Comparisons
We think it's important to understand that Co-op Cloud is more than just software and technical configurations. It is also a novel organization of how to create technology socially. However, strictly technically speaking you may be wondering:
What about $alternative
?ΒΆ
We have various technical critiques of other similar projects which are already up-and-running in the ecosystem, as they don't necessarily meet our needs as a small tech co-op. However, Co-op Cloud isn't meant to be a replacement for these other projects.
Here is a short overview of the pros/cons we see, in relation to our goals and needs.
CloudronΒΆ
Cloudron is complete solution for running apps on your own server
Pros
- π Decent web interface for app, domain & user management.
- π Large library of apps.
- π Built-in SSO using LDAP, which is compatible with more apps and often has a better user interface than OAuth.
- π Apps are actively maintained by the Cloudron team.
Cons
- π Moving away from open source. The core is now proprietary software.
- π Libre tier has a single app limit.
- π Based on Docker images, not stacks, so multi-process apps (e.g. parsoid visual editor for Mediawiki) are a non-starter.
- π Difficult to extend apps.
- π Only supported on Ubuntu LTS.
- π Upstream libre software communities aren't involved in packaging.
- π Limited to vertical scaling.
- π Tension between needs of hosting provider and non-technical user.
- π LDAP introduces security problems - one vulnerable app can expose a user's password for all apps.
- π Bit of a black box.
YunoHostΒΆ
YunoHost is an operating system aiming for the simplest administration of a server
Pros
- π Lovely web interface for app, domain & user management.
- π Bigger library of apps.
- π Awesome backup / deploy / restore continuous integration testing.
- π Supports hosting apps in subdirectories as well as subdomains.
- π Doesn't require a public-facing IP.
- π Supports system-wide mutualisation of resources for apps (e.g. sharing databases by default)
Cons
- π Upstream libre software communities aren't involved in packaging.
- π Uninstalling apps leaves growing cruft.
- π Limited to vertical scaling.
- π Not intended for use by hosting providers.
CaproverΒΆ
CapRover is an easy to use app/database deployment & web server manager for applications
Pros
- π Bigger library of apps.
- π Easy set-up using a DigitalOcean one-click app.
- π Works without a domain name or a public IP, in non-HTTPS mode (good for homeservers).
- π Deploy any app with a
docker-compose.yml
file as a "One Click App" via the web interface. - π Multi-node (multi-server) set-up works by default.
Cons
- π Single-file app definition format, difficult to tweak using entrypoint scripts.
- π Nginx instead of Traefik for load-balancing.
- π Command-line client requires NodeJS /
npm
. - π Requires 512MB RAM for a single app.
- π Backup/restore is "experimental", and doesn't currently help with backing up Docker volumes.
- π Exposes its bespoke management interface to the internet via HTTPS by default.
AnsibleΒΆ
Ansible mature automation and deployment tool.
Pros
- π Includes server creation and bootstrapping.
Cons
- π Upstream libre software communities aren't publishing Ansible roles.
- π Lots of manual work involved in things like app isolation, backups, updates.
KubernetesΒΆ
Kubernetes (or K8s) is a system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
Pros
- π Helm charts are available for some key apps already.
- π Scale all the things.
Cons
- π Too big -- requires 3rd party tools to run a single-node instance.
- π Not suitable for a small to mid size hosting provider.
Docker-composeΒΆ
Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container applications.
Pros
- π Quick to set up and familiar for many developers.
Cons
- π Manual work required for process monitoring.
- π Secret storage not available yet.
- π Swarm is the new best practice.
Doing it Manually (Old School)ΒΆ
If you are an absolute Shaman in a Shell and learning new gadgets just slows you down, have it, but maybe ask how old is old enough?
Pros
- π Simple - just follow upstream instructions to install and update.
Cons
- π Loads of manual work required for app isolation and backups.
- π Array of sysadmin skills required to install and maintain apps.
- π Hard to share configurations into the commons.
- π No idea who has done what change when.
StackspinΒΆ
Stackspin deployment and management stack for a handful of popular team collaboration apps.
Pros
- π Easy instructions to install & upgrade multiple tightly integrated apps.
- π Offers a unified SSO user experience.
- π Offers tightly integrated logging, monitoring, and maintenance.
- π Has a strong focus and attention to security.
Cons
- π Upstream libre software communities aren't involved in packaging.
- π It is not designed to be a general specification.
- π Hard to share configurations into the commons.
- π Significantly limited library of eight apps.
- π Additional apps are treated as "External Apps" with only OAuth2/OpenID integration.
- π Requires a Kubernetes cluster.
MaadixΒΆ
Maadix managed hosting and deployment of popular privacy preserving applications.
Pros
- π Nice looking web interface for app, domain & user management.
- π Offers a paid hosting service to get up and running easily.
Cons
- π Upstream libre software communities aren't involved in packaging.
- π It is not designed to be a general specification.
- π Hard to share configurations into the commons.
- π Limited library of apps.
- π Uses OpenNebula, Ansible, and Puppet as underlying technologies.
- π Appears to be only a team of two people.
- π Appears to be inactive on Mastodon and limited GitLab activity.