FOSSVPS.org is born!
Hello!
Thanks to the kindness of @netixen, it looks like I might be getting a free server from @dan_onlyservers.
When I started FreeVPS.org, some of the great guys who volunteered to help wanted to use less than 100% free and open source software ("FOSS") to administer FreeVPS.org.
FreeVPS.org runs on Blesta, which is not quite 100% open source.
Later, Eric from crunchbits.com was kind enough, at my request, to take over leadership of FreeVPS.org.
Despite FreeVPS.org being all set up and running very well, Providers still are continuing to give me free VPSes and free dedicated servers. These are managed with FOSS software only, and with tons of awesome help from generous friends.
Today I registered the domain FOSSVPS.org to facilitate the continued giveaway of free VPSes in a 100% free and open source context.
I think all the guys at FreeVPS.org are wonderful! I'm still a member of their Discord PM group, and we still joke around and talk frequently. If any of the members of the FreeVPS.org team want to help with FOSSVPS.org, they will be more than welcome! Same with Providers who have kindly donated to FreeVPS.org (Thank you!). Of course, those who are using free VPSes at FreeVPS.org also will be welcome to get another free VPS at FOSSVPS.org.
As the days go by, we will see what happens with FOSSVPS.org. Additionally, I expect to continue with MetalVPS.com, which sells shell accounts and FOSS VPSes.
FOSSVPS.org doesn't have a website yet. MetalVPS.com has a crazy fun site! 
At the moment, I have a new setup of FOSSBilling running on a free server kindly contributed by @fmxm. Maybe FOSSVPS.org can use FOSSBilling.
Thanks again to @netixen and to @dan_onlyservers for their generosity! Thanks to @jbiloh and to everyone here at LET!
Best wishes!
Tom
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Comments
LET LES
FTFY
Exactly! Thanks very much!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
And jbiloh??
The all seeing eye sees everything...
Usually I post offers and giveaways here at LES, on OGF, and also on Nodeseek.
What happened in this post was that, amidst my enthusiasm for the birth of FOSSVPS, I just cut and pasted what I wrote for OGF both here and at Nodeseek.
Jon Biloh has helped me in many ways over the last few years. I feel grateful to Jon, and I think of him as a friend. Many people here hold a different opinion, as is their right.
I apologize to everyone here for my overenthusiasm. I am sorry!
In case anyone wants to see the OGF and Nodeseek posts, here are links:
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
The title contains the word "born". One can't actually give birth to a computer or a server, more like design it or make it or create it.
Anyway: Congratulations on the project and allow me to wish you lots of success with it!
Please stop the planet! I wish to get off!
Good, another free VPS for me!
The first FOSSVPS server has landed, kindly donated over at OGF by @netixen and @dan_onlyservers! Thanks to both of them!
A few things are needed before the first FOSSVPS giveaway begins. There is an additional routed IPv4 /29 which needs to be configured. OnlyServers asked me to raise a ticket for IPv6. Maybe I should reinstall to Debian or BSD? And, last but not least, the VPSes need to be made, if on Linux, with BashVM.
Does anyone want to help with server administration?
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Ban @Not_Oles
@imok Welp, @Not_Oles still is here, at least for now.
Great progress! OnlyServers responded quickly to my ticket requesting IPv6. So now we have IPv6 that seems to be working.
Next up is to make and test VPSes. But -- maybe, a reinstall first, or maybe just go with Ubuntu.
Here is an updated Yabs:
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
For @sh97:
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
huh?
I have a signature.
Right in the OP:
Progress!
Got https://fossvps.org parked on YetiNode. Need to do some work on the website.
Got BashVM installed and a test VPS up and running. Need to adjust the network to use macvtap and to include IPv6. Need to make more VPSes and then do the giveaway.
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Congratulations on the “expansion” !!
blog | exploring visually |
I could use help with the specifications for the VPSes.
Here's what we have on the Node:
The extra IPv4/29 is routed, so I think we can use all 8 of the IPs in the /29 with macvtap.
I kind of imagined 8 IPv4 plus IPv6 VPSes, each with 4 vCores and 8 GB of RAM.
Plus, another 8 VPses with IPv6 only. Also 8 GB RAM.
That's 16 VPSes all together.
The disks are RAID 1, and at 100 GB for each VPS, the disks would be oversold overgiven. Not everyone uses the entire allocation. But maybe it would be better to decrease the disk allocation generally?
An alternative to the 8 IPv6 only VPSes would be for the additional 8 VPSes to use NAT port forwarding for IPv4 plus IPv6.
Another alternative might be to just stick with 8 VPSes, but give each of them more cores and more RAM and more disk?
Does anyone have ideas for the VPS configuration? Thanks!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
AI suggests as follows. What do you think?
