How to choose a server for your project

Starting size by project

The table is a place to start, not a promise. Where a vendor states a number, it is linked in the notes under the table; the rest is our rule of thumb.

Steps

1. List what will run

   Write down every program: the app, the database, the agent, a queue, a browser. Each one has its own memory. A database and a browser are the usual big ones.

2. Measure a similar setup

   If you can run the project on your laptop or any Linux machine, look at what it takes. Run it as you will use it, not idle.

   $ free -h
   $ docker stats --no-stream      # if you use Docker

3. Pick the memory, then add room

   Take the largest figure you saw, not the average, and round up to the next size. Builds, installs and test runs use far more than idle code does.

4. Check the disk

   Count the project folder, the database and the packages. Keep uploads, media and backups out of the disk: they belong in object storage, and every Uno plan includes some (25 GB on Small).

   $ du -sh ~/your-project
   $ df -h /

5. Count the cores

   One core is enough for a bot or a small site. Builds and many simultaneous users want more. If the load stays above the number of cores, you need more.

   $ nproc
   $ uptime        # load averages vs the core count

6. Pick the region closest to your users

   Distance adds latency to every request. Put the server near the people who use it, or near the API it calls most. Check the round trip from where your users are.

   $ ping -c 4 203.0.113.10

7. Choose a size you can change

   Do not buy for next year. Take the size from the table, run for a week and read the numbers again. Before you pay, ask how the host resizes: some need a restart, some a new server.

Check that you chose well

After a few days of real use, run the same commands on the server. If available memory in free -h stays close to zero, or swap keeps growing, go up one size. If memory stays mostly free and the load is low, you can go down.

$ free -h
$ df -h /
$ uptime

What memory costs

Memory is the price driver, so compare it per gigabyte. Budget hosts sell it cheapest. Uno costs more per gigabyte and puts the rest in the plan.

Where Uno is not the cheapest

• Memory costs more per gigabyte than at budget hosts: $4.2–5 against $0.65–1.6. A project that needs only RAM and nothing else is cheaper there.
• Uno computers run in the Netherlands today. Users far from it feel some extra milliseconds.
• Uno gives you shared vCPU on AMD Zen 4. A job that holds every core at full load all day fits a server with reserved cores better.

Common problems