VPS vs Vercel - Should you switch?

00:00:00: you probably heard about, read about the Vercel security incident that happened on April nineteenth.

00:00:07: This episode is not about this incident!

00:00:10: You find a link to it below.

00:00:12: if you want to learn more about one statement, a certain notion I could feel or see and read on X and other platforms after this incident.

00:00:27: Which was that now it's time to move to a VPS for hosting your web app instead of using Vercel.

00:00:36: And you can insert any managed hosting provider name here because they all come with the same advantages and disadvantages in the end.

00:00:48: So is it now finally time to use a VPS instead of a managed provider?

00:00:54: I think there are many good reasons for using a Vps, but security isn't one of them!

00:01:03: It would be easy that you should absolutely move to a vps because i actually just released on VPS Essentials where I get you started with doing stuff on a vps, setting it up configuring and doing SSH hardening running a web app.

00:01:20: And obviously i recorded that course before the incident happened.

00:01:25: so its just coincidence!

00:01:33: to use a VPS for security reasons.

00:01:39: There are reasons, I'll get back with them but security is not one of them because what you have to understand is that security obviously and you probably know that it's complex topic And when using a vps You Are The Problematic Factor When Using A Managed Service Like Vercell.

00:02:00: We Saw That An Employee In Case Of This Vercell Security Incident Was The problem, if you want to call it like this though the actual problem was of course... ...the internal setup how certain things worked inside of Vercel and how easy one compromised user or employee account could affect entire system.

00:02:21: That was actually a problem.

00:02:23: so that is something you depend on.

00:02:26: You depend upon security measures implemented by your provider for example Obviously, but if you are using a VPS it's just YOU.

00:02:39: And let's face it security... is a complicated topic.

00:02:43: In that course I mentioned, i do show you how to properly set up a VPS and harden it so no one else can connect through SSH.

00:02:54: That's an important step!

00:03:08: But of course, security doesn't stop there.

00:03:10: I mean we have attacks like the React server components vulnerabilities that we had last year.

00:03:16: We have vulnerabilities which actually this specific vulnerability would allow attackers to take over your machine and control it.

00:03:29: The only way to defend against this is to keep your packages updated once a patch was released for React and Next.js.

00:03:37: in this specific case, And obviously that's just one example there are many building blocks In a web application an in general in a system That runs the web application that could become vulnerable or their vulnerabilities Could be detected.

00:03:50: now if you were using Vercel You actually would get some automatic protection by them because as soon as the vulnerability was discovered, they implemented some automated measure some protection through their web application firewall service that could help defend against this attack.

00:04:13: Now, it didn't guarantee protection but was an extra layer and additional layers.

00:04:17: so you got some protection without doing anything in case of a specific attack when using Vercel And the same may have been true for other providers.

00:04:29: Anything security gets easier when using a managed service like Vercel, despite them of course still also being vulnerable as we saw attacks like this one here in April can happen.

00:04:44: But with a VPS it's all your job and that has its disadvantages.

00:04:52: Now, of course there also are reasons to use a VPS though and those existed before that security incident because they have nothing to do with Security.

00:05:02: And big one is cost.

00:05:05: A VPS can be very cost effective.

00:05:08: you can rent some Hetzner for couple dollars per month And you know that you'll only be paying THAT amount of money per month, whereas with managed providers like Vercel the pricing system can't be complex and you make her unexpected cost.

00:05:30: We regularly see people posting they were charged way more than anticipated.

00:05:36: Pretty much always the fault of these people don't get me wrong, but it's to some degree also default or deliberately done by providers because they have an incentive.

00:05:55: It's not that easy, there aren't the bad guys and good guys.

00:05:59: But of course with a VPS you definitely can be very cost effective AND... You know what you'll pay which is great!

00:06:08: And chances are high that you can run certain web applications Dozens of dollars, maybe hundreds of dollars on a managed provider for just a few dollars like twenty dollars or something like that On a VPS.

00:06:24: That is absolutely possible and I would say This is one of the biggest advantages and most important reasons for choosing a VPS over a managed provider.

00:06:34: Obviously that's not new, but what you should be focusing on isn't the security aspect – instead your responsibility will come with its own challenges!

00:06:47: Challenges you can master…but challenges!

00:06:51: Another advantage of a Vps is flexibility.

00:06:56: you can effectively do anything on a VPS because it's just uh computer.

00:07:02: It's just a computer, just a machine typically with Linux on it.

00:07:07: obviously you can also rent vps without operating systems but linux is the default.

00:07:11: all so what i use in my course and you can install on that system whatever you want.

00:07:16: you can run on this system wherever you want.

00:07:18: for most part some providers block certain ports related to email.

00:07:24: Regarding normal workflows, normal applications you can really do anything there.

00:07:28: You create new users and configure this as you want.

00:07:31: It's your machine essentially As if it were standing in a room to some degree And of course with managed providers you are limited To what the provider supports.

00:07:44: One good example I have here is that Vercel for example does not support SQLite.

00:07:51: While it can't be used with Vercel, we do offer other storage solutions.

00:07:56: SQLite is not supported in Vercels.

00:07:59: so if you're building a web application and want to use SQLite as a database which's great choice for many applications It isn't just a development toy or production ready easy-to-use, set up easily managed and therefore overall great database solution.

00:08:16: but you can't just build it, run it locally on your machine and then deploy as is on Vercel.

00:08:22: It does work if using a vps though!

00:08:26: Again that's actually one example.

00:08:28: I use in my course an application i built there which uses sqlite so you have way more flexibility.

00:08:41: Again, the disadvantage here is you need to have the willingness learn how to work with Linux, for example.

00:08:50: Obviously AI can help with that, AIS is way easier now than it was in the past or my experience.

00:08:58: but you have to have a willingness to dive into there.

00:09:02: With a managed provider You typically just push your application to GitHub and if everything's configured properly It will just deploy an updated version And you don't need to worry about anything Rolling back older versions.

00:09:17: It's simple.

00:09:18: That is the advantage, but the price for that is limitation.

00:09:21: VPS has a lot of flexibility But the prize for that Is complexity.

00:09:26: or you have to have the willingness To dive into it and get the technical knowledge Or dig in details to make things work And configure them properly.

00:09:42: AI helps a lot here, not just of course with generating code and all that stuff but it can really help with configuring a VPS.

00:09:51: With understanding Linux commands conjuring up all these complex linux command chains where you have one complex command then you pipe the output into another one.

00:10:05: That is the part where I make working with a vps so much easier And therefore I think using a VPS for hosting web application, running certain workflows or an AI agent like Open Claw.

00:10:20: Definitely a good idea.

00:10:22: in many situations you just have to know the price which is more complexity and for you the willingness to learn how things work and configure them.

00:10:32: Manage providers great if want ease of use!

00:10:35: You'll be paying money as always in life.

00:10:38: Ease-of-use typically costs money But yeah, it is simpler.

00:10:42: It's as simple as that.

00:10:44: if security Is what you're looking at Yeah go with a managed provider?