Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean? • Hacker News Board

Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#1

Post by webvet » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 2:40 PM UTC

Having struggled a lot with our current VPS, finally decided to go the cloud way.

[Those interested to know more about what we've been facing can refer to my two recent threads:

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6348903

2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6367198 ]

We're now trying to decide between linode and DigitalOcean.

One major difference between the two that we think we've found is that while DO offers SSD storage, linode (we think, again), has regular hard drives.

What do you all suggest? Linode or DO? Or something else?

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#2

Post by webvet » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 2:42 PM UTC

Clickable previous thread links:

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6348903

2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6367198

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#3

Post by trebor » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 3:02 PM UTC

Linode may have "regular" hard drives, but they're fast. I ran a legacy PHP commerce package for a client and it would log gigabytes of data due to deprecation warnings, I wasn't as knowledgeable about downgrading and freezing packages as I am now, but Linode handled it fine. I think they're 10k RPM SAS drives, so they're quite fast.

On the other hand, Linode gives you access to 8x Xen CPUs from the base package. While to get the same out of DigitalOcean you need to pay $160/mo. The pros/cons I see are:

DigitalOcean: SSD, RAM (2x), and therefore price (for low CPU apps) Linode: CPU, HD space, transfer (2-4x)

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#4

Post by knightzero » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 3:09 PM UTC

trebor wrote: post #3

Linode may have "regular" hard drives, but they're fast. I ran a legacy PHP commerce package for a client and it would log gigabytes of data due to deprecation warnings, I wasn't as knowledgeable about downgrading and freezing packages as I am now, but Linode handled it fine. I think they're 10k RPM SAS drives, so they're quite fast. On the other hand, Linode gives you access to 8x Xen CPUs from the base package. Whi…

Linode is working to upgrade to ssd. https://forum.linode.com/viewtopic.php?t=10406&f=26

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#5

Post by Gnewt » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 3:56 PM UTC

Linode is straightup incredible. I've been with them for about 5 years now. Almost every year they've given some sort of free upgrade -- I still pay the same amount I did 5 years ago and I now have something like 10x the bandwidth, a bit over 2x the storage, 2.8x the RAM, etc. AND faster processors. They're a company who seriously know their shit, and they're FAST.

The $20/mo base can be a bit much for some usages -- I still have a few $2-7/mo boxes from LowEndBox for various side projects, but for anything I really care about, I wouldn't put it anywhere but my Linode.

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#6

Post by bliti » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 4:20 PM UTC

Gnewt wrote: post #5

Linode is straightup incredible. I've been with them for about 5 years now. Almost every year they've given some sort of free upgrade -- I still pay the same amount I did 5 years ago and I now have something like 10x the bandwidth, a bit over 2x the storage, 2.8x the RAM, etc. AND faster processors. They're a company who seriously know their shit, and they're FAST. The $20/mo base can be a bit much for some usages --…

My experience with Linode left a very sour taste in my mouth. Their security leaves a lot to be desired. It cost me, and clients, a fair amount of money and grief. Their hardware might be good, but their policies are lacking. I do not recommend anyone to use Linode.

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#7

Post by bliti » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 4:24 PM UTC

I have used both, would choose neither. Linode has awful security, and security policies. Digital Ocean's offerings were not consistent and rather unstable/buggy. Some of their OS images did not work. Their support was a bit on the slow side for me.

I've had really good luck with Webfaction. Do look into them.

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#8

Post by ablerman » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 4:45 PM UTC

bliti wrote: post #7

I have used both, would choose neither. Linode has awful security, and security policies. Digital Ocean's offerings were not consistent and rather unstable/buggy. Some of their OS images did not work. Their support was a bit on the slow side for me. I've had really good luck with Webfaction. Do look into them.

Can you give some specifics about the security issues you saw at Linode?

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#9

Post by taway2012 » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 4:45 PM UTC

bliti wrote: post #6

Gnewt wrote: post #5

Linode is straightup incredible. I've been with them for about 5 years now. Almost every year they've given some sort of free upgrade -- I still pay the same amount I did 5 years ago and I now have something like 10x the bandwidth, a bit over 2x the storage, 2.8x the RAM, etc. AND faster processors. They're a company who seriously know their shit, and they're FAST. The $20/mo base can be a bit much for some usages --…

My experience with Linode left a very sour taste in my mouth. Their security leaves a lot to be desired. It cost me, and clients, a fair amount of money and grief. Their hardware might be good, but their policies are lacking. I do not recommend anyone to use Linode.

You've written the same thing twice in this thread, without giving specifics.

Which Linode specific security policies caused you what specific "grief"? And what provider do you use now?

I know (1) they were late to the two-factor-auth party, (2) had a break-in where credit cards numbers were stolen, (3) a targeted attack that was used to compromise some bitcoin hosts.

I am aware of these incidents and still give full marks to Linode. The hardware is incredible. The hard disks are speedy. The network connection is very fast. My $20/mo is working much harder at Linode than it would at Amazon. :)

I've been hosting a lightly-used disk- and network- heavy app for a few months now. Never had a problem so far.

Re: Ask HN: Going the cloud way - Linode or DigitalOcean?

#10

Post by bliti » Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 4:59 PM UTC

taway2012 wrote: post #9

bliti wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience with Linode left a very sour taste in my mouth. Their security leaves a lot to be desired. It cost me, and clients, a fair amount of money and grief. Their hardware might be good, but their policies are lacking. I do not recommend anyone to use Linode.

You've written the same thing twice in this thread, without giving specifics. Which Linode specific security policies caused you what specific "grief"? And what provider do you use now? I know (1) they were late to the two-factor-auth party, (2) had a break-in where credit cards numbers were stolen, (3) a targeted attack that was used to compromise some bitcoin hosts. I am aware of these incidents and still give full…

The credit card break in caused me a lot of grief. It just blew my mind how something so important would not be treated as such. If you do not take care of the basics, I cannot trust you with my code.

For most of my smaller needs, I use webfaction (web hosting and vps). Which has been very good. Costs more, but their support is very good. Bigger things go to Amazon.

I did not have hardware issues with Linode. Wish you the best of luck. Hopefully they have learned and taken security seriously since the last breach.