Linode: Compute, Storage & Networking

Linode is a cloud infrastructure provider (now Akamai Connected Cloud) offering VPS compute, managed Kubernetes, object storage, and related services -- traditionally positioned around simpler, more predictable pricing than the hyperscalers.

Linodes: Virtual Machines

• A "Linode" is the core VPS product -- root access to a Linux VM with dedicated CPU/RAM/disk, similar to an AWS EC2 instance or DigitalOcean Droplet.

• Shared CPU plans: vCPU cores may be time-shared with other customers -- cost-efficient for typical, bursty workloads.

• Dedicated CPU plans: entire physical cores reserved exclusively -- consistent performance for CPU-intensive or latency-sensitive workloads, at a higher price.

• Resizing a plan (more/less CPU/RAM) generally requires a reboot to apply -- real, if brief, downtime to plan around for a live production service.

• StackScripts: reusable, parameterized provisioning shell scripts that run on initial boot -- automate repeatable server setup, like AWS EC2 user-data or cloud-init.

• Marketplace Apps: pre-configured one-click app deployments (WordPress, monitoring tools, etc.) built on StackScript automation -- minimal manual setup for common stacks.

Block Storage & Object Storage

• Block Storage (Volumes): independent, resizable network-attached disks -- can be detached and reattached to a different Linode, decoupling persistent data's lifecycle from any single instance.

• Object Storage: S3-compatible API -- existing S3 SDKs/tools often work with just a changed endpoint/credentials.

• Use object storage (not local disk) for user uploads/static assets -- durability is decoupled from any single compute instance's lifecycle; local disk data is tied to that specific Linode.

NodeBalancer & Cloud Firewall

• NodeBalancer: managed load balancer distributing traffic across multiple backend Linodes, with health checks -- horizontal scaling beyond a single instance's capacity.

• Cloud Firewall: infrastructure-level network filtering (allowed ports, source IPs) applied consistently across Linodes -- similar to AWS Security Groups, complementing/replacing host-level iptables config.

• Choose a data center region close to your actual user base -- reduces round-trip network latency, the same principle as any multi-region cloud provider.