Ruby on Rails Hosting

10 things to look for in a hosting company that "supports" Rails

In addition to the things you'd normally look for in a host, if you're going to be running a Rails app go with a company that offers:

1. Shell/SSH Access
   If you can't get to the command line don't even think about it. So no goDaddy, period.
2. Mod_Rails (Passenger) and/or Mongrel Support
   Rails is way too slow and unstable on cgi, fcgi, etc...
3. The Latest Ruby and Rails Releases
   If they don't update their server fleet quickly it can be a serious security issue.
4. Support Staff Who Know Rails
   Too many companies respond with something like 'that is a scripting question and we're not paid to answer that' — which is lame.
5. Rails Documentation
   If you email support with a question like: 'Help I got a FastCGI: (dynamic) server ... has failed to remain running for 30 seconds error in my apache logs...' and they don't point you to some documentation they have already on the issue. You may want to find another host.
6. Scalability Options
   Do they have plans that meet your future needs if your app gets big? Will they setup a good Rails stack for you on a VPS or dedicated server (even if they don't advertise it)? Will they help you into a multi-server Rails environment if necessary? Can they move your account between boxes/plans seamlessly?
7. Pre-installed Gems
   Its nice to be able to run 'gem unpack BlueCloth' or something and have it already installed on the server.
8. mySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite Databases
   It is extremely helpful and nice to have these options if you're developing apps that soar on (or are designed for) one or the other.
9. Git, Subversion, Trac, and/or Buzilla Hosting.
   Not only are these helpful apps, but its a good sign that the company supports developers.
10. A Website or Applications of Their Own Developed with Rails!
    This is certainly a good sign that they are serious about the framework and its use in a production environment.

What is the right Rails Hosting plan/stack for you?

First of all - you should be doing all of your developing on your local machine. Never run your app in development mode (especially with FastCGI!) in a shared hosting environment because it hogs system resources like crazy.

If your Rails app is:

• Non-existent or in development ('just checking out/testing Rails)
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Shared
  • Server Stack - Apache/Passenger is great place to start!
  
  
  
• 0 - 100 hits/day
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Shared
  • Server Stack - Apache/Passenger is more than adequate. If you absolutely need fast page-loads then look into Mongrel or static Passenger instances.
  
  
  
• 100-1,000 hits/day
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Shared
  • Server Stack - Apache/Passenger (mod_rails) is OK. If you absolutely need fast page-loads then look into Mongrel or static Passenger instances.
  
  
  
• 1,000-2,000 hits/day
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Shared or Virtual Dedicated
  • Server Stack - Should have Mongrel or static Passenger instances.
  
  
  
• 2,000-5,000 hits/day
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Virtual Dedicated or Dedicated, depending on bandwidth usage.
  • Server Stack - Go with Apache2/Passenger, use Pound or mod_proxy_balancer to mediate loads to Mongrels if you must.
  
  
  
• 5,000+ hits/day
  
  
  • Hosting Plan - Dedicated server(s)
  • Server Stack - Go with Apache2/Mongrel, use mod_proxy_balancer to mediate loads. Recenter, Passenger has proven suitable in this environment as well.

Only 3 shared hosts ready for Rails 3.1? How lazy can we get?

For those of you who don’t know, and most of you do, having a host that updates Ruby on Rails with the latest framework and gems regularly is desirable. In this article we are taking a look at the hosts that going to hit the ground running with Rails 3.1 when it’s released. The results we find are astoundingly low. The update of Rails to 3.1 brings with it the implementation of “The Asset Pipeline”, which “makes CSS and JavaScript first-class code citizens and enables proper organization, including use in plugins and engines.” And many more features such as HTTP Streaming, default jQuery, Reversable Migrations, Mountable engines, Identity Map, Prepared statements, Rack::Cache on by default, Turn test-output on Ruby 1.9 ,Force SSL, Role-based mass-assignment protection, has_secure_password, and Custom serializers. Read on to find the champions of up to date Rails hosting.

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5 Rails hosts that have gone green

Do you have a deep care for our environment and the impact we have on it? Do you fall asleep at night dreaming about recycling and hybrid cars? Is your company one with more recycling bins than trash cans? If so, we found 5 hosts that you may want to check out. Whether it be through solar power or low energy usage technology, these 5 hosts are making efforts to keep environmental impact at a minimum.

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5 hosts that support Rails and the exact service level you should expect

Want your host to offer service with a smile? There are many Rails developers looking for a place to host their applications, and there are increasingly more hosting companies that “support” Rails. However, not all hosts are created equal. This is most clearly seen in their support teams. Not all support teams offer the same level of service. We have made a list of 5 hosts we think you should make note of who support Rails, and the service level you can expect from them. Keep in mind this is not a complete list of hosts that support Rails, just 5 that we think you should pay attention to for support quality and attention to Rails customers.

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The funding behind 6 top Ruby on Rails hosts

Starting a new company? Ever wonder where your Rails host got its start? We looked into the backgrounds of several top Rails hosts to find out what started the machine, and what keeps it greased. It’s interesting to note that most (if not all) of the bigger hosting companies don’t have much financial history information readily available.

