Rails hosting: 10 VPS providers that FULLY support Ruby on Rails

The simple answer to running Ruby on Rails applications on different hosting services is that if you have access to the underlying operating system, you will be able to run the applications.

The basic requirements (well, two basic requirements) that are essential for Rails applications and that are missing from most “traditional” hosting services include …

• Implementation mechanism (usually GIT)
• Viable application server that supports Rails (Puma or Passenger)

The first problem can usually be fixed with the help of FTP (not the most effective solution, but it still works).

The second is much more troublesome and why most people end up using VPS solutions to implement Rails applications (VPS servers give you unrestricted access to the underlying infrastructure).

VPS servers are basically what “cloud” providers are giving people access to. Unlike “traditional” hosts, which literally allocated space on a single server, the new “cloud” infrastructure configuration basically splits the load across an entire data center of servers.

This not only reduces cost, but also ensures that the buyer can * scale * their computing resource without having to physically pay for a new server. In any case, if you absolutely want to host a “rail” based application on a “cloud” VPS. The only problem with this is that you are responsible for provisioning the server (which is another story in itself).

Rail Compatible Hosts

To this end, the most important thing to note is that if you are looking at this list, ANY VPS server will be able to run a Rails application. You just need to make sure you know how to install the various apps (which I’ll cover in another article). For now, let’s look at the most effective and profitable hosts:

1. Digital ocean

   The undisputed KING from low-cost “cloud” VPS providers. Founded in 2011, it was the first to provide a one-price VPS infrastructure for developers. Starting at $ 5 / month, you get access to a multitude of data centers and many different server setups. The most important thing to note about DO, as with most other “cloud” VPS hosts, is that activating a VPS server literally gives you access to a Linux box running in a hub. data. You are responsible for setting everything else (unless of course you pay for pre-compiled images, etc.). Regardless of this, this is by far the most effective “budget” VPS provider for Rails applications.

2. Vultr

   A lesser known, but still highly effective cloud VPS service: Vultr is basically a “mini-me” for DigitalOcean. It has data centers in several different locations (from the US to Japan to even Germany and the Netherlands), allowing for more extensive coverage. The most important thing to appreciate with Vultr is that it is basically designed to be the equivalent of DigitalOcean, without any of the added luxuries that the former can have. For example, it doesn’t have any built-in monitoring software (which DigitalOcean includes for free), and Vultr’s big claim to fame came from its $ 2.50 / month VPS server (which is currently “out of stock”). This was very effective for developers who only wanted to power simple applications (either to test in a staging environment or to keep costs low). You still have to provision servers like you do with DigitalOcean.

3. UpCloud

   Regarded as the “fastest” cloud VPS provider, the Finnish UpCloud provides essentially the same services as the first two providers (DigitalOcean + Vultr), except with a much deeper focus on support. By providing an API along with a myriad of other services, the system gives users the ability to deploy VPS servers in various data centers around the world. Again, the main difference with this is the proportional speed of the servers that are operating. This is apparently due to their MaxIOPs technology, which basically allows them to store a large amount of data in memory (hence speed it up). Pricing starts at $ 5 / mo and yes, you will still need to provision the servers yourself.

4. ExoScale

   European “cloud” hosting: Based in Switzerland, they specialize in the provision of euro-centric infrastructure. With 4 data centers (2 in Switzerland, 1 in Austria, and 1 in Germany), the company has chosen to be extremely specific in its approach to providing infrastructure for various application developers. While their prices are very competitive, the most important thing you should realize about this company is the efficiency they provide. Being Swiss, they benefit from the ingrained culture of efficiency that dominates the majority of the Swiss community. This means that you will not only get quick responses by email, but also thoughtful and thoughtful responses. They tend to serve many banks and financial institutions in Europe. Their niche-level focus allows them to specialize in ensuring that the speed, reliability, and efficiency of their service is optimal for the clients they end up working with.

