class: center, middle # Virtual Private Servers _alex chojnacki_ --- # The history of computing in a nutshell 1. Began with dumb terminals attached to smart mainframes -- 1. Moved to stronger individual computers, "PC's" -- 1. Back to dumb devices connected to supercomputers. * _What can you even do on a phone with no internet connection?_ --- # What is a VPS? -- _Okay, yeah, it's a "virtual private server" ..._ -- * _Virtual ..._ * _Private ..._ * _Server ..._ --- # What does Wikipedia say about it? > _"A VPS runs its own copy of an operating system, and customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS. For many purposes they are functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server, and being software-defined, are able to be much more easily created and configured." -- Wikipedia_ ??? Aside from "customer", it sounds the same as our normal VM. 1. How is a VPS similar to our VirtualBox images from this description? 1. Are there any advantages we can think of? Alike - disposable - can install whatever we want Different - Easily (automajically) configurable - We can pay $$$ to get better resources - Create and destroy instances as they are needed - There's no GUI _(usually)!_ -- # Advantages * They are easily configurable ... * We can make as many as we want ... * We can make them as powerful as we need ... * We can create and destroy them instantly ... --- class: center, middle  --- class: center, middle # How do I make one? --- # Vagrant * A "headless" VM * Provisioning support built-in * Often times more convenient without the GUI ```bash thealex :: $ vagrant init hashicorp/precise64 ... thealex :: $ vagrant up ... thealex :: $ vagrant ssh ``` ??? _Why is provisioning cool?_ What if I want to make 50 VMs at once and they all need the same config? --- # Docker * A "lightweight" VM * Quicker than vagrant, but much less contained - Where vagrant/virtualbox virtualise the hardware, docker utilizes a clever namespace trick in order to run processes in 'isolated' environments while avoiding any hardware virtualisation. * Rich ecosystem of third-party images and environments ``` docker run -it ubuntu bash ``` -- ## AWS, Linode, DigitalOcean, etc. * Disposable servers in the cloud! _Check out the [GitHub Student Pack](https://education.github.com/pack) for free credits to many cool services!_ --- # Alright, so what can I do with them? -- * Host personal website/app * "Rent" a more powerful PC * Host chatbots like GitHub's `hubot` -- .center[_Use your imagination!_] <br/> <br/> <br/> .center[] ??? ### Card Demo http://104.131.102.44:3000/ ## Why would I ever use AWS / For power http://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06576v2.pdf https://github.com/jcjohnson/neural-style