This is just a note to inform and/or remind you that the WMF has its own
internal cloud solution, Wikimedia Cloud VPS[0]. If you are considering
starting up a project on AWS, Google Cloud, or the like, please consider
using our internal, already-paid-for service.
We provide:
- Easy virtual machine creation and management[1]
- Persistent block storage[2]
- Self-serve provisioning of Mariadb and PostgreSQL database servers[3]
(and self-serve management of Mariadb user access)
- Automatic HTTPS/TLS termination for web endpoints[4]
- Other things!
Start experimenting today with a project request here:
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/view/2875/
Q. Isn't WMCS only for community/volunteer projects?
A. Nope. Dozens of internal WMF projects are already hosted on Cloud
VPS. The advantage of using a community-focused platform is that when
the time comes to involve volunteers, contractors, or WMDE staff in your
work, you will find the path to access simple and straightforward.
Q. Is WMCS a safe place for my data and passwords?
A. Yes. If you want to store user PII on a Cloud VPS system then there
will need to be some official discussion, but that is true for any PII
hosted on any cloud platform.
Q. What is this going to cost me or my department?
A. WMCS provides free, unmetered resources to all projects related to
the WMF's mission and the Wikimedia community. If you have extremely
large resource needs (dozens of cores or terabytes of data) then there
may be some discussion about long-term cloud capacity but we don't have
a billing department and don't plan on ever having one.
Q. What kind of software can I host on Cloud VPS?
A. Any software with an OSI-approved license can be freely installed.
Q. I really need <specific feature that I know is available on AWS>. Do
you support that?
A. Maybe! Or even if we don't, we might be about to. Feel free to
respond to this ticket, or contact a member of the WMCS team via email,
slack, or IRC.
Q. Why would I use Cloud VPS when I already know how to use AWS?
A. There are so many reasons! Some of them are financial, ideological,
and legal, but the biggest reason is that we are here to help you. WMCS
staff and volunteers provide ongoing support for Cloud VPS via
phabricator and IRC, and we care about whether or not your project succeeds.
Thank you for reading!
[0] https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Portal:Cloud_VPS
[1] https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Horizon_FAQ
[2] https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cinder
[3]
https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Adding_a_Database_to_a_Cloud_VPS_Project
[4]
https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Using_a_web_proxy_to_reach_Cloud_VPS_servers_from_the_internet
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