How do I orchestrate a vpn, mail server and cloud service?
I want to host an OpenVPN instance, a mail server (currently looking at iReadMail) and a cloud service (considering NextCloud) all for use primarily personally but also by some family members.
How do I go about with setting up the linodes?
I want to use the email from the mail server to setup the NextCloud and I don't think I would need a whole lot of storage but I can't fully tell just yet.
I've considered setting up each service as a different nanode but I'm want to know if there is benefit to keeping them on the same linode.
1 Reply
jtoscani
Linode Staff
Typically we recommend keeping your mail server on a separate Linode, and in general separating out your applications is best practice. It's not necessary to keep the VPN on a different server - to each their own, though.
Keeping them on different Linodes has a few benefits:
- Hedging risk: If one server were to crash or experience connectivity issues, it would still ensure the other service remains up and running. With everything on a single server, issues both internal and external will impact your ability to send email or access files.
- Resource allocation: With each service on it's own Linode, you remove the risk of resource contention between your two applications, whether it’s for CPU, RAM, or storage. Additionally, it gives you the ability to scale your server up or down for each application in case one requires more resources than the other.
- Potential cost savings: Ultimately it could end up saving you money or costing the same. As an example, having two 1GB Nanodes for $5 each versus one 2GB Linode for $10 actually gives you more CPU resources for the same price (2 CPU with two Nanodes vs 1 CPU with a 2GB Linode). You can explore this more through our Pricing page.
Whatever route you choose to go, it sounds like you'll be hosting important data so I'd also suggest looking into some backup options, just in case: