Hosting and cloud services

Hosting is the foundation for running our applications in stable, secure, and scalable environments. At Itiden we work with a mix of hosting providers and models, always aiming to balance flexibility, cost, and reliability.

Hosting Providers

For Swedish hosting, we primarily use GleSYS and Oderland. In many cases, a managed virtual machine or shared web hosting (webhotell) is the preferred option, as it provides both stability and professional management of the underlying system.

For cloud-based solutions, we use the provider that best fits the project or the one already established in the customer’s organization. When working with .NET applications, Azure is most commonly used since it integrates well with the framework and offers strong support through services like App Service. In other cases, AWS or Google Cloud may be chosen, particularly if a specific service is a better match or if the customer already relies on those platforms.

Choosing Hosting Models

We work with four main types of hosting: Virtual Machines (VMs), