Mar 30 2018 — Packer is an open source tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. Packer is lightweight, runs on every major operating system, and is highly performant, creating machine images for multiple platforms in parallel. In this post, I will demonstrate how to create a packer template for AWS that automatically installs and configures NGINX on the most recent Ubuntu OS.

Jan 18 2018 — In this post, I explore the different pricing models that Amazon offers for EC2 and RDS instances and estimate the cost to host four different website configurations for one year. What amount should I expect to pay to host my website with the same AWS instances when I’m no longer eligible for the free usage tier? I answer this and many other questions that you know you wonder about but are just too damn embarrassed to admit in public.

Jan 15 2018 — With Amazon's Free Usage Tier, it's very easy to generate overage charges even with the best intentions of operating entirely within the offer’s limits (this is why Amazon requires a credit card when you create your account). For each individual service (EC2, RDS, S2, etc.), your usage for the month is tabulated in extremely fine detail. At first, the sheer number of items on your invoice can be intimidating. In this post, I will show what a typical bill contains for running a small Wordpress site and how to avoid overage charges and other unnecesary costs.

Jan 13 2018 — For the past 2 months, I have been learning Linux server administration, PHP/JavaScript and other skills such as DevOps tools/processes. By far, the most valuable resource I have used to develop these skills is the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Free Usage Tier that is offered to anyone for a period of one year. Well, anyone with a credit card to be more precise. Figure 1: List of AWS product categories, vast and varied