feature request: Move server to different hardware

[simonvanlierde]

Move server to different hardware

Context

The platform currently runs on a single server that is nearing end-of-life and is not under our direct control. This creates risks for maintenance, updates, and long-term availability.

The system should be migrated to infrastructure that we control or that is managed by a reliable institutional provider.

Requirements

• ability to run backend, database, and media storage
• support for containerized services (Docker)
• automated backups
• sufficient storage for images and media (~ 1 TB for images, 5-10 TB for videos)

Possible options

• own hardware (department-managed server)
• institutional infrastructure (e.g. SURF Research Cloud or university VM hosting)
• external cloud provider (e.g. Hetzner, DigitalOcean)

Tasks

• document current server setup
• choose hosting option
• provision new infrastructure
• migrate database and media
• update deployment configuration

[simonvanlierde]

Rough cost estimates

These are approximate yearly costs for infrastructure suitable for the current RELab platform
(API + database + media storage).

1. Own hardware (self-hosted server)
Example: server with ~32GB RAM and 16 TB storage.

Estimated cost:

• hardware purchase: €1,000–€2,000 (one-time)
• electricity + maintenance: ~€100–€300 / year

Pros

• full control
• can use for other department projects
• predictable costs after purchase

Cons

• hardware maintenance responsibility
• physical hosting required

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2. Institutional infrastructure (SURF / university VM)

Estimated cost:

• SURF Research Cloud / institutional VM: €1,500 - €10,500/ year
• Note that for ISSC VMs, storage costs €1 per GB, which means a risk for significant cost inflation in the future

Pros

• reliable infrastructure
• institutional support and backups

Cons

• ongoing operational cost
• configuration limits
• no official support for hosting web-apps
• administrative overhead

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3. External cloud provider

Example providers: Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS.

Estimated cost:

• VM (4–8 vCPU, 16–32GB RAM): €250–€500 / month
• storage (1–10 TB): €25–€250 / month

Total estimate:

• €275–€750 / month
• €3,300–€9,000/ year

Pros

• scalable and easy to provision
• good automation support

Cons

• expensive
• vendor dependency