[TriLUG] recommendations for on-line Linux VM

[Eli Rodriguez via TriLUG]

Hi Joseph,

I also needed a free way to host a small website and back up personal
projects. I found a great solution using an Oracle Always Free Virtual
Machine (VM) through the Oracle Cloud Free Tier program (Oracle Cloud Free
Tier | Oracle <https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/>).

This VM gives me SSH access, and all the ports I've needed have been open.
I use Docker to run my website, with Nginx as the web server and SSL
certificates from a free Certificate Authority. I also use scp to regularly
back up my personal project files to the VM, acting as a free offsite
backup solution.

There are two minor things to be aware of:

   1.

   *CPU Usage Requirement:* Oracle requires the VM to have some CPU
   activity. If it's idle for too long, they may shut it down (though they do
   send email warnings). To avoid this, I run a small program periodically
   that uses a small amount of CPU. This keeps the VM active without actually
   doing much work.
   2.

   *Console Login:* You need to log into the Oracle Cloud console
   periodically. Again, they send reminders, so it's not a big deal.

I've been using this setup for years without any issues. I previously tried
the AWS Free Tier, but it only lasted a year before I started getting
charged. The Oracle Always Free tier has been a much better long-term
solution for my needs.

Good luck!

thanks,
--Eli

On Wed, Feb 12, 2025 at 6:52 AM Joseph Mack NA3T via TriLUG <
trilug at trilug.org> wrote:

> On Tue, 11 Feb 2025, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:
>
> > I want a Linux machine on-line, that I can logon at the command line,
> like I
> > do with my home machines, and pilot. I want it to run a lightly used a
> > website. I also want to be able to install and remove files at will had
> not
> > have any blocked ports.
>
> Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
>
> This is quite a morass. I just want a VM I can spin up and do what I want
> with, like I do at home. The VM will be running my azimuthal equidistant
> map generator, which has been making maps for 30 years now. It makes a
> couple of maps (maybe 5mins of CPU) a day. I don't need performance - eg
> nvmeSSDs and multiple CPUs. If I wanted performance, I would be hosting it
> myself.
>
> Many years ago, Linode just offered VMs. That's what they did. Now their
> webpage is a blizzard of bullshit (yes I can find their VMs, but you have
> to search, indicating that VMs aren't really their business any more).
> Others are offering Linux VMs, but don't tell you the distribution they're
> using. Other people offer things that aren't VMs, like droplets. If they
> were selling cars, what would they call them? When I have to contact them,
> they aren't going to be talking my language - no thanks. Other people
> (hertzner) are offering webservers with webFTP - I don't control that
> machine - accessing it will be like peering through a keyhole. Then
> there's paravirtualisation, which I'd never heard of, where the host and
> the VM talk to each other, which I would have thought is the opposite of
> what you want. Other providers hide their offerings and are only
> interested in telling you how great they are. Some won't tell you want
> they've got till you sign up. Clearly most customers aren't looking for
> just a VM anymore.
>
> I'm not planning on having my own e-mail server, although it would be nice
> to have one. It would seem that the big tech companies are making sure
> that only they can do e-mail, by squeezing out the small players by
> assigning reputation in blocks. I would have to take them on and deal with
> their requirements. I'm reassured to find that I have the same
> understanding of the problems of setting up e-mail as Scott Blaydes (an
> opinionated person, which is what I was hoping for) has.
>
> Linode had a break-in about a decade ago, that resulted in a crypto-heist,
> which involved poor security on their part (it seems a compromised admin
> machine was able to get into the customer's machines) and they never
> compensated (even partially) the people who were affected. This doesn't
> look good. However they are the people who are the nearest to talking my
> language.
>
> It would be nice to find a provider like Linode was 10 years ago, who had
> a webpage that said "here are our VMs" and just left it at that. I expect
> I'll have to wrestle what I want out of even Linode.
>
> Thanks
> Joe
>
> --
> Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
> Don't upgrade a working machine - it won't work any
> better - it could work worse; it may not work at all.
> Homepage http://www.austintek.com/ It's GNU/Linux!
>
> --
> This message was sent to: Eli Rodriguez <riesgo at gmail.com>
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