Platform as a Service (PaaS) as an Alternative to More Costly IaaS

Platform as a Service (PaaS) can be a good option for the authors and webmasters who need a good quality webhosting at less cost. Here is an overview. We are not saying anything new on this website; we have said many a times through various articles that, for a smaller website, Platform as a Service is more better options than a tradition shared web hosting when compared by pricing or a cloud server when compared by providers. But obviously there are points of sacrifice, points to think more, this the basic reason behind this article – Platform as a Service (PaaS) as an Alternative to More Costly IaaS.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) as an Alternative to More Costly IaaS : Understanding the logics

We wrote about where to start from Platform as a Service (PaaS), the hierarchal structure of Cloud Computing Service Models and Deployment and finally many hands on guide on Heroku Cloud, AppFog, Red Hat Open Shift; both from the command line interface (CLI) and Graphical Interface.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) as an Alternative to More Costly IaaS : Pros and Cons

 
The major plus points of using Platform as a Service (PaaS) over IaaS or Cloud Server are :

• Free quota for very small instance (compared to traditional web hosting or IaaS – there is no free quota except Amazon and HP, it is difficult to say it is the trend or not)
• Charge is less and on usage basis per month
• The backend service providers of these PaaS, in turn are of top notch, enterprise grade quality
• Git access is far superior than no CLI access versus shared web hosting

The major minus points of using Platform as a Service (PaaS) over IaaS or Cloud Server are :

However, Platform as a Service or PaaS are not flawless :

• The chance of vendor lock-in is more with certain platform
• There can be no managed service level from the PaaS provider
• Knowledge and software setup for using git is almost a mandatory point, the GUI serves only as a way to upload the application for the first time.
• Not all PaaS providers gives the access to the shell.