Ask HN: Alternatives to Webfaction in 2020/21?

3 points by sasa_buklijas 5 years ago | 4 comments

Want to see are there any updates since https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19377981 ?

Have no issues moving to tsoHost if I will have the same features as before.

What I need is SSH, run python apps from crontab, unlimited domains, emails, have 2x static websites and one on WordPress, and 10x python apps running from crontab. I am not sure what I will have with tsoHost.

Do not want to run my own VPS (like Linode or DigitalOcean) because then I have to manage updates, down time, backups, etc.I have an idea to use AWS for Python crontab apps, but I need to first understand how to do it, which would take some time.

Basically I want SSH access with a lot of customization, but that somebody else does the management :-).

From my investigation https://www.opalstack.com/ look like the best option.

Any advice ?

P.S. For the last 12+ years, I am very happy with WebFaction, sad to see it gone.

yardshop 5 years ago |

Soon to be ex-Webfaction customer here. I got an email yesterday saying they can't migrate one of my apps, a Python WSGI custom app listening on a port, so now I'm looking.

The migration faq [0] says that there will be no capability to run Python based apps on the new tsoHost. I don't know if that extends to running Python via crontab, you would want to verify that with them.

OpalStack [1] looks appealing. It's built by former staff of Webfaction. I'm leaning in that direction, but also considering Digital Ocean, Linode, Heroku, Vultr [2], and some others I just learned about. Some do some of the host management for you. OpalStack is clearly a continuation of the Webfaction model so that will probably be my choice, but want to learn some more about these others too.

[0] https://www.webfaction.com/faq#which-features-will-not-be-av...

[1] https://my.opalstack.com/signup/

[2] https://www.vultr.com/

DataJunkie 5 years ago | |

My site is hosted with WebFaction and I just got the email that I have until December to find a new host.

I am probably going to go with OpalStack, especially if they can migrate my site. I want to go with them mainly because it's from former WebFaction devs.

Vultr is another good option, but I'd prefer the past of least resistance for learning a new host.

sasa_buklijas 5 years ago | |

> I don't know if that extends to running Python via crontab, you would want to verify that with

I do not thing it will work, do not see how. If they can run Python from Crontab it is not much different via WSGI.

I got this answer from support: Based on your description and what TsoHost is reporting you should be able to be migrated to them. There will be a future email highlighting the features and pricing of TsoHost at some point.

defulmere 5 years ago |

Sean from Opalstack here, just want to say that we're ready for you and that we're thrilled to see our former WF customers heading our way!

We've got automated WebFaction migrations ready to go for Wordpress sites, MySQL databases, and generic PHP apps. Those are part of a suite of migration tools that are under rapid development, with the goal of having a one-step (or close to that) migration for any WF customer who wants to move over to our service.