Windows Solved! Basic Question on Choosing a Server

[Turbulence421]

Hi everyone,

This should be an easy question. I'm just terribly new to servers and there's something I'm struggling to figure out.

I bought an asset on the Marketplace which lets you upload and download files from a server. It works by converting the files into buffer, and then an encrypted string which is sent out to the server with http_post_string. The asset came with a .php which needs to be uploaded to the same address where you post the string. I imagine that it's a program receives and stores the string.

It seems simple enough. Now I just need a server. I looked around at popular virtual servers like Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, etc., and noticed that the entry level stuff runs at around $60/month. Is this a fair price, or would I be paying for way more than I need? I wonder about this because you can build your own websites with Wix, Squarespace, Webs.com, etc. for a fraction of the monthly cost and much more storage. Websites are also "contained in" and "managed by" servers, right? So why the big price difference? Am I missing something here?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jo-thijs]

Hi everyone,

This should be an easy question. I'm just terribly new to servers and there's something I'm struggling to figure out.

I bought an asset on the Marketplace which lets you upload and download files from a server. It works by converting the files into buffer, and then an encrypted string which is sent out to the server with http_post_string. The asset came with a .php which needs to be uploaded to the same address where you post the string. I imagine that it's a program receives and stores the string.

It seems simple enough. Now I just need a server. I looked around at popular virtual servers like Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, etc., and noticed that the entry level stuff runs at around $60/month. Is this a fair price, or would I be paying for way more than I need? I wonder about this because you can build your own websites with Wix, Squarespace, Webs.com, etc. for a fraction of the monthly cost and much more storage. Websites are also "contained in" and "managed by" servers, right? So why the big price difference? Am I missing something here?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

You are correct about the PHP file.
There are programs to turn your computer into a server that are free though.
Wampserver and Xampp are such programs that I've used and they both work fairly well.
You'll probably need to do some portforwarding or something like that in order to get your server to not only except local traffic, but traffic from all over the internet.
These programs should be perfect for testing purposes without the portforwaring already though.

EDIT:
Also, correct, websites are also managed by servers.

 

[Kuro]

Digital Ocean sells them in increments of a fiver. I think they have support for most backends.

 

[Fishman1175]

I use 000webhost.com for free and love it, but ONLY for my development stuff because they've had security issues in the past. When I need it I can get paid php hosting at hostgator.com. Other php hosting options are compared here:
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/compare/php/

 

[Turbulence421]

Thank you everyone for your responses and recommendations. I really appreciate it and I'm happy to take any more suggestions from others. But for the sake of understanding, why are these $60+month servers I found different from all these really cheap options I'm hearing about? Are those more suited for something else? Why would a server be more expensive than a website toolkit (Wix, Squarespace, etc.) which includes a server and of even more storage space?

 

[PNelly]

Typically when you use a website toolkit you are only able to modify the webpage(s) that are being served on your behalf. You cannot treat the machine running the site as if it were your own.

 

[Fishman1175]

Renting an entire server for your use and customization is pretty expensive and most customers don't need it. That's why shared hosting (the cheaper/free stuff) is offered. You get your own dedicated space on a server you share with other customers.

 

[Turbulence421]

Ah, yes, that makes sense! thank you so much for all your help!