How to Set Up and Manage VPS on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platforms

Have you ever wanted a virtual server without having to purchase your own physical device? This is essentially what a VPS (Virtual Private Server) is on cloud services like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. It is like renting a computer from the cloud and can be managed just like if you owned your own computer – great for hosting websites, running applications, or just testing out projects. Let’s dig into the simple steps to set it up and manage.

Using Amazon Web Services (AWS)​

AWS can seem a little confusing at first, but once you find the buttons, it is straightforward. The simple process for creating a VPS will be using EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud), which is Amazon's method of giving you virtual servers, here are the easy steps to creating a VPS:

• Log into your Amazon AWS account.
• Select EC2 and click Launch Instance
• Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) - your server's operating system
• Choose the instance type (best to start out with t2.micro if you are starting out)
• Set network options and storage options
• Click Launch and login using SSH.

AWS allows you have a lot of control and power, but you also need to monitor your billing (because AWS can get expensive without monitoring the billing). Create billing alarms! Don't forget to stop your unused instance, AWS can get expensive!

Utilizing Microsoft Azure​

With Azure, they call VPS instances Virtual Machines (VMs), and they have a very easy-to-use Portal where you can create and manage everything in one place. As follows:

• Navigate to Azure Portal - + Create a Resource - Virtual Machine.
• Select your operating system, size, and location
• Setup networking and disks.
• Review + Create - Done!

If you're a Windows user, Azure is very seamless. You can connect and log into the server with Remote Desktop (RDP) as if it's your own PC. Additionally, Azure Monitor assists with resource performance tracking and troubleshooting issues with the ability to mitigate before problems grow.

Utilizing Google Cloud (GCP)​

Google calls their VPS service Compute Engine, and it is fast, simple, and generally cheaper than the alternatives for small projects.

How to create a VPS on GCP:

• Log in to Google Cloud Console - Compute Engine - VM Instances.
• Click Create Instance.
• Select your machine type, Operating System (OS), and region.
• Click Create - and you have your VPS!

I like the fact that Google Cloud has Cloud Monitoring and Logging. It shows you how much CPU, RAM and network you are using and can also restart servers automatically if anything goes wrong.