Option 2: Fewer, "Bigger" VPSes (e.g. 8 with all resources)
Per VPS:
vCPU: 6–8 (6×8=48, 8×8=64; better fits 20 real threads, but still overcommitted for 8 vCPUs each)
RAM: 16 GB (uses 128 GB fully)
Disk: 150 GB (8×150=1.2 TB, fits physical RAID volume)
IPv4: 1 per VPS direct (from /29)
IPv6: Plenty
Pros:
Cons:
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
As mentioned above at https://lowendspirit.com/discussion/comment/216840/#Comment_216840:
Maybe, for the first round of 8 VPSes:
CPU: 2 vCores
RAM: 8 GB
Disk: 69 GB (1100/16=68.79)
IPv4: 1 x /32
IPv6: 1 x /68
Bandwidth: 10 Gbps shared
Location: London, UK
OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Possibly a second round of 8 IPv6 only or NAT IPv4 plus IPv6 VPSes.
What do you guys think about this configuration?
Thanks to @dan_onlyservers and @netixen for the nice server node!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Maybe, for the first round of 8 VPSes:
CPU: 2 vCores
RAM: 6 GB # Reduced from 8
Disk: 50 GB # Reduced from 69 GB (1100/16=68.79)
IPv4: 1 x /32
IPv6: 1 x /68
Bandwidth: 10 Gbps shared
Location: London, UK
OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Possibly a second round of 8 (o less than 8) IPv6 only or NAT IPv4 plus IPv6 VPSes.
What do you guys think about this configuration?
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Excellent! Now there are 16 VPSes ready to go. The above yabs is from inside the first VPS.
These VPSes are IPv4 NAT plus IPv6. They each should have 20 IPv4 ports, one of which is assigned to ssh.
Maybe the first 8 can be adjusted from NAT to macvtap. . . .
When these VPSes are distributed I need to remember to turn them on and to enable autostart.
Getting closer to launch. . . .
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Comparing the disk speed tests:
with:
Is the VM disk I/O just going to the cache instead of directly to the real disk?
What you are asking seems to be the likely reason for the difference in the test results.
What I did was just go with the defaults from BashVM and, of course, the installed Ubuntu images.
Do you want one of the NAT IPv4 + IPv6 images for testing? If yes, please pick a random number between 9 and 16 inclusive.
If the VPS with that number remains available, it's yours. 
Um, clueless™ administrator, no service level promises, could vaporize instantly at any moment, etc.
No worries either way.
Thanks to OnlyServers and to @netixen for the server donation!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Special Thanks to Alexhost!!
@alexhost
Special thanks to Alexhost for their kind contribution to FOSSVPS.org!
Thanks to @fmxm, @netixen, @dan_onlyservers, @Hosteroid, and @babywhale!
FOSSVPS needs to get some VPSes running on the Alexhost server and give them away.
Additionally, FOSSVPS needs to get its website up!
Thanks again, everyone!
Always best wishes!
Tom
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
FOSSVPS now has a starter website up.
How many of you guys were around in 1985, when I bought my first computer, and when many computer terminals still were green text or even still printed to paper?
More soon! Thanks!
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Sir, with all due respect, you are old
I got my first computer in 1996, so more then 10 years later. We had Windows 95 installed on it, but I remember we still needed to boot into DOS to run most programs or play games... That DOS was white text on black screen though. But I do remember using QuickBasic to learn programming in high school, which was neon green text on black
Never make the same mistake twice. There are so many new ones to make.
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right.
Haha! I was around, but I was not very cool. I was small and dumb. (Now I am old and dumb.) Late 1980's, I was on a DOS PC. I really liked it.
Keep up the good work!
Bunch of young whippersnappers in this thread!!
Free Hosting at YetiNode | MicroNode| Cryptid Security | URL Shortener | LaunchVPS | ExtraVM | Host-C | In the Node, or Out of the Loop?
Geat news! FOSSVPS' Alexhost server is running Ubuntu. Our server just successfully finished its second round of
do-release-upgrade, successfully going from 20.04 to 22.04 to 24.04. I think it's amazingly fun, indeed nearly miraculous, that our antique machine can successfully accomplish such a complex upgrade operation involving thousands and thousands of files. Kudos to the Ubuntu, Debian, and Linux kernel teams as well! Thanks again to Alexhost for their kind donation!I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
Here is yabs for the Alexhost node on Ubuntu 24.04.
It's a good time to remember that a group of excellent gentlmen have been for several weeks using their free VPSes on the FOSSVPS Los Angeles server. Now, as @babywhale is progressing on BashVM using the OnlyServers server, I might try experimentally making a few macvtap KVM VPSes on the Alexhost server directly by hand with virt-install and cloud-init. I've never actually tried this type of VPS install. If there is someone here who is really up on virt-install and cloud-init, and who doesn't mind helping, that would be great!
Thanks to @fmxm, @netixen, @dan_onlyservers, and @alexhost!
Special thanks to @babywhale! 
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!