So my little web server keeps running, way to go!
I also downgraded the storage type to magnetic which will be cheaper.
Can’t believe how well my t2.micro instance is handling this
So I switched to a cheap t2.micro instance about a month ago when my t2.small instance reached its bid limit. The micro instance would occasionally crash but once I fixed the issue of it not using swap space, all is good.
So far so good!
It’s been about 2 weeks since I started this instance, and it’s been running ever since. I haven’t caught a single error yet. I’m glad this cheaper instance is running well. Stay tuned!
Last post of 2024
So as 2024 draws to a close, it’s been a big year for me personally. It’s had its share of ups and downs, but I’m still hopeful for 2025.
Looks like my t2.micro instance is still running strong, guess that swap file did the trick!
Wishing you all a great happy new year!!
So now the t2.micro instance has taken over
My t2.small instance is now dead – looks like the bid price went up. Of course you can’t just up the bid price, you have to start all over again.
Luckily my t2.micro service started, but I had the same problem I’ve always had – after about 1-2 days, the database shuts off and I get an error saying “Error establishing database connection” and WordPress stops. A reboot fixes this issue.
So I tried a few things; First, I set up a crontab to restart mysql 4 times a day. I know this isn’t the right solution, but remember, people – I want this to be CHEAP. That still didn’t work, tho’.
After some searching, I figured out that this instance has NO swap space. After enabling swap space it should run for a while now. Fingers crossed!!
So far, so good on my t2.small instance
So I’m a week away from the end of the month and my costs for running this instance are still under $10. This includes the cost of the use of an IP address which is about half of the running cost of the instance.
Lookin’ good so far…
Elastic IP is back on the menu
In Feb, 2024, AWS changed their policy on Elastic IPs. For those who don’t know, an Elastic IP is a static IP address that doesn’t change. You’ll get a static IP with every EC2 instance you run but it could change over time. An Elastic IP never changes so your Route 53/DNS records never change.
Starting in February, Elastic IP addresses will now incur a cost whether the instance is running or not (they used to not charge if you had the IP address but the instance was shut down).
However, if you have a running instance, you’re charged the same fee regardless. So I got an elastic IP and attached it to this instance since my plan is to run the site full time regardless.
I’m debating on whether or not I should get a verified SSL cert.
STOP! In the name of billing, before you break my pocketbook…
Okay, maybe you don’t get that reference, I’ll explain it at the end.
Lately I’ve been stopping my instance at night and restarting it in the day to keep costs down. But I’ve decided to stop doing that and just keep the site running regardless since the billing still won’t be THAT expensive.
I will also eventually set up an elastic IP since I’m already paying $0.005 an hour for a static IP, and an elastic IP is about the same cost. Might as way get one if the cost is, you know, the same…
Okay, the reference is from “STOP! In the name of Love!”, a song by the Supremes. Those Motown songs were the best.
So I modified my Polly page
When I was training for AWS, we did a really cool project where we learned how to make a Javascript based page that uses AWS Polly, a text to audio translator.
https://tensigh-mypollywebsite-nv.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html
You enter text into the text box and it will convert it to an mp3 which you can play or download, and you can choose from a variety of accents. All of this runs without a web server.
So far, the t2.small instance works great
Since I’ve started this on a t2.small instance, it’s been running pretty well. It’s pretty fast and the server hasn’t crashed once yet. Mind you this is still a very small volume server but so far so good!