GOOD NEWS Antsle VM Server Was AWESOME

[wardmundy]

If your company doesn't have a virtual machine platform, then Antsle's new servers are worth a careful look. It takes about 5 minutes to set up, and you're in business. We got ours in the mail yesterday, and today we have a dozen virtual machines whirring away. This review explains why it's a better choice than VirtualBox or VMware. $2200 buys you a powerhouse with no moving parts or fan. You can build your own templates from snapshots in under a minute. Also comes with a healthy collection of Linux and Windows templates.

We had planned to test it and then send it back within the 30-day return window. But now we're in love.

Excellent documentation here.

Free forum support here.

Pricing and software-only implementation info here.

 

[kenn10]

This is good news. Now just put it in a colo someplace and host our systems! LOL

 

[wardmundy]

I'm afraid the love affair has turned into a one night stand. Gotta say that this is what often happens when a vendor wraps proprietary apps around open source code. There's no documented way to make off-site or even off-machine backups because Antsle apparently doesn't want their proprietary code exposed. And then there's the upgrade process. First, it's only for paying (through the nose) business customers. Second, the upgrade itself was a total train wreck. Something to be said for eating your own dog food before you foist it on the public... especially when they are paying customers. Third, while KVM applets were solid, LXC applets (similar to OpenVZ) are a mess: virtual networks fail, files literally disappear, entire antMan platform restarts when a single LXC container chokes. Need we say more. Last but not least is the cost comparison to cloud platforms. Even using Digital Ocean or Vultr, it will take a very long time at a penny an hour to spend $2200.00 (220,000 rock-solid, dependable computing hours to be exact) and the actual hardware performance of the Antsle platform is no better than the 1GB cloud VMs. So... back goes the pretty hardware.

 

[kenn10]

Bummer. I was ready for NerdVittlesVM.com to open up. Actually, I think being a VM host would be a lot more trouble than its worth.

 

[geopeterwc]

Bummer #2: Love at first sight isn't always what it seems. When you have the chance for a second or third 'look', you begin to see the pimples and warts making what seemed to be ... well, not so much!

Thanks @wardmundy, for taking the chance and for exploring the newest options. From your description, it sounds like this box is at best, quirky and fragile.

/Pete./

 

[krzykat]

Even using Digital Ocean or Vultr, it will take a very long time at a penny an hour to spend $2200.00 (220,000 rock-solid, dependable computing hours to be exact)

Don't forget the cost of electricity as well. I do still have a prox box for playing and backups ... but dollar for dollar, its hard to beat DO and Vultr plus the gray hairs on maintaining additional hardware that you don't want to do.

 

[wardmundy]

But the hardware is so purdy.