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Heroku releases its “Celadon Cedar” stack into public beta

Heroku is a leading Ruby on Rails hosting provider that prides itself on having a focused, easy to use and reliable service for hosting Rails. Heroku is excited to announce that as of June 1st, 2011 they are releasing their new Cedar stack into public beta. The new version of Heroku has previously been tested in alpha and private beta by hundreds of developers and Heroku customers. It is now ready for a public beta.

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Find Rails Hosting solutions by server location

Looking for a rails host that will give you a quick response? Need a server that is located close to you? Look no further. We've done the leg-work of finding where all the major hosting providers house their servers. Some may surprise you. Datacenter coordinates were determined by IP geo-location. Railshosting.org is the only place to quickly and easily find a Rails Hosting provider by location. Locations are divided up by country and by states for hosts located in the United States. Our hope is to provide you with the information you need to choose the server that will work best for your app. Often hosts will provide information on where their offices are located, but not their servers. This can lead to low ping times and lag for users of your Rails app. Don't be fooled by 99% uptime reports. A hosting company may have great uptime, but do their servers respond in a timely manner?

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Top 5 hosts for beginning Rails developers

Looking for a place to host your first Rails app? Maybe you just have no idea what to look for in a host. If you are a developer who is just starting out with Rails then you need to know a few things. First, a lot of hosts don’t know what they are doing when it comes to supporting Rails. Second, a lot of hosts just flat don’t support the framework at all. With many hosts you really have to do your homework to make sure that your hosting experience will be a success. We have compiled a list of 5 hosting companies that are worthwhile for developers who are just starting out and are looking for a place to host their first applications.

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Free Rails hosting?

If you’re out there looking for a Ruby on Rails version of free PHP hosting, there are a few options to choose from.Your first choice is going to be Heroku. They are the absolute leader in free Rails hosting. Their free plan offers a single dino and shared server space to get you up and running for free. The free tier works well for staging, testing, and running small apps. If your app grows and you get a ton of traffic the option to upgrade to a paid plan is simple and hassle free. Your second choice is HelioHost. The free plan from HelioHost includes "unlimited" bandwidth and .25GB of disk space, as well they offer Mongrel, Passenger, and Rails 3.0.3. HelioHost does not however offer SSH or the ability to run more than four applications on one plan. Third, check out AlwaysData. The free plan from AlwaysData offers .1GB of disk space, and 1GB bandwidth. AlwaysData's free plan also comes with restrictions such as forbidding the use of your account for profit and using your account for hosting proxies. Some companies will also occasionally offer one year of free Rails hosting in lieu of another year (or so) of paid hosting service on contract. HostingRails is one such company. They are currently offering one free year when you sign up for a "stacked", shared hosting plan. The price moves up to $7.95 a month after the first year of service and the starter plan offers the use of Mongrel, Passenger, 10GB of disk space and 100GB of bandwidth.

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Rails reseller hosting plans. What’s the point?

Don’t like any Rails hosting options you have come across? Think you could create a better hosting environment in your sleep? Do you have needs that no hosting company seems to be able to meet? Then we may have an option for you. Buying a dedicated server and reselling portions of it may be the solution for you. For many buying a reseller package is a good way for the entrepreneurial developer, with aspirations to begin a hosting company or other web venture, to start out. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about: a reseller hosting package is a type of web hosting where the reseller account or dedicated server owner can partition their allotted drive space and bandwidth to host third party applications. Not only does this allow you to rent out space on the server, but it also gives you more control over you hosting environment.

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Platform as a service, why should you use it for Rails hosting?

With companies like Engine Yard and Heroku offering great cloud service for Ruby on Rails developers, its hard, if not impossible to peer into the world of Rails hosting without hearing something about a company that provides cloud PaaS hosting, and the surrounding benefits. In case you haven't however, in an effort to be your go to source for all things Rails hosting related, we are going to take a look at the benefits of hosting with a company that provides Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud services.

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Heroku is Not for Beginners

Sure, like a drug dealer, they give you a little bit for free. But, how good is the stuff?

Heroku's main appeal is to take away the DevOps hassles and allow developers to "git push production" and not worry about what happens after the (insanely slow) deploy process. But, like most things in life, if it's too good to be true, then...yep, it's not true.

Heroku: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The Good:

See your app live on the Net for free.

Easily "heroku ps:scale web=10" to scale out your web tier or workers

Don't have to worry about log rotations, updating server software, creating your own deploy scripts, etc...

The Bad:

Once you get up and running a few dynos and workers, with a reasonable database, it's NOT cheap (i.e. you are spilling hundreds at this point).

Connectivity issues between dynos and third party services (e.g. Amazon S3) is too often unreliable.

Meet Virginia. Your web servers are forced into Amazon's Virginia datacenter, which is a serious problem if you need to target a specific area of the world to get faster speeds.

The Ugly:

TIMEOUT ERROR (And connection refused) HELL. Too many H12s and H18s for comfort. It's a nightmare for some apps.

CPU LIMITING. Heroku packs a gazllion of their dynos, presumably, onto large Amazon virtual server instances. When you are virtualizing an already-virtualized environment, you are going to run into CPU issues. We have seen requests that take 6 seconds only because they were allotted a total of 1 second of CPU time, over spurts, in that interval.

TOO MANY BLACK BOXES. You loose waaaaay to much customizability (and thus performance) when too many parts of your DevOps are behind the scenes.

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