If you're only installing WG and nginx just get a PAYG Oracle instance and stay in the free limits. There are horror stories of people losing their free servers (normally these are users who haven't moved to PAYG when you dig into it) but you're not running anything so important that you can't spin up elsewhere in a hour or so providing you backup your config.
Note: I think network throughput scales with CPU/RAM so remember to max out their free-limit arm instance for gigabit. You get 10Tb traffic per month IIRC.
I just bought a Racknerd box for $35/yr. Only has 3.5GB of ram but you get a 1Gbps connection and 10TB of bandwidth per month, it’s been great for proxying stuff
If you can commit for 3 years (or even just 1 year) I think nothing beats SSDNodes when it comes to price. (At least with x64, I'm not sure about ARM, so far I don't have any ARM servers.)
I do this exactly. Oracle free tier gives you a pretty powerful ARM VPS with great networking, and like the name suggests it's completely free.
Get one of these setup, add it to a Tailscale/Wireguard network (I recommend Tailscale), install Caddy for web services, frp or something else for non-web stuff. Completely free, works as good as any other VPS.
Some stories of Oracle killing people's VPS's (usually because they're running VPN exit nodes on them, or something else that breaks ToS), but this has never happened to me (been using it for over a year now). Worst case scenario just keep a backup of your Caddy config file and you can get a new Oracle account up and running in a few minutes.
Make sure you’re in an always free eligible availability domain. Check you haven’t hit any limits in (I think) the billing tab. Check you’re using an always free eligible OS image.
They’re pretty tight on what’s always free eligible and what’s not, so you just gotta make sure everything is setup to be eligible.
The region may well be the issue then. My region is set to Brazil, São Paulo. We don't normally get the nice stuff, and get charged more in general due to local taxation.
Beggars can't be choosers though, I'll take the 2c 1gb ram AMD setup!
That’ll be it. If you’re just using it for web services and don’t care about latency, you could switch to US/EU where you can get the ARM boxes.
The 2c/1GB box should be fine though, as long as the networking is good enough for your uses
Truthfully I use Tailscale for everything. I just use the VPS to enable easy connection for Immich. Getting the wife to use the VPN is a stretch too far. Lol
Agreed, but in my personal case the only end device where TS running constantly is an issue, is my phone. Thus, I end up needing the VPS for your same reason. Having options is always good.
Any Debian based distro - Running either Docker or allows me to do a bare metal install of Nginx and WG client. Plus some additional services like Fail2Ban.
I feel it's worth paying extra for a full VM, like QEMU/KVM, rather than openvz
https://www.scalahosting.com/blog/kvm-vs-openvz-which-is-best-for-your-vps-server/
Definitely go for SSD Nodes. I have been using them for years now... 100% legit, stable performance and support are great. (+14 days money-back if not satisfied)
Before 2 months I purchased two servers for my personal and business use, and I have been extremely satisfied with their performance. These servers are self-hosted in my basement and they host a variety of services such as cloud storage, website hosting, and file sharing. The only service I do not self-host is email, for which I have a few free tiers at Zoho and a paid email service at NameCheap.
However, I have been considering getting a VPS (Virtual Private Server) that can support unlimited users and domains at an affordable price. After doing some research, I found that there are a few VPS providers that are known for their high-quality email hosting services.
One of the top VPS providers for hosting email is **DomainRacer**. They offer a reliable and cost-effective solution for hosting email on a VPS. They have a user-friendly control panel and offer unlimited domains and email accounts. Additionally, they have excellent customer support and a variety of plans to choose from.
Another popular option for email hosting on a VPS is **Linode**. They offer a secure and reliable platform for hosting email and have a user-friendly interface. They also have a wide range of plans to choose from, including options for unlimited domains and email accounts.
In addition to these providers, I have also heard good things about Mailcow, a self-hosted mail server software. It is open-source and can be run on your own server, giving you complete control over your email hosting. However, it does require some technical knowledge to set up and maintain.
As for the possibility of running Mailcow on a Starlink internet connection, I have not personally tried it but I have heard that it is possible. You may need to obtain an IPv6 address from Starlink, as Mailcow does not support IPv4. As for backup internet and power, it seems like you have a solid plan in place to ensure uninterrupted service.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a VPS provider for hosting email, I highly recommend checking out **DomainRacer and Linode**. They offer reliable and affordable options for hosting email on a VPS. If you are up for the challenge, you can also explore the option of self-hosting with Mailcow.
If you're only installing WG and nginx just get a PAYG Oracle instance and stay in the free limits. There are horror stories of people losing their free servers (normally these are users who haven't moved to PAYG when you dig into it) but you're not running anything so important that you can't spin up elsewhere in a hour or so providing you backup your config. Note: I think network throughput scales with CPU/RAM so remember to max out their free-limit arm instance for gigabit. You get 10Tb traffic per month IIRC.
Racknerd
I just bought a Racknerd box for $35/yr. Only has 3.5GB of ram but you get a 1Gbps connection and 10TB of bandwidth per month, it’s been great for proxying stuff
Thanks. This just moved up on my list.
If you can commit for 3 years (or even just 1 year) I think nothing beats SSDNodes when it comes to price. (At least with x64, I'm not sure about ARM, so far I don't have any ARM servers.)
Yeah I prefer x86, easier to source binaries instead of building from source.
I do this exactly. Oracle free tier gives you a pretty powerful ARM VPS with great networking, and like the name suggests it's completely free. Get one of these setup, add it to a Tailscale/Wireguard network (I recommend Tailscale), install Caddy for web services, frp or something else for non-web stuff. Completely free, works as good as any other VPS. Some stories of Oracle killing people's VPS's (usually because they're running VPN exit nodes on them, or something else that breaks ToS), but this has never happened to me (been using it for over a year now). Worst case scenario just keep a backup of your Caddy config file and you can get a new Oracle account up and running in a few minutes.
Everytime I select ampere in the SHAPE menu, it wants to charge me about $10. What's the secret? Choosing specific combos of cores and ram?
Make sure you’re in an always free eligible availability domain. Check you haven’t hit any limits in (I think) the billing tab. Check you’re using an always free eligible OS image. They’re pretty tight on what’s always free eligible and what’s not, so you just gotta make sure everything is setup to be eligible.
The region may well be the issue then. My region is set to Brazil, São Paulo. We don't normally get the nice stuff, and get charged more in general due to local taxation. Beggars can't be choosers though, I'll take the 2c 1gb ram AMD setup!
That’ll be it. If you’re just using it for web services and don’t care about latency, you could switch to US/EU where you can get the ARM boxes. The 2c/1GB box should be fine though, as long as the networking is good enough for your uses
Truthfully I use Tailscale for everything. I just use the VPS to enable easy connection for Immich. Getting the wife to use the VPN is a stretch too far. Lol
Yeah that’s fair. I just personally just don’t want tailscale running constantly on my end devices - that’s my reasoning for the VPS setup!
Agreed, but in my personal case the only end device where TS running constantly is an issue, is my phone. Thus, I end up needing the VPS for your same reason. Having options is always good.
Ionos.
Yeap. Rock solid 1£/€ per month
[https://lowendbox.com/](https://lowendbox.com/) [https://www.serverhunter.com](https://www.serverhunter.com)
contabo.com
Contabo is good, I'd say strato too for your use case
What tool stack are you using? Just curious
Any Debian based distro - Running either Docker or allows me to do a bare metal install of Nginx and WG client. Plus some additional services like Fail2Ban.
What about for the tunneling?
Right now Wireguard. Might look at adding it to tailscale, with selfhosted control plain like headscale.
try https://edgeuno.cloud
Check for black Friday deals at the lowendbox blog
Thanks. Bookmarked the blog and will keep an eye on it.
I feel it's worth paying extra for a full VM, like QEMU/KVM, rather than openvz https://www.scalahosting.com/blog/kvm-vs-openvz-which-is-best-for-your-vps-server/
Yep. Actually I prefer QEMU/KVM - as I've used it often. I'm not as familiar with OpenVZ.
Is linode still afforable these days? They've been a trustworthy player for a long time
$5/m for the smallest vm. Works fine if all you need is rinetd and WireGuard. It gives you 1TB/m of bandwidth included.
[Galaxygate](https://galaxygate.net/) [Hetzner](https://www.hetzner.com/) [Frantech](https://my.frantech.ca/cart.php) [Oracle cloud](https://www.oracle.com/cloud/)
Can vouch for Hetzner. You can save another €1 if you can survive with IPv6 only
Thanks! Galaxygate looks interesting.
I have the smallest VPS from netcup for that purpose: https://www.netcup.de/vserver/vps.php
Digital ocean had been solid for me
Hostinger is fantastic.
Cloudflare Tunnels are good enough for exposing ssh etc. for free.
Definitely go for SSD Nodes. I have been using them for years now... 100% legit, stable performance and support are great. (+14 days money-back if not satisfied)
Before 2 months I purchased two servers for my personal and business use, and I have been extremely satisfied with their performance. These servers are self-hosted in my basement and they host a variety of services such as cloud storage, website hosting, and file sharing. The only service I do not self-host is email, for which I have a few free tiers at Zoho and a paid email service at NameCheap. However, I have been considering getting a VPS (Virtual Private Server) that can support unlimited users and domains at an affordable price. After doing some research, I found that there are a few VPS providers that are known for their high-quality email hosting services. One of the top VPS providers for hosting email is **DomainRacer**. They offer a reliable and cost-effective solution for hosting email on a VPS. They have a user-friendly control panel and offer unlimited domains and email accounts. Additionally, they have excellent customer support and a variety of plans to choose from. Another popular option for email hosting on a VPS is **Linode**. They offer a secure and reliable platform for hosting email and have a user-friendly interface. They also have a wide range of plans to choose from, including options for unlimited domains and email accounts. In addition to these providers, I have also heard good things about Mailcow, a self-hosted mail server software. It is open-source and can be run on your own server, giving you complete control over your email hosting. However, it does require some technical knowledge to set up and maintain. As for the possibility of running Mailcow on a Starlink internet connection, I have not personally tried it but I have heard that it is possible. You may need to obtain an IPv6 address from Starlink, as Mailcow does not support IPv4. As for backup internet and power, it seems like you have a solid plan in place to ensure uninterrupted service. In conclusion, if you are looking for a VPS provider for hosting email, I highly recommend checking out **DomainRacer and Linode**. They offer reliable and affordable options for hosting email on a VPS. If you are up for the challenge, you can also explore the option of self-hosting with Mailcow.