Profitable AWS hosting

Started by Optimitron, Jan 23, 2023, 10:15 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

OptimitronTopic starter

The photographer's website needs to provide a space where a large number and volume of files can be stored for clients to view and download their photos. It is important to note that the downloading channels do not need to be super-fast, but they should be able to handle a significant amount of data per client (approximately 2-10GB), with an overall storage requirement of around 300-500GB. Google Drive is not a suitable option due to issues with speed and accessibility.

To address these concerns, the photographer has decided to create their own website and gallery. However, the choice of hosting remains a challenge. Russian hosting is not ideal for Ukrainian clientele, and a speed of at least 50-100 MB/sec without interruptions is desired. The photographer has considered using AWS, specifically the S3 section, but is unsure about the pricing.

To estimate the final price of hosting on AWS or receive advice on other options, it may be helpful to consult with an AWS specialist or utilize their cost calculator tool. Additionally, researching alternative hosting providers with strong performance capabilities and affordable pricing may be worth exploring.
  •  

halley_pham

One potential solution for storing a large amount of data is to use a service like https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box, which offers 10 terabytes of storage for 40 euros per month. HTTPS is available, although there may be a limit of no more than 10 simultaneous connections. Alternatively, the storage could be mounted via Samba.
  •  

RoyJones

If you still look towards AWS, then S3 is basically suitable for storing photos, with reservations.
- Store in s3 - cheap.
- It's expensive to pick up often. Fuck them with photos if you don't want to compete with services like flickr - you won't have a lot of traffic, but there are still bots.. If the site is in the public, your S3 (or rather your wallet) will be pulled to death. Therefore - as already advised in the comments to the question - only thumbnails should be shown in the public and the following point is desirable:
- To again reduce the cost of S3 requests, it is very desirable to build a caching layer (nginx of some kind on EC2 - with EC2 the price is more predictable, although there are nuances there)
- Well, if I were you, I would put the full-size photos in some section that requires a login, even if it were through Google. Although there would already be another idea : what prevents you from storing the same photos on some google drive, providing access by email (the address may not be on Google, for example) and using any hosting (yes, even the same AWS) to work with the existing (google drive) storage and display thumbnails generated from there, for quick orientation.
The price for drive will be more predictable.

But in general, this is just an opinion, I give a plus to all previous commentators.
Pricing in cloud services (where the principle of payment by use) can surprise you very unpleasantly: you need to know the subtleties of each before implementing a solution there and hope that the price will be the same.
  •  

xLRWreltyheene

Additionally, it's crucial to have a scalable infrastructure in place that can handle sudden spikes in traffic. Robust load balancing, caching, and content delivery networks (CDN) can all help ensure that the service remains both speedy and reliable even during heavy usage.

It's also important to communicate effectively with users during such a period and provide them with regular updates and feedback, particularly if there are any issues or delays. A positive user experience and timely resolution of any problems that may arise is essential to maintaining user confidence and loyalty.

Ultimately, the key is to be prepared and proactive, and to have the necessary infrastructure, resources, and communication strategies in place to handle sudden surges in traffic and usage without sacrificing performance or user satisfaction.
  •  

vishalhost

if you want to explore other hosting providers with strong performance capabilities and affordable pricing, there are several options available in the market. Some popular hosting providers include Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, and DigitalOcean Spaces. These providers offer similar object storage solutions with varying pricing models.

Here are some key hosting services provided by AWS that you may find beneficial:

1. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): EC2 provides virtual servers in the cloud, allowing you to have complete control over your computing resources. It offers flexible pricing options, including on-demand, reserved, and spot instances, enabling you to optimize costs based on your workload patterns.

2. Amazon Lightsail: Lightsail is a simplified, easy-to-use cloud platform that provides pre-configured compute instances for various applications. It offers fixed-price plans with predictable costs, making it ideal for small-scale projects or when starting with AWS.

3. AWS Lambda: Lambda is a serverless computing service that allows you to run your code without provisioning or managing servers. With Lambda, you only pay for the compute time consumed by your application, making it cost-effective for event-driven workloads or microservices architectures.

4. AWS Fargate: Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers. It allows you to run Docker containers without managing the underlying infrastructure. With Fargate, you specify the resources needed for your containers, and AWS manages the scaling and availability on your behalf.

5. AWS Batch: Batch is a fully managed service for batch computing workloads. It enables you to efficiently run large-scale batch jobs and parallel workloads while optimizing costs by automatically provisioning and scaling resources based on demand.
  •