[Linux-aus] VPAC etc

[Michael Still]

On Tue, Jun 7, 2016 at 11:49 AM, Phillip Smith <lists at fukawi2.nl> wrote:

> On 6 June 2016 at 23:48, Russell Coker <russell at coker.com.au> wrote:
>
>>
>> Back to the content of the article, while there are some complaints that
>> could
>> be made about it (apart from the one I made) I think there is one
>> noteworthy
>> point.  The question is asked why doesn't Linux Australia pay for hosting.
>>
>
> ​While the article itself retains the journalistic integrity of a flock of
> seagulls, I do agree that the core point​ regarding hosting is a reasonable
> observation.
>
> It does seem strange to me that LA would rely on donated hosting when a
> reasonable VPS from the likes of Linode can be had for under $500/year. A
> cluster of machines to allow for separation of services could be had for
> under $1,000. These don't seem too unreasonable given the profit figures
> quoted in the article -- perhaps those are not accurate figures?
> If the concern is the Linux *Australia* having services hosted overseas,
> there are the likes of Binary Lane providing comparable hosting services in
> Australia. LCA sponsor Anchor Hosting is in Sydney, or Catalyst (another
> sponsor of LCA) have their cloud offering based in NZ.
>

If there are well provisioned datacenters offering to host things for free
(on real hardware owned by LA), why would you pay for commercial virtual
hosting though?

These servers are effectively professionally hosted, just at a price of $0
each. They're not in a cupboard, they're in million dollar datacenter
facilities. Now, VPAC shut down and that's sad, but that's a very unusual
edge case -- its the equivalent of binary lane going bankrupt. Do you think
that would be handled well either? Or do you think they'd just lock the
doors and walk away or have the gear repossessed?

My point being that the underlying premise of the article is wrong. The
fact that no money changed hands for the hosting doesn't mean the hosting
was inherently unprofessional in some way. It means the donating
organisation saw value in the work LA does and wanted to support that work
in a tangible way. That sort of arrangement should be applauded.

Michael
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