Nick Loui

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    • Thoughts on startups, LA, and media
    December 26, 2011

    Umami Burger

    Since (almost) all of my 2012 Emerson friends will be coming to LA in two weeks(!), I’ve decided that I’ll spend some time jotting down all of my favorite places in LA… Starting with a new favorite: Umami Burger

    (photo credit cozysf on flickr)
    Look at this.  Look at this burger.  It’s gorgeous.  I think Umami actually competes with In N’ Out, which is saying a lot.  Mind you, it’s 3x more expensive, but worth every penny.
    There are two Umami locations: one in the Los Feliz area and one in the Hollywood area.  Either way, Emerfolk will be happy to know that both are fairly hipsta.
    The Hollywood location was the first Umami I went to, and I’m a big fan.  It’s right next to Kitchen 24 (to be written about later), Urban, and Amoeba Music.  It takes a little longer to get a seat, but it’s a fun area.
    The Los Feliz area is quieter, and the location isn’t as good but it’s a bigger location.
    I recommend: The Hatch Burger (it’s got jalapeños in it!) and Truffle Fries.

     

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    December 25, 2011

    Rackspace, Amazon, Cloud, Blah

    So you’re starting a new online business and you’re faced with a critical decision: Who is going to host my website?

    I’m expecting my growth to look something like:

    Amzn_q4_07

    And I need to know that I can support all of my new clients!

    Everyone’s talking about the cloud but WT-F does that mean?   It seems like Amazon AWS is all the rage now, but how the hell do you use it?

    In 2011, I went through this decision a few times… here are my quick thoughts:

    Mediatemple GS, Rackspace Cloud Sites

    Mediatemple GS seems heavy on the marketing and mediocre on the product.  Rackspace Cloud Sites is a bit pricey if you’re trying to bootstrap your company, and the MySQL database performance (assuming you’re using it) isn’t going to scale along with the website.
    Shared Hosting - GoDaddy, Dreamhost, 1And1, Etc…
    Shared hosting is a solid option if you’re looking to save money.  I’ve always avoided GoDaddy hosting, although they were my go to domain registration company (until the recent SOPA debacle– I’ve since moved almost all my domains to Namecheap).  Dreamhost has been great to me in the past but if you’re ever so slightly more tech savvy, Webfaction is my new home for most of my domains and they have been awesome.
    VPS - Slicehost, Servint, other managed VPS’s
    When you’re ready to scale, being on a VPS is a huge advantage.  If you have the budget, and you’re purchasing hosting for a single project, starting with a VPS is a great decision.  We’ve had great experiences with Servint in the past.  This will definitely be pricier than shared hosting, but if you’re serious about your startup– this will be a great first step.  In the past, a dedicated server would have also been a choice, but quite frankly– a VPS is much more flexible since you can scale so easily.
    PAAS (Platform as  a Service) – PHPFog, CloudControl, Orchestra, Heroku, etc…
    This seems is the new hot-choice at the moment.  If you’re a fan of developing using git, and need something that can automatically scale with your site, looking into a PAAS is an interesting option.  We’ve deployed test sites and have been relatively happy.  It seems like when scaling, PAAS is not the most cost-effective option but being able to scale the website and database so easily is a great differentiating factor.  Note that with this option, you’re committing to your development language and you usually don’t have shell access (if that matters to you).
    Amazon AWS , Rackspace Cloud

    The big boys all seem to deploy on Amazon AWS or the Rackspace Cloud.  Amazon, in particular, has truly revolutionized the hosting business with their EC2 tools etc.  My feeling is that Amazon AWS and The Rackspace Cloud are incredibly powerful, but you’ll want someone fairly technical to help create a server stack for you.  The Rackspace Cloud, in my experience, has been easier to deploy since it acts like a traditional VPS but both systems are completely unmanaged– meaning you need to know how to use it.  When you’re ready to scale, this seems like the most cost-effective option, but when you’re ready to scale, you’ll ideally have the money to pay for someone to manage the migration and setup for you.

    Sooooo my thoughts depend on who you are.  Here’s my quick guide:

    1. I’ve never started a startup before.  I barely know how to program.  I’m going to figure this out on my own at the beginning.  Set your self up on Webfaction, Servint, or Rackspace Cloud Sites (depending on budget).
    2. I’m starting a startup.  I’m a programmer but have no experience in server management.  Try out a PAAS option and tell me what you think.  I’m thinking this is the best option for programmers that know they will need to scale but need a little help managing servers.
    3. I’m a pro.  You just wasted my time reading this article. Amazon AWS or Rackspace Cloud Sites.  Develop your own private cloud in one of those environments.
    Thoughts?

     

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