commit 6f13ef381d2cf089e9dba84d5148a6b7cbb05deb · bmann.ca/bmannconsulting.com

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_notes/Co-op Cloud Alternatives.md

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       - 👍 Large library of apps.

     

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       - 👍 Built-in SSO using LDAP, which is compatible with more apps and often has a better user interface than OAuth.

     

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       - 👍 Apps are actively maintained by the Cloudron team.

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Moving away from open source. The core is now proprietary software.

     
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       - 👎 Limited to vertical scaling.

     

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       - 👎 Tension between needs of hosting provider and non-technical user.

     

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       - 👎 LDAP introduces security problems - one vulnerable app can expose a user's password for all apps.

     

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       - 👎 Bit of a [black box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box).

     

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       - 👎 Bit of a black box

     

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       _**@boris commentary:** do I wish that Cloudron were fully open source? Yes. But I also like that the team has a sustainable business where they keep all of these apps packaged and updated over time! They mention the SSO model here as LDAP, but in fact it's OIDC now._

     

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       ## [[Yunohost]]

     

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       - 👍 Supports hosting apps in subdirectories as well as subdomains.

     

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       - 👍 Doesn't require a public-facing IP.

     

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       - 👍 Supports system-wide mutualisation of resources for apps (e.g. sharing databases by default)

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Upstream libre software communities aren't involved in packaging.

     

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       - 👎 Uninstalling apps leaves growing cruft.

     

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       - 👎 Limited to vertical scaling.

     

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       - 👎 Not intended for use by hosting providers.
     

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       - 👎 Not intended for use by hosting providers.

     

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       _**@boris commentary:** I took a look at Yunohost and found it scary from a security perspective. Packaging is a pile of bash scripts. More apps but they're mostly undermaintained_

     

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       ##  [[Caprover]]

     

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       ### Pros

     

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       - 👍 Bigger library of apps.

     

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       - 👍 Easy set-up using a DigitalOcean one-click app.

     

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       - 👍 Works without a domain name or a public IP, in non-HTTPS mode (good for homeservers).

     

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       - 👍 Deploy any app with a `docker-compose.yml` file as a "One Click App" via the web interface.

     

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       - 👍 Multi-node (multi-server) set-up works by default.

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Single-file app definition format, difficult to tweak using entrypoint scripts.

     

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       - 👎 Nginx instead of Traefik for load-balancing.

     

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       - 👎 Command-line client requires NodeJS / `npm`.

     

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       - 👎 [Requires 512MB RAM for a single app](https://github.com/caprover/caprover/issues/28).

     

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       - 👎 [Backup/restore is "experimental"](https://caprover.com/docs/backup-and-restore.html), and doesn't currently help with backing up Docker volumes.

     

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       - 👎 Exposes its bespoke management interface to the internet via HTTPS by default.

     

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       ## [[Ansible]]

     

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       ### Pros

     

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       - 👍 Includes server creation and bootstrapping.

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Upstream libre software communities aren't publishing Ansible roles.

     

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       - 👎 Lots of manual work involved in things like app isolation, backups, updates.

     

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       ## [[Kubernetes]]

     

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       ### Pros

     

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       - 👍 Helm charts are available for some key apps already.

     

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       - 👍 Scale all the things.

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Too big -- requires 3rd party tools to run a single-node instance.

     

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       - 👎 Not suitable for a small to mid size hosting provider.

     

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       ## [[Docker-compose]]

     

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       ### Pros

     

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       - 👍 Quick to set up and familiar for many developers.

     

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       ### Cons

     

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       - 👎 Manual work required for process monitoring.

     

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       - 👎 Secret storage not available yet.

     

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       - 👎 [Swarm is the new best practice](https://github.com/BretFisher/ama/issues/8#issuecomment-367575011).

     

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       I'll skip the the "doing it manually" old school version of server + app maintenance.

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_notes/Co-op Cloud.md

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       > Co-op Cloud aims to make hosting libre software apps simple for small service providers such as tech co-operatives who are looking to standardise around an open, transparent and scalable infrastructure. It uses the latest container technologies and configurations are shared into [the commons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commons) for the benefit of all.

     

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       > The project was started by workers at [Autonomic](https://autonomic.zone/) which is a [worker-owned co-operative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_cooperative). We provide technologies and infrastructure to empower users to make a positive impact on the world. We're using Co-op Cloud in production, amongst other systems.

     

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       > The core technologies of Co-op Cloud are libre software and enjoy wide adoption across software developer communities.

     

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       > 

     

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       > - [Containers](https://docs.coopcloud.tech/intro/faq/#why-containers)

     

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       > - [Compose specification](https://docs.coopcloud.tech/intro/faq/#why-docker-compose)

     

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       > - [Docker swarm](https://docs.coopcloud.tech/intro/faq/#why-docker-swarm)

     

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       > - [Abra command-line tool](https://git.autonomic.zone/coop-cloud/abra)

     

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       _**@boris commentary:** it's unclear whether Docker swarm IS going to keep going. One of the sites they link to, dockerswarm.rocks, has a [kubernetes won](https://dockerswarm.rocks/swarm-or-kubernetes/) post. The [awesome-swarm](https://github.com/BretFisher/awesome-swarm) appears to continue to be updated._

     

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       Their [FAQ](https://docs.coopcloud.tech/intro/faq/) has a really good section on comparing to other solutions, which I’m reproducing at [[Co-op Cloud Alternatives]]