While developers are the primary audience for DigitalOcean’s cloud services, we provide globally available, high-performance public cloud services to anyone who wants to use them. DigitalOcean (you can determine the final cost by contacting the company) excels in several ways. The first is the simplicity of design and price. The second is clear design at all levels. DigitalOcean is also easy to use, easy to understand and works really well.
The DigitalOcean cloud offers a choice of Linux and Unix servers spread across 12 data centers. These servers are available in a variety of configuration options ranging from 1 to 32 virtual CPUs, solid-state drive (SSD)-based storage, and a range of different services. Most of these are included at no extra charge. There is an additional charge of $20 per month for the load balancer.
Setup and Configuration
This is where the DigitalOcean Droplet’s clean design and simplicity really shines. To create a virtual server, simply log in and select the operating system you want to use. Then scroll down and select a size from the list that includes the number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs) and memory size. You can start with 1 gigabyte (GB) of memory and 1 vCPU. This includes 25 GB of SSD storage and 1 terabyte (TB) of transfer. All this for $5 a month. Choices are presented in a simple list.
Each item shows configuration and price. Choose one. Keep scrolling to add backups, block different sizes of storage, and choose whether to format and mount storage automatically. Next, select the data center region (I chose New York) and services such as monitoring and IPv6. You can then add SSH keys and choose the number of Droplets you want to use with the configuration you created. Then give your server a name. Once that’s done, click “Create”. All you have to do besides click the mouse is to select the name of the virtual server. This is only if you don’t want to use the default. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes.
I created a Droplet that runs a 64-bit instance of Ubuntu 16.04.4, but you can choose multiple versions of each available operating system. Select from the dropdown box like everything else.
Pricing
DigitalOcean’s pricing is simply represented by each Droplet costing $5 per CPU per month. It’s complicated when it comes to apps, load balancers, etc. But for basic computing services, DigitalOcean is pretty straightforward. Some of the basic services you pay extra for elsewhere, such as firewalls, are included in the price, making it easier.
Backups cost 20% of the CPU price. The load balancer costs $20/month. This is all broken down by the hour, so if you don’t use the service for a month, you don’t have to pay for a month. When you select a service, you can see that the pricing structure also has an hourly rate associated with it. So the $5 monthly charge is also $0.007 per hour.
What’s missing is the incredibly complex and fundamentally mysterious pricing structure of cloud services like AWS. You should hire a consultant for pricing alone. Of course, AWS has more options, which makes the pricing more complicated. But if you need basic computing services, DigitalOcean takes the guesswork out. At least here, monthly cloud bills aren’t surprising.
PROS
- Easily accessible.
- Inexpensive.
- Offers excellent support for developers.
CONS
- Relatively limited support for operating systems other than Linux.
- No Windows Server availability.
Hosting Plans for Individuals, Small Businesses, Developers
DigitalOcean’s biggest selling point is its wide range of plans. This flexibility makes it a great option for individuals and businesses alike. No developer struggles to find a solution for their specific needs.
Standard plans range from 1 to 4 servers, with RAM varying from 512MB to 8GB.
Depending on the plan, TB transfer speeds range from 1 to 5, while SSD storage capacity starts at 20GB and expands to 80GB. Most Popular Tariff Offers:
1GB of memory
1 core processor
30GB SSD hard drive
2TB transfer
Alternatively, DigitalOcean also offers large capacity plans for developers who need them.
What Types of Hosting Does DigitalOcean Provide?
shared hosting
Shared hosting is one of the most popular hosting options. This is often the cheapest option available, but it usually ranks lowest in terms of available resources and server performance. Shared hosting is when a single server is shared by many different websites, all competing for space and resources.
Virtual Private Server (VPS)
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is usually seen as an evolution of shared hosting. If your business needs more performance and resources than shared hosting plans can offer, this may be your best option. DigitalOcean’s hosting caters for developers who want to deploy in seconds and businesses who want the cost savings of a “just what you use” plan.
Usually a single server is split into many smaller virtual servers, each dedicated to his one her website. Therefore, this website does not compete for space or resources with other websites on your server.
WordPress hosting
WordPress is a very popular content management system (CMS). Worldwide he is used by over 60 million people.
DigitalOcean offers a one-click install WordPress hosting solution. The company claims to have WordPress up and running in just 55 seconds. Hosting companies also offer different storage and storage capacities depending on the specific needs of your business.
SSD storage (Solid State Drive)
One of the main advantages of using DigitalOcean hosting is that the company uses his SSD storage on all their servers.
Unlike HDD servers, SSD servers have no moving parts. So they work faster than the others and run exponentially faster. This is important for your business as it allows your customers to access your website faster than your competitors.
How to Create a Droplet
- You can choose to create a Droplet from your dashboard when you log into your DigitalOcean control panel
- The next screen is the Create Droplet page, where you can specify the Droplet configuration
- The most common defaults are already selected so you can scroll to the end to create your Droplet
- When customizing a Droplet, you must first select an image that contains an operating system and preinstalled apps.
- Select the droplet size – RAM and storage space
- Add block storage to create an additional storage volume to attach to your Droplet
- Choose the data center region closest to you and your customers
- Add SSH keys for added security
- Finalize and create a Droplet
DigitalOcean Datacenters
Digital Ocean Hosting has various data centers around the world.
We currently have 8 data centers in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore and India.
This is useful if many of your customers are based in certain parts of the world and need fast servers near their locations. In theory, if your customers are geographically closer to your server, your pages should load faster so they can access your site faster.
