

[lroachl]

Afrihost you rock, if I could ask for that one present for 2012 it would be that you guys do a deal with Linode and bring there service to SA. Before I say some thing stupid, what is Afrihost backend for the cloud computing like? any one got some screen shots

 

[Fudzy]

This is cloud hosting, Dropbox is cloud storage.

What is the difference between regular hosting and cloud hosting?

 

[lroachl]

This might be a bit simplistic answer but
regular hosting: is based on one fiscal server. e.g. one computer
cloud hosting: its a few server that share the load of the processing and data storage. so if one goes down there is still more to handle the load, almost like a raid 6 on a server.

And as far as I under stand cloud computing does not necessarily mean that its base in more than one location e.g. one in london and one in cape town.

 

[Fudzy]

This might be a bit simplistic answer but
regular hosting: is based on one fiscal server. e.g. one computer
cloud hosting: its a few server that share the load of the processing and data storage. so if one goes down there is still more to handle the load, almost like a raid 6 on a server.

Not necessarily, most hosts (ie. Hostgator) use virtual machines which are run across arrays. Maybe the performance balancing is the difference, that is probably creating the buzz around the word. I'd like to think that cloud computing would work like CDNs where information is synchronised with other servers all around the world to improve application efficiency.

In regards to there being a difference between cloud hosting and cloud storage. My view is that cloud storage is essentially just the means of storing data on cloud hosting.

 

[elvis_presley]

What is the difference between regular hosting and cloud hosting?

Marketing. This is just virtualised server hosting, but "Cloud" is a buzzword, so they put that into the title.

It's funny that on the Afrihost cloud hosting page http://www.afrihost.com/site/product/cloud_hosting?src=nav they have "Imagine having your own dedicated server, at a fraction of the cost" - dedicated servers are something else ... as the name suggests, it's your own dedicated server ... they need to send their marketing department on a "computer terminology for dummies" course.

 

[Fudzy]

Marketing. This is just virtualised server hosting, but "Cloud" is a buzzword, so they put that into the title.

Bah IT buzzwords, the bane of any product manager's vocabulary.

 

[JerryMungo]

Looks like they only offer CentOS and it does not say which version of CentOS. Seriously good pricing for the storage and RAM. I'd like to see how these systems actually perform in terms of I/O and CPU. Anybody have any experience?

--deckert

CentOS... That does put a damper on it for me...

^ Free What? R15 per gig for WHAT?

 

[Species8472]

CentOS... That does put a damper on it for me...

^ Free What? R15 per gig for WHAT?

As per: http://www.afrihost.com/site/product/cloud_hosting?src=homeslide

Setup Fee: Free
Data transfer overage: R15 per gig

 

[Bern]

Anyone contemplating "Cloud Computing" should be weary. MegaUpload being threatend with all there uploaders data is a good example.

Not the same at all, Afrihost rent you the server, if you do something illegal with it you are liable, not them. They would only be liable if they were notified officially of the illegal activity and then didn't suspect/end your service.

CentOS... That does put a damper on it for me...

^ Free What? R15 per gig for WHAT?

For data over the cap - stops people trying to use the servers for torrents etc. I assume...

 

[Simpy]

Is there a control panel?
Can you have online provisioning of new servers from said control panel?
Anyone else see limitations with regards to OS.
Are there traffic exclusions between servers?
What sort of redundancy on networking and SAN environments?

It seems to be a very basic offering and the only thing attractive about their offering is the traffic.

 

[The_Unnamed]

So, could one host a game server using one of these?

 

[skimread]

So, could one host a game server using one of these?

Yes its a virtual machine.
It's not unlimited traffic. They charge R15 per GB over 70Gb of web traffic.

For me I would like to host my websites and dbs on a server and like to do my own offsite backup daily. Problem is if the db is 2GB is size the daily traffic just for backup will eat up my web traffic despite me backing up after hours.
They should make unlimited traffic between 12:00 and 6:00.

 

[EtienneK]

So, could one host a game server using one of these?

My buddy is planning on hosting his minecraft sever on these.

 

[Totempole]

Only Linux cloud servers, what about Windows 2008?

Licensing fees would hike up the price. Take RSAWeb's prices as an example.

 

[Totempole]

So, could one host a game server using one of these?

Theoretically yes. But it would be probably be a lot easier on a Windows Server 2008 Cloud.

 

[elvis_presley]

Licensing fees would hike up the price. Take RSAWeb's prices as an example.

Holy moly! I just checked RSAWeb now... I think they're taking the piss. Mweb's uncapped virtual hosting is only R30-R50/month extra for Win2k8 R2 Standard.

 

[KyBeckx]

Holy moly! I just checked RSAWeb now... I think they're taking the piss. Mweb's uncapped virtual hosting is only R30-R50/month extra for Win2k8 R2 Standard.

A few things to consider when comparing a true cloud solution to virtual hosting solution:

- are upgrades/downgrades and deploying servers instant?
- is there a proper control panel and server monitoring?
- is traffic pricing excluded between servers in the same DC?
- is the storage SAN?
- is there a free trial option to test what you are buying?
- do you have to sign a contract?

 

[Totempole]

A few things to consider when comparing a true cloud solution to virtual hosting solution:

- are upgrades/downgrades and deploying servers instant?
- is there a proper control panel and server monitoring?
- is traffic pricing excluded between servers in the same DC?
- is the storage SAN?
- is there a free trial option to test what you are buying?
- do you have to sign a contract?

I took RSAWeb up on the free cloud trial to see exactly how it works, and also try to
find out if I could possibly have a use for one.

Once my trial with Win2k8 R2 Standard was finally up and running, I decided to set
a nice wallpaper.

Then, I used Internet Explorer to download Firefox.

Then I downloaded Flash for Firefox.

Then I decided to give my newly obtained Cloud Server an Internet Speed Test.
(I got an awesome result btw. It was like 99MB DWN and 127MB UP! Faster than 99% of ZA)

Finally, I wanted to try a Speed Test from a server other than the recommended one...
... and the Server Froze.

I figured, no big deal, and went to the Control Panel to force a restart. This was at about 5PM.
Guess what? It's still restarting 8-Hours Later! :wtf:

I logged a support ticket, but nobody's answered yet.

I think I broke it.

 

[tnero]

CentOS... That does put a damper on it for me...

^ Free What? R15 per gig for WHAT?

I requested a trial (as an existing dedicated server customer) and they came back asking what flavour of linux I want. So no it doesnt have to be CentOS. Not sure about the MS option though... We're on MS stack but actually need a linux box for this scenario.

 

[EtienneK]

Anyone using this? How's the performance?

Thinking of going this route for a new project I'm planning.