Introduced in October 2016 as Oracle Bare Metal Cloud services and rebranded as Oracle Cloud in 2018, the service has been overshadowed by the Big 3 for quite some time. That being the case, many homelabbers may not be aware the company offers an impressive OCI Free Tier lineup of services and $300 of free credit for new users to use to get their feet wet and learn what Oracle has to offer in the Cloud Computing market.
Introduced in October 2016 as Oracle Bare Metal Cloud services and rebranded as Oracle Cloud in 2018, the service has been overshadowed by the Big 3 for quite some time. That being the case, many homelabbers may not be aware the company offers an impressive OCI Free Tier lineup of services and $300 of free credit for new users to use to get their feet wet and learn what Oracle has to offer in the Cloud Computing market.
These free services and initial funds are an excellent way for budding IT Pros (How to get started in IT) and home lab enthusiasts to expand their knowledge and systems into the cloud without breaking their bank accounts or selling their hard-earned lab equipment.
OCI is known for offering high-power, high-performance bare metal instances such as the Compute BM.GPU.H100.8 8-way NVIDIA H100 instance, but these behemoths are not for the faint of heart or the newbie dipping their toes to test the waters. Thankfully, however, for engineers and labbers of all experience levels, OCI has various models and services to host and support any project or experiment they can develop.
Cloud Benefits for Homelabbers
One of the most significant benefits of the cloud is the lack of physical hardware required to maintain and purchase upfront. In the business world, this is called “Capital Expenditure”; however, for home labs, sometimes this kind of upfront investment is just not feasible.
That’s where a cloud lab becomes the perfect solution or supplement. You can still run Windows and Linux servers, connect them via networking routes and rules, and develop applications, all without worrying about the need for hardware that may cost upwards of $1000 or more! No physical space is required, and there is no excess heat, so there is no need to cool off your house (lower A/C bills) and lower electricity bills because there is no server running 24/7 in your closet. It’s a win/win/win situation.
While some cloud providers have free credits, our article on OVHcloud talks about it, but OCI Free Tier has an Always Free Tier that’s especially interesting. For the homelabbers already set up with physical systems, connecting your lab to the cloud is as simple as a Virtual Private Network.
OCI Free Tier How to Get Started
Signing up for OCI Free Tier services is the standard affair, much like anything online today. They ask you to verify your email address, create an account name, and enter your physical address and payment information. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged unless you intentionally upgrade from the Always Free Tier.
NOTE: Be cautious during the initial sign-up process. Once you have verified your email and chosen your ultra-secure password (and saved it into your password manager), you will select that you are using the cloud for Individual use, and then you need to choose your ‘Cloud Account Name.’ This name is not just your username with which you will log in; it is also what Oracle will use to name your Tenant, so be careful you don’t put in “TikTokCatsRock” thinking you’re the only one who will see it, especially if you plan on sharing the tenant with friends, co-workers, or fellow homelabbers.
Now that you’re signed up and have a blank slate with which to experiment, here are some examples and use cases to get you started:
- Website / Blog Hosting: Use Compute resources to host a personal website or blog. You can leverage the compute instances and networking capabilities of the Oracle Always Free Tier to run your website easily and deploy it rapidly.
- Building a web server or game server: Use database, compute, and networking resources to deploy a web application or host a game server so you aren’t clogging up your home Internet bandwidth and can finally pwn your friends in CS:GO or set up a potent Minecraft server to explore with your friends!
- Learning and Certification Training: one of the best uses is to leverage Oracle Free Tier to gain hands-on experience with cloud technologies. You can use the compute instances, databases, network connectivity tools, storage blocks, and everything else offered by Oracle Free Tier to practice and learn new skills without needing local hardware.
OCI Free Tier Potential Costs and Limitations
While you are creating all of these amazing servers, databases, and network connections, it is understandable that you will be concerned about keeping the costs down. Remember that many of the services and offerings within the Always Free Tier are precisely that: Always Free. Even though you were asked to submit a credit card at the beginning of the sign-up process, you will only be charged something if you INTENTIONALLY upgrade beyond the Free Tier.
If you use options not within the Always Free Tier during the first 30 days with the $300 start-up funds and either the money or the time runs out, those services (beyond the AFT) will simply shut down.
Additionally, Oracle provides a valuable feature called the Cost Estimator. This is a running calculated summary of what it will cost you per month to execute the selected resources.
Another policy that homelabbers will need to be mindful of is where Idle Always Free compute instances may be reclaimed by Oracle. To read more about this and things to be aware of to protect your services, check out the Compute Idle Instances section.
Security and Compliance
Veteran homelabbers understand the critical importance of maintaining strong security measures around their systems, and this requirement is only amplified when their labs are expanded into the cloud. In the cloud, the lack of physical control over their systems necessitates stricter security requirements to protect data and data integrity.
While moving to the cloud offers many opportunities for learning and experimentation, it also requires a commitment to security best practices. This means a thorough understanding and implementation of firewalls, precise user access management, rigorous encryption application, and regular monitoring and updates are essential to mitigate potential security threats and vulnerabilities. Balancing the exploration of cloud technologies with stringent security measures is crucial in this extended digital environment.
Conclusion
Expanding your Home Lab into OCI Free Tier, augmented by their $300 trial credits for the first 30 days, can help rocket your learning, developmental, and labbing experiences by using it as a cloud computing and networking sandbox. The many possibilities and use cases, from web hosting to game server hosting to network optimization, will enrich your learning experience and bolster your homelab with more tools for little to no extra money, making you and your wallet happy!
We here at StorageReview encourage every Homelabber, tech enthusiast, developer, and lifelong learner to dive head first and explore the myriad of opportunities that Oracle offers within their Always Free Tier and get started building!
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