Virtual Private Server (VPS)
What is it
Available from many vendors, a PVS is esssentially what appears to be a dedicated bare-metal computer in the cloud that is actually a guest client in a server farm.
Typically you will get:
- root access
- dedicated IP address
- easily installed base operating system (debian, ubuntu, freebsd, etc)
- defined services:
- disk space
- network bandwidth
- cpu(s)
- ram
- management console (for starting, resetting
Other services, like domain registration, ecommerce software, and backups may be available at added cost
Examples:
- Kamatera start at $4/mo for 1CPU, 20G disk, 1G ram, 5TB/mo network – more than enough for owlogger with other applications as well. This is what I use.
- Ionis as little as $2/month with different options
- Hotinger $5/mo with similar resources
Caveates
Many offers for “servers” or “web sites” do not give root access which limits your ability to add software (like owlogger). They are designed as a turnkey small business website for non-technical users and limit choices to reduce problems and support costs.
In practice
- Select base operating system, username and password
- Start server
- Note IP address
- Test access via ssh and update software
- Get a domain
- Will need subdomains like owlogger.domain.name
- Install software (git ufw caddy owlogger)
- Configure and start owlogger service