Should You Opt For Cloudways Managed AWS Cloud Hosting Service?

AWS is a world leader in the industry of cloud computing. But for new users, it’s difficult to configure AWS servers. This is where Managed Cloud Hosting Services can be helpful. This is a detailed review of how you can use Cloudways Managed AWS Cloud Hosting Service and take the benefits of Amazon Web Services.

The pioneer in Cloud Computing, Amazon Web Services has been around for more than a decade and is still dominating the field of cloud hosting providers. For developers and people, who are familiar with Cloud Computing, AWS is perfect for its intuitive infrastructure. But what about the people like business owners, who have no technical expertise on this subject matter?

Let’s understand the complexities that the Business owners face while working with AWS. Before that, here is a brief update on the latest reports on AWS and it’s firm grip as the top Cloud Infrastructure provider.

Recently, according to the Q2 reports, there has been a 12% slip in the growth rate of earnings of Amazon’s subsidiary i.e. Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, there’s an increase in their Q2 total revenue of $8.38 billion from the last year’s $6.1 billion. This proves how AWS continues to dominate the industry of Cloud Computing.

What Does AWS Do?

AWS provides computing and storage for brands and corporations. It is the pioneer in cloud computing. The users rent AWS Servers, Elastic Cloud Computing (EC2), which is the central part of AWS’s cloud computing platform.

Although AWS is famous for its intuitive infrastructure and applications, someone who is new to the concept of cloud hosting would still struggle in using it at its optimal level. This is because AWS often overwhelms new users, and familiarizing themselves with the service can be a tedious task.

Challenges In Running AWS RAW Server

Let’s look at some of the common challenges that people who are new to AWS face while familiarizing themselves with the AWS terminology and other Cloud concepts.

A new user to AWS will need orientation in understanding the operations of EC2 and how it runs. Terminologies such as elastic IP and CloudWatch are also very new to a business owner, hence familiarizing with these is going to be time-consuming.

For someone who has prior experience or knowledge about cloud computing, these concepts are already clear enough. Thus, it’s easy for them to grasp and run both application as well as server related operations.

On the flip side, people who are a novice to cloud computing such as Business Owners, Freelancers, Digital Agency Owners face trouble in performing tasks like setting up a server, etc. The cost of having a website shoots up as she/he will need to dedicate a resource for Server maintenance, Monitoring, and other similar tasks.

AWS Server Management Requires Focus

For a business owner, the tasks related to server management will end up being frustrating and time-consuming.

They require focus and understanding. For instance, setting up an EC2 server is a complicated process as the user will have to select a predefined virtual machine (Amazon Machine Image). The user will then have to use the generated key and connect it to the LIVE server.

The user must understand and use Linux commands to run operations on the EC2. Knowing the codes can save uptime, but in the case of a non-technical user, running these operations will be complicated. Thereby, increasing the overall time of setting up the server.

Let’s assume that the user creates an AWS server; however, routine tasks like monitoring the performance of the server and keeping a tab on the price of running the server are also time-consuming. Furthermore, as the business owner is not familiar with these operations, creating server and application backups will be frustrating for the user.

Deploying An Application On AWS

Once the user has the server ready for setup, he/she has to deploy the web application on the AWS server. The user will have to deploy a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) so that the server can connect and communicate with the application.

The user must ensure that the version of Apache, MySQL, and PHP are inter-compatible to run the application. After ensuring this, the user will also have to map the servers of the IP and domain so that whoever types the URL, will land on this allocated server.

Enabling Server Security

It’s essential to take precautionary measures to prevent DDOS attacks on the EC2 server. AWS already has these security measures; however, it’s difficult for everyone to enable these. This is because it’s not a one-time task, but a recurring maintenance check to ensure that the server has no vulnerabilities for a user to attack.

Similarly, it’s crucial to enable the SSL certificate on your website/application for Google to identify it as a safe website. This is especially important in the case of Search Engine Optimization, Enabling Payment Gateway, and sending out emails to potential customers. These certificates are also available on AWS, yet they come with their complications for a business owner to integrate.

To elaborate further, the business owner will have to convert the certificate into the appropriate format, and then upload the certificate files to the AWS server. It needs to be verified and then updated for the HTTPS load balancer. This takes a lot of time for someone new to this procedure.

