Additional question on allowed ports and use cases.
Are specific ports blocked? If so, what are they?
What use case restrictions are placed on a linode? Can it be used as an email server / spam filter? Can it be used as a file server? Custom linux repository? Web server? Streaming media server?
The reason I ask is because I've worked with other VPS hosts that have very restrictive use cases (e.g. all files hosted on server need to have direct links on a public-facing web page).
I did read the TOS. It sounds like the short version is: you can do what you want, as long as the activity doesn't contradict our Terms of Service, it's legal within the USA, and as long as it doesn't adversely affect other customers or our network as a whole.
-M
1 Reply
@thecgmguy:
Are CPU and Memory limits hard set? My concern is being burdened with a huge bill if there's a scripting error that pegs cpu usage or memory usage.
Yes, the limits are hard. It's not possible to go over them.
Remember, CPU is a shared resource. Any node can spike up to 400% (or 800% on the largest plans, probably), but obviously they can't all do it at once. If everyone is competing for CPU, it'll be divided evenly, which isn't fun for anyone. So, be mindful of horrible CPU abuse (e.g. Folding@home), but in general you don't have to worry.
Edit: Of course, bandwidth is another matter. You're limited to 50 Mbps of outbound traffic as an emergency brake (which you can get raised if you need it), but even at that speed you can burn through hundreds of GB in a day, and that isn't counting inbound traffic. Minor overages are not a big deal; see the FAQ
@thecgmguy:
Are specific ports blocked? If so, what are they?
The Atlanta data center blocks inbound traffic to some ports; here's a list
That doesn't stop you from running services on non-standard ports, of course.
@thecgmguy:
What use case restrictions are placed on a linode? Can it be used as an email server / spam filter? Can it be used as a file server? Custom linux repository? Web server? Streaming media server?
The reason I ask is because I've worked with other VPS hosts that have very restrictive use cases (e.g. all files hosted on server need to have direct links on a public-facing web page).
I did read the TOS. It sounds like the short version is: you can do what you want, as long as the activity doesn't contradict our Terms of Service, it's legal within the USA, and as long as it doesn't adversely affect other customers or our network as a whole.
-M
Right. Unlike those other hosts, Linode is awesome.