On 18.03.2011, at 10:07, Randal L. Schwartz wrote:

>>>>>> "radoslav" == radoslav hodnicak <rh at 4096.sk> writes:
> 
> radoslav> Finally, if the Squeak services infrastructure moves to Freebsd I'm
> radoslav> willing to donate time to help out with the setup and running it. I
> radoslav> have a bunch of servers at Hetzner and very positive experience with
> radoslav> them and freebsd - how can linux admins live without jails?
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> radoslav> I'd argue for renting another machine from them instead of a
> radoslav> VPS - why pay more for less? The current Hetzner servers (EQ
> radoslav> line) start at quadcore cpu/8gigs of RAM for 49
> radoslav> euro/month. How much would you pay to get that virtualized?
> radoslav> Especially the memory tends to be a problem with smalltalks
> radoslav> and VPSs.
> 
> Take a look at the prices at arpnetworks.com/vps.  I'm also able to
> negotiate some discount over that in exchange for publicity.  And I'd
> rather have a VPS than a hard machine... if one machine goes down, it's
> up to me to migrate, and immediately.  If a VPS host goes down, the
> hoster has an obligation to launch my VPS on another box.  Just one more
> way to keep a good SLA.

Do we know how well that virtual host performs compared to a dedicated machine? The services running on squeak.org sometimes are quite busy.

One concern with our current Hetzner setup was that the box admins did not have direct contact, but with Marcus as a German-speaking intermediary. Maybe one could switch to direct service in English.

In the long run it seems to me we should try to reduce the services we host ourselves. There are always too few people doing sysadmin stuff.

In any case, THANKS to Randal for at least doing the backup, and possibly becoming our box admin :)

- Bert -