AWS provides security services for a price tag. However, while considering the budget constraints of a small business owner, this adds another roadblock for them to opt for the fabulous infrastructure that AWS provides.

Setting Up Server Email

It’s essential to set up an email address that reflects the owner’s business and domain name to keep the matters professional. Hence, AWS has the option through which an email can be set up. However, the complications in setting up make this task time intensive.

It can also result in additional costs, as the business owner will most likely add resources and outsource this task. There are many other features that a user can leverage when using AWS. Taking advantage of these benefits is only possible if the business owner knows how to use them.

Hence, there’s a need to bring the benefits of AWS on a simple platform for people to use. This is where Cloudways comes into the picture.

Opting For Managed AWS With Cloudways

Cloudways is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) provider that acts as a medium through which the end-user can Choose a predefined hosting infrastructure, Manage the server, and Deploy an application on it. The platform makes Server Management and Server Maintenance hassle-free so that the business owners can focus on the business.

AWS Server Management With Cloudways

Cloudways platform facilitates the users to update application versions, the server’s OS, increase or decrease the server’s hard disk and monitor the server round-the-clock. The platform also provides server-related security features like Malware scanning, Firewall configurations, and Spam filtering

Business owners can also take server and application backups, scale, and shrink the server’s parameters to cater to the requirements without worrying about the server downtime.

Click Application Installation

Installing applications is straightforward and accessible through the Cloudways dashboard. Launching an app is simple and almost automated. This makes it easy to deploy a web application, just like WordPress on AWS, you need not configure the server manually.

The screenshot below depicts the screen through which additional applications can be added to an existing server. The platform takes away the complications of setting up apps through a command-line interface.

Platform Add-Ons Make Life Easy

There are several add-ons that users of Cloudways can take advantage of. These third-party apps bring server and application integrations under one roof.

Cloudways has a few add-ons that are within reach from the top menu bar. These add-ons include Priority Support for premium customers, Gmail SMTP, DNS Made Easy, Application Updates, Application Migration, and Rackspace Email Hosting.

Adding these add-ons is simple and it only requires a one-time setup. Premium add-ons have a price tag attached but are very handy in daily operations. The customers have to pay an additional amount for an application upgrade.

For Example, only during the time of an application upgrade.

Server Speed Optimization For Applications

The custom stack that Cloudways offers is already at an optimal level to give its customers the best results for their website’s performance. The “Cloudways ThunderStack” comprises of the best cache and server technology.

This comprises of:

• Apache
• Memcache
• MySQL
• New Relic
• Nginx
• PHP FPM
• Varnish

Each of these improves the website’s load time and overall website performance. It’s through this stack server where website optimization takes place and thereby reduces the time taken by a visitor for loading a web page. This is an integral part of the business operations and will make a difference in making the sale.

After launching a server, the stack is pre-configured by default. However, the customer can disable these managed services individually through their dashboard.

Security

Some of the security tools available on the Cloudways hosting platform are pre-installed. For instance, Cloudways customers can enable ‘Let’s Encrypt’ SSL from the platform itself. If a customer already has an SSL certificate, then importing it after migrating the website is simple.

Two-Factor Authentication and Server IP Whitelisting are some of the features that Cloudways provides. Server IP Whitelisting, for instance, is a security component that restricts other devices from connecting to the server unless the customer adds the IP manually. This indeed protects the server from server attacks, like an intruder attack.

Two Factor Authentication is another security protocol through which a user can activate as soon as the user attempts to sign into the Cloudways platform. It is a code that is sent to the user’s mobile phone via text message. Once the user enters the code, they can sign in and access their account.

This is a great way to protect the account from a bot attack where a program attempts to sign in to an account through multiple combinations. Having two-factor authentication helps to prevent locking of the account due to numerous sign-in attempts.

Conclusion

AWS is a world leader in the industry of cloud computing. However, its features can be overwhelming for a new user. This is why business owners shift toward the other hosting providers to uncomplicate matters and focus on their business needs.

Cloudways is excellent as a managed-hosting service. It’s robust, easy, and simple to use. The pricing point here is affordable, as the business owner has a platform, and the support team is managing, maintaining, and monitoring his/her server.

Instead of hiring an additional resource, this solution makes the server management a walk in the park.