Raspbberry Pi 4 8GB RAM versus V.M./V.P.S.

[nielsvg]

Hi folks, 

 

I do have a question concerning a hobby project which is stuck in my mind for a couple of days and I can't seem to figure out a decent answer for myself. Therefore, I decided to ask for help from the community of my favorite Youtube hardware channel; Linus Tech Tips. Thanks a lot for the help in advance and my apologies if my questions are rather stupid, but I am definitely not a hardware expert myself

 

Project description:

So in the last couple of weeks I have been working on a decent collection of Python scripts which automatically scrape a few websites once every 7 days to show the offerings of these websites. I do this to automatically list new product offerings. However, currently these scripts are running on my own computer, where the terminal automatically starts the scripts Saturday. at 00:00. The downside is off course that once I shutdown my computer the scripts won't be able to run. So I thought; its time for an upgrade and I decided to look for a VM/VPS on which I can run the scripts, database, middleware, front-end etc. However, since it is just a hobby project my hardware requirement are very low and the costs of a dedicated VM/VPS are rather expensive for this purpose. 

 

Possible solutions

A couple of days ago I searched around for a company which provide a VM/VPS and discovered multiple services. However, I just have the idea the prices are rather high for the RAM being offered. Below I listed some numbers of a Dutch company which offers a VPN solution. Couple of days ago I had a discussion with a colleagues about Raspberri Pi's and checked them out; and now I am stuck with the question whether I should just buy a raspberry Pi instead of a VM/VPS since it seems to be way more cost efficient. However, due to my lack of knowledge in hardware I may be missing some crucial points. Therefore, any help is highly appreciated

 

VPN;

• €10,- a month; 1 CPU core; 1024MB RAM; 50GB SSD; 
• €20,- a month; 2 CPU cores; 4096MB RAM; 150GB SSD; 

Raspberry Pi;

• €115,- once; 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, including a case with a cooling fan.

 

TLDR;

I want to host a couple of python scripts, a SQL database and a front-end. However, i think VM/VPS prices are rather high for the amount of RAM being offered (see numbers above). Therefore, i have the idea that buying a raspberry Pi may be a good solution. I have no experience in these projects; therefore I am looking for some general opinions on this subject. Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just checking, have you tested that all your scripts work fine on arm on linux? There are some weird incompatibilities that you should check for.

 

Another option would be a used x86 desktop, you can probably get one with about the same price as a pi.

 

But a pi would likely work fine here.

 

[Master Disaster]

You can rent an X86 Atom with 2GB of RAM and a 2TB HDD for 8 euros a month, should be way more than you need.

 

https://www.kimsufi.com/uk/servers.xml

[nielsvg]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Just checking, have you tested that all your scripts work fine on arm on linux? There are some weird incompatibilities that you should check for.

 

Another option would be a used x86 desktop, you can probably get one with about the same price as a pi.

 

But a pi would likely work fine here.

 

Haven't checked the scripts. However, I cant image there need to be a lot of changes if I run it within a docker container but I will def. check it out. Thanks for the heads-up.

About the x86 desktop; good idea but I prefer the looks of a small Raspberry with a neat looking case covering it.

 

However, I always had the idea the price of a VM/VPS would be close(r) to the price of actually buying the hardware and hosting it myself. I suppose I am really amazed by the enormous difference in price.

[igormp]

9 minutes ago, nielsvg said:

python scripts, an. SQL database and a front-end

That's really simple, you can use a free instance from GCP to run such things:

 

 

Properly tune your DB and that's more than enough for your needs.

You can also get a cheaper VPS from Digital Ocean, Linode or Vultr.

 

6 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Just checking, have you tested that all your scripts work fine on arm on linux? There are some weird incompatibilities that you should check for.

From what I see, he's using python with some basic libraries, should work flawlessly on arm.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, nielsvg said:

 

However, I always had the idea the price of a VM/VPS would be close(r) to the price of actually buying the hardware and hosting it myself. I suppose I am really amazed by the enormous difference in price.

Part of the difference is your paying for power aswell, and people to maintain that server. Your also paying for internet for that server, and security for the building. Those costs aren't included in the cost of buying a pi. 

 

A pi might be a good option here. ALso you could just leave your pc on and run it on that, that would probably be even cheaper.

[nielsvg]

2 minutes ago, igormp said:

That's really simple, you can use a free instance from GCP to run such things:

 

 

Properly tune your DB and that's more than enough for your needs.

You can also get a cheaper VPS from Digital Ocean, Linode or Vultr.

 

From what I see, he's using python with some basic libraries, should work flawlessly on arm.

Is this variant of GCP completely free for an unlimited time period ? ( So it isn't part of the $300,- free credit I get once I signup?)

[igormp]

1 hour ago, nielsvg said:

Is this variant of GCP completely free for an unlimited time period ? ( So it isn't part of the $300,- free credit I get once I signup?)

Yes, take a look under the Compute Engine limits for the free tier.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Hobby Electronics

[igormp]

51 minutes ago, LogicalDrm said:

-> Moved to Hobby Electronics

I don't think this suits hobby electronics that much, IMO it'd be better at servers & NAS.

[LogicalDrm]

16 minutes ago, igormp said:

I don't think this suits hobby electronics that much, IMO it'd be better at servers & NAS.

Could be re-moved. I just read RPi and "hobby project". Which both would fit this. In future, please report threads for re-moving or moving. It helps keeping forums clean.