Where to have my data? ⇒
My current hosting setup:
- mail is hosted at FastMail
- Calendars are iCloud
- Contacts are self-hosted (Mac OS X Server)
- Website is Wordpress on Dreamhost
My costs are:
- $4/month for static IP
- $9/month for Dreamhost
- $9/month for 4 users on FastMail
Ideally I'd bring all those services in one place where I control everything. My options:
- self-host
- Shared hosting
- Cheap VPS
- Colocation
- leave it all the same
Downsides
Self-hosting:
- if my consumer grade internet goes down then I can't access much of my info.
- have to worry about maintaining offsite backups
- no support if nothing goes wrong
Shared-hosting
- privacy concerns
- how are their backups
- email service is usually not great
- don't normally have Contact/Calendar hosting Cheap VPS
- have to do everything myself
- no real support if something goes wrong
Colo
- kinda pricey for a little server ($30/month + cost of mac mini)
Leave it
- data is everywhere, multiple places to admin
- inconsistent support
I think my favourite choice is a self-hosted machine. I'd like to get a mac mini so I can remove my iMac from hosting duties. The Mac OS X Server software is really, really easy to use and there's tons of information out there about what to do. Going self hosted removes $18/month from my costs and gains me a ton of control.