Operating models
Deciding whether you operate your application yourself or we take it on.
The most important decision on gh0stcloud is not a technical one. It is: who looks after the application once it is running?
The platform underneath is always the same, and it is always ours. What differs is who runs the application, who backs up its data, and what it costs. Every project shows in the portal which of these four operating modes it belongs to.
The four operating modes
| Operating mode | Who runs the application | Who backs up the data | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operated by you | You, from your Git repository | You, entirely | Base fee and usage |
| Managed App | We do, from our catalogue | We do, with observed backups | Base fee and resources by the reserved amount, plus a service fee per app for the service package (SLA and support) of Managed Basic or Managed Business |
| Custom operated by gh0stservice | We do, for an application without a catalogue package, under an order form | We do, as the order form sets out | As a Managed App, plus a one-off setup |
| Platform extension | We do, as part of the platform, for example gh0steye or gh0stforge | We do | Measured usage only |
Managed Apps and custom operated applications are for businesses only. Platform extensions and self-operated projects are open to every account.
Running it yourself
This fits when someone around you can and wants to own deployments. In practice that means you are comfortable working with container images and application configuration, writing and changing manifests, rolling back a failed rollout, keeping dependencies current, backing up your data, and judging what more replicas or more storage will mean at the end of the month.
That is not a high bar. If you build your own application, you can probably already do it.
We run the platform. You run your application and back up its data. The platform has no backup feature for that data; Storage, databases and backups explains how to set up your own.
Having it operated
This fits when nobody on your side should take that role, or when someone could, but their time is worth more elsewhere.
With a Managed App we run an application from our catalogue for you, for example a PostgreSQL or MariaDB database. You choose the size and the service level; we take care of setup, backups, restores, security updates and monitoring. You can change the size at any time, and the resources of your app are billed by the reserved amount. What is fixed is the service package of SLA and support. Its service fee starts only on the handover day, once we have observed successful backups and run a restore.
For an application that is not in the catalogue, there is Custom operated by gh0stservice. We write down exactly what is included in an order form before we start. Not to be formal, but because "you look after it" without a list gets read differently by both sides the moment something goes wrong.
The service description sets out what we commit to in both cases.
Who answers for what
| Operated by you | Managed App | |
|---|---|---|
| The platform | Us | Us |
| Guardrails and account limits | Us | Us |
| Application configuration | You | Us, within the settings the portal offers |
| Code of your own applications | You | You |
| Application updates | You | Us; new minor and major versions only with your consent |
| Backups and restores | You, entirely | Us, per your service level |
| Incident: platform | Us | Us |
| Incident: application | You | Us, within the response times of your service level |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
How to decide
The most useful question is not which model has more features. The platform features are the same. It is: what happens on your side when the application suddenly will not start, or when data is lost?
If there is a clear answer and that person has the time, operate it yourself and save the money. If there is not, or the answer is "then someone calls Falk", a Managed App buys exactly that, written down in advance.
You can switch later. A database you have run yourself becomes a Managed App when we import its data into a new instance. When the contract for a Managed App ends, you receive an export in its native format and can run it yourself.