5. Hetzner (cloud)

   Hetzner is a German hosting company with two data centers in the country. While they were founded as a “traditional” hosting, meaning that they essentially assigned their data center to who was paying for the servers. Since 2017, the company began to offer a service “in the cloud”, whereby VPS servers could be provisioned in exactly the same way as DigitalOcean, Vultr and other providers. With comparable prices, the most important element for Hetzner’s business is that it focuses almost exclusively on the German market. This is not to say that they do not serve international customers, but in terms of the availability of their data center and how they deal with support etc, it is a completely German operation. Obviously, with prices starting at ~ $ 5 / month, they only provide the ability to deploy servers; the onus is on you to provision them.

6. Linode

   Not as well known as DigitalOcean or Vultr, but no less effective: Linode is a favorite of many smaller developers, as it was one of the first to offer low-cost “cloud” VPS servers. Linode is effective, with prices starting at $ 5 / month; it has multiple data centers around the world and is practically on par with the most popular “cloud” services. As always, you don’t get any frills from the service. You still have to provision and maintain the servers yourself.

7. Rackspace

   The “daddy” of online hosting, RackSpace has been a major player in the hosting world since its inception in 1998. As you can imagine, they were also involved with the “cloud” game from the beginning. The problem with Rackspace, like Microsoft, is that it is expensive. Designed primarily for larger organizations, their “cloud” servers start at $ 50 / month, but are offset by the “fanatic” support that the company will provide. This support is really very good and allows users to really trust them to keep things running as effectively as possible. I would not recommend Rackspace for smaller projects. It’s just not worth the price, especially when you have people like DigitalOcean doing the same thing but for a fraction of the cost.

8. Microsoft Azure

   Microsoft’s “cloud” VPS offering is possibly the most effective of the big three (Google, Amazon, Microsoft). Azure is packed with additional services that help developers launch applications in a large number of Microsoft-owned data centers. Fully compatible with Linux and Windows VPS systems, the company is one of the few that provides more detailed information on the operation of the various servers. They give access to a complete dashboard, through which you can track everything from resource usage to how many requests the different servers have received. While this sounds good, it is expensive. And it is Really designed to help large organizations embrace “the cloud,” putting it out of reach for most smaller developers. If you are interested in using it, you need to search for it first.

9. AWS (EC2)

   AWS is good but expensive (especially if you need more computing resources). Hailed as the “original” cloud provider, each EC2 instance that you turn on basically acts as a separate VPS. The problem with AWS is that since it’s so vast, it’s hard to know what you really need. Furthermore, like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, the sheer scale of the infrastructure at stake is enormous. To this end, it should come as no surprise to learn that most popular web-based applications (especially those that rely on the likes of S3) rely on EC2 and AWS to function. Because of this, the service is generally viewed as support for larger deployments, requiring multiple server clusters, database servers, and CDN management (Amazon actually owns “CloudFlare”). Ultimately, if you are looking to deploy a large and popular application, the AWS infrastructure will certainly help you. The price isn’t great, but it’s well supported and backed by Amazon’s gigantic infrastructure (which it uses for its own operations).

10. Google Cloud Platform

    Google’s entry into the “cloud” space, its “cloud platform” is used by companies like Apple and Twitter. Like Azure and AWS, it is used by larger organizations to optimize their infrastructure requirements. Because Google uses the platform for its own infrastructure, it is obvious that you should be able to trust the system, and its community is really very strong and active. The big difference with the Google platform is the price. They offer a very competitive price set, allowing a number of different developers to implement software without incurring a large expense in doing so.

The key with all of these, as mentioned, is that you will typically have to provision the various servers. This means installing the web + application server software, libraries, and supporting services (SSL certificates, etc.).

If you’re prepared to use a service like Nanobox, Hatchbox, RailsHosting, or VPSDeploy, you should be able to warn of the pain of having to set up a valid web server … but in the end, it’s entirely up to you. you do.

To be clear: the beauty of “traditional” / “shared” hosting has yet to be captured in the “cloud” field. Rather than providing a simple platform to deploy applications, it is practically left to your own devices.