---
title: Many Different Ways to Have a Place on The Web
permalink: /:title/
description: Probably inaccurate oversimplification of web hosting options
category: technology
fedi-url: https://social.ayco.io/@ayo/113427150306107770
---

I recently thought about the different ways you can "have" a place in the Internet:
- Bare metal
- Dedicated server
- Virtual Private Server (VPS)
- Shared Hosting
- Serverless
- fly.io
- Netlify, Vercel, etc

## Here goes...

1. Bare metal

You own the physical computer, connect it to the Internet, with a unique IP from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

It's like owning your piece of land and you have to do all maintenance, taking out all the weeds, pests and whatever. You can maybe pay someone to repair it sometimes. It's the most difficult because you have to think of a lot of things up to the physical needs of your computer (cooling, power, dust, etc.), BUT you also get the most freedom and flexibility.

2. Dedicated server

You sign a contract with server owners to use one their servers

It's like getting a house in a private gated community. You have some land owners where you get a contract and some arrangement on what you can and can't do. You pay them some money as rent and they do maintenance (you don't have to think about the physical computer) and, depending on the arrangement, upgrades can be "fully managed" by them.

3. Virtual Private Server (VPS)

You sign a contract with server owners to use some resource in one of their servers

It's like having an apartment in a high-rise. There are others living in the same building but you do get your privacy to some extent. The terms of the contract can be similar to a Dedicated server and you get similar flexibility and freedoms too, but it's cheaper.

4. Shared Hosting

You sign a contract to share a server with others

It's like living in a dormitory. You get a bed and a cabinet, but you have to get in line to use the shower room. Definitely cheaper than the others above but other people might use your toothbrush or eat your snacks.

5. Serverless

You run a command that spawns a process in a server

It's like renting a locker with an address on-demand. It works. People will have a way to find you and you can leave stuff there, and you only pay when you use it.

I don’t know how to classify [fly.io](fly.io) — looks like shared hosting on the edge (close to users)

Netlify, Vercel, etc

They host your files and provide a way to run functions on their servers for a price (or for free)

It’s very convenient like a hotel with lots of smiles welcoming new travelers but you get kicked out if you end up having tons of visitors. Bills can quickly rise when you eat the snacks in the mini fridge

## That's it

If you think I missed any or some are not accurate... as always you can send me your...
