Hetzner launches a VPS service

Looks like you can get a Discourse-compatible “cloud” server for € 2.49 / $ 3 from Hetzner now.

The price point to host Discourse keeps going down.

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That looks good, really thanks for sharing it! Thought of making a mini Discourse instance on DigitalOcean, I’ll take a look into Hetzner instead though. Best regards!

Thanks, @falco. Have you (or anyone?) tried Hetzner? I’m preparing a list of “recommended” (or “approved” or “it should work and be easy enough for a novice to figure out”) VPS provides. Should this be on the list?

I haven’t used a Hetzner VPS, but I have physical machines at Hetzner, and they’re a reasonable provider with an acceptable level of service and support.

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I tried to test it, but they want me to send my passport over to activate my account and I’m not that interested now :roll_eyes:

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The open source project I managed for years used Hetzner for cheap dedicated hosting. No complaints!

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We are using their VPS for Discourse and it’s really good. I didn’t know for this cloud option, thanks for sharing, we will check out. Currently we are on their CX40 package (19.90€/mo) and we never had any problems.

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Hetzer has offered VPS for years, but this new product line is cheaper. I wonder how these differ from the classic product line that is still available.

https://www.hetzner.com/virtual-server

Hetzner is a solid operator. Support is only available during office hours, and servers never break during office hours.

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Looks like you have some battle scars :wink:

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Building the web since 1996, online since 1985.

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I tested the € 2.49 server (CX11). I could install Discourse & restore a local backup successfully. CPU: Intel Xeon Processor (Skylake, IBRS) 2100Mhz.

They sent me an email asking for a copy of ID. I sent an email by masking all private information. The account got approved. I never got an email notification of approval though. We need to login to check the approval. I asked them if I can pay in advance via paypal. But, advance payment is only possible with wire transfer. Best regards.

Quick note for European users: those are the prices without VAT. If you’re in Germany, for example, the price will be 2.96 €, in Sweden 3.11 € etc, depending on your local tax rate.

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I’m based in Spain, and activated and tested the service without sharing my passport (maybe because I used a credit card from EU and that’s why it was not needed more ID details).

The console seems great, very responsive.

I really liked it. :heart:

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Got the account setup fine.
To the project you then add a server.


Does the data centre performance differ from UK?
Choice of Nurenberg - Falkenstein - Helsinki

Which OS is preferred?
Ubuntu 18.04 - Fedora 29 -
Debian 9 - Centos 7

I am using Ubuntu 18.04 with server in Nuremberg serving mostly users in Slovenia. Very happy with the service.

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Ubuntu would have been my default choice but I thought I would check in with you guys!

Thanks for the input Luka :smiley:

Is MailGun a good fit for Ubunta / Hetzner / Discourse?

https://www.mailgun.com/

How do you handle backups on their platform?

I also use MailGun - if you are in Europe, take care that you create EU region setup, to ensure that servers for mail are in EU.

I have backups done by Discourse and then from my home NAS a script daily copies backups and log files via rsync. This works for me for now, as my forum is still small.

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If your domain comes from Gandi.net, you can use their free email service, that gives you 2 mail accounts, but only need one:

  1. Setup one email account for Discourse (keep the password at hand)
    • I use one of the 1000 permitted aliases for the contact email and another (replies-*) for email replies.
  2. Setup one of the infinite redirections for each group and category emails to point to that account.
  3. Setup Discourse to use this email with POP3 and SMTP.

You’re set.

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Hi Guys

Do you know any other service that you can create account using passport data and pay at end of the month?

I found this option very interesting in hetzner and looking for any other alternative which provide this

Last I checked you could create a Digital Ocean account with just a credit card and get billed at the end of the month.

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