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Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

fourplex.net

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Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#71

I'd see Chinese RAM manufacturers like CXMT filling the void left in the market for consumer-grade RAM modules, I appreciate they face challenges (like lack of access to cutting edge EUV machines), but the RAM just needs to be fast enough and affordable enough for the average user for these companies to make significant inroads into the market that Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix are abandoning to chase the AI server ma…

That's probably what is going to happen, it's a strategic opportunity for the Chinese government here, there's a big market demand that can fuel their domestic production capabilities that nobody wants to take.

It would be a strategic opportunity for Intel, if they weren't run by imbeciles. DDR4 doesn't require the latest and greatest nodes. It's boring old technology. Even DDR5 is pretty boring. Intel could clean up fabbing DRAM (like they used to). But alas no. They're part of the semiconductor cartel and uninterested in the supply of DRAM increasing. Prices would drop and the fabs would only make stupid margins instead of disgusting margins.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You definitely can use Linux with few simple servers with 128 MB RAM. Install can be tricky indeed, but if you have installed system, it's easier.

Yeah I'll need conclusive proof of that.

This is not difficult, you just need to run `htop` and perform addition of the RES column (which is in KB unless a unit is shown). Example:

    USER         RES▽ Command
    root       70436  systemd-journald
    root       14268  amazon-ssm-agent
    root       13508  systemd
    root       12160  systemd --user
    root       10240  sshd: root@pts/0
    root        9088  sshd: root [priv]
    root        8944  systemd-udevd
    root        8704  systemd-logind
    root        8320  nix-daemon --daemon
    systemd-ti  8192  systemd-timesyncd
    systemd-oo  7808  systemd-oomd
    root        6492  -zsh
    nscd        6272  nsncd
    messagebus  5888  dbus-daemon --system --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile -
    root        5888  htop
    sshd        4904  sshd: root [net]
    root        4736  sshd: sshd -D -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config [listener] 1 of 10-100
    root        2960  (sd-pam)
    root        2816  agetty --login-program login ttyS0 --keep-baud
    root        2192  dhcpcd: [privileged proxy]
    dhcpcd      1680  dhcpcd: [manager] [ip4] [ip6]
    dhcpcd      1468  dhcpcd: [BPF ARP] ens5 172.31.8.86
    dhcpcd      1168  dhcpcd: [control proxy]
    dhcpcd      1040  dhcpcd: [network proxy]

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#73
post #10

Out of curiosity, what advantages do the small VPS hosts offer compared to the big 3 (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)? Customer Service? Pricing? Local Data Center?

Much better prices, and simplicity. The power you get from Hetzner or Kimsufi is crazy compared to AWS. If I need to host something small, I don’t want to mess around with the many permissions and quirks that are required to deal with AWS. It is often much easier to just setup the server on a standalone service.

This.

When I worked at Microsoft, I seldom used Azure for personal use due to it being expensive and complicated.

Whereas I have plenty of Fourplex.net servers because even on half the salary, it's affordable enough for 16 Tor exit relays and two personal web/email/Mastodon servers.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#74

I'd see Chinese RAM manufacturers like CXMT filling the void left in the market for consumer-grade RAM modules, I appreciate they face challenges (like lack of access to cutting edge EUV machines), but the RAM just needs to be fast enough and affordable enough for the average user for these companies to make significant inroads into the market that Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix are abandoning to chase the AI server ma…

Their scale is simply too small to affect the market outside China, majority of their chips will be eaten up by HBM3 production with yet unknown yield rate.

They are forbidden to buy foreign equipment beyond their current process node, which is already obsolete, die size is 40% bigger than Samsung, not to mention lithography, the big 3 are using EUV while they are stuck with lobotomized DUV.

They can start making some decent money now, but vastly expanding capacity as is means enormous losses if the cycle went downward a few years later, that's how all previous makers went bankrupt.

They can squeeze out a bit more performance if they are ready to go beyond their current node using only domestic equipment and be blacklisted by the US government.

But the cap is there, unless they can make a working EUV machine in 5 years, they are doomed to be a minor player, if the current cycle even lasts that long.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#75
post #62

While not a small host, I thought I would mention what I observed with OVH's VPS offering. I was considering their line of VPSes recently because of how generous the cores/ram quantities were given the price. For example, the smallest offering is 4 cores / 8GB at just over $4 a month. What I found is that it is cheap because the cores, and presumably ram, is old. Like, 2013 era Xeon E3-1275 v3 old. But that's fine! O…

I previously ran another VPS host who did the same exact thing (before OVH did it?).

Unlike Fourplex.net which uses modern ASRock Ryzen 9000 servers, Qeru.net used older HPE DL360 Gen9 servers.

I gave 3GB of RAM for $3-4/mo then. But these servers weren't very fast. I ended up selling the business, and am happy I did.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You definitely can use Linux with few simple servers with 128 MB RAM. Install can be tricky indeed, but if you have installed system, it's easier.

Yeah I'll need conclusive proof of that.

netBSD! ... o wait not linux... damn

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#77
post #13

Out of curiosity, what advantages do the small VPS hosts offer compared to the big 3 (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)? Customer Service? Pricing? Local Data Center?

Until recently I had a 4gb ram 80gb ssd+2tb hd VPS running debian in a Montreal data centre with a real use 700 mbit pipe to my city with a budget provider for the equivalent of $80USD/year. When fio speeds were slow they moved me to a less crowded server. I gave it up as don't need it and moved my personal sites back to NFS for peanuts a year and services to my NAS. The pricing, offsite storage for my backups, Canad…

Canadian here, could you share the name of the provider? I'd love to move to something more local and just need a basic small vps for a simple apache host. I know of a couple providers but never talked to anyone actually using one.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#78
post #77
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until recently I had a 4gb ram 80gb ssd+2tb hd VPS running debian in a Montreal data centre with a real use 700 mbit pipe to my city with a budget provider for the equivalent of $80USD/year. When fio speeds were slow they moved me to a less crowded server. I gave it up as don't need it and moved my personal sites back to NFS for peanuts a year and services to my NAS. The pricing, offsite storage for my backups, Canad…

Canadian here, could you share the name of the provider? I'd love to move to something more local and just need a basic small vps for a simple apache host. I know of a couple providers but never talked to anyone actually using one.

They're probably talking about ServaRICA. They post deals on LowEndTalk.

Re: Is the RAM shortage killing small VPS hosts?

#79

Small VPS hosts shouldn’t really exist. They’re either resellers or just half-assing it. How can you trust Gary from GaryHosting not to just steal all your data? How can you trust him to have redundant networks? You just can’t.

Ideally all cloud applications hostable on any platform would just provide the following services to clients: A. rendezvous services so clients can connect to one another, B. storage/retrieval of encrypted data where the host does not have the key to decrypt, C. transport of encrypted data which cannot be known by the host due to B above. > How can you trust him to have redundant networks You can't, so abstract that…

Your data has to be decrypted somewhere to be useable, how would that work?
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