Hosting
Many users are confused on where to host their Fosscord instances. This guide will show you multiple hosting methods, and tell you what works and what does not.
As a rule of thumb: Free hosting methods generally do not work!
Recommended Methods
Dedicated Servers
A dedicated server is the most classic hosting solution. It is an actual, physical machine that you get completely for yourself. They are more expensive than a typical VPS for example, but give you the most control, down to what exact hardware you want to use.
| Pro | Contra |
|---|---|
| Full Control | More expensive |
| You get the full potential of your server | No dynamic resources |
Recommended providers: ServerBlaze (Sponsor), Hetzner
Virtual Private Servers
A Virtual Private Server, or VPS for short, is a virtual machine that runs on a larger dedicated server. This makes a VPS cheaper than a dedicated server, as providers can rent out multiple VPS's per server. It also allows you to dynamically change the resources your server is getting, if your provider supports that.
| Pro | Contra |
|---|---|
| Affordable | Virtualized |
| Dynamic Resources | Hardware is shared with others |
Recommended providers: Google Cloud, AWS, Azure
Selfhosting
Depending on your electricity prices, this may be the cheapest option. Just use any machine that you don't actively need as a server, and run it at home! This could be an old PC, a Raspberry Pi, actual server hardware, or technically even a phone. This gives you the most control possible, and also allows you to breathe some life into old devices!
Note: Publicly hosting a service from your internet connection reveals your IP address to the public. If you do not want that, you can look into services like Cloudflare.
| Pro | Contra |
|---|---|
| The most control | A lot of work |
| Repurpose old devices | Risk of DDOS attacks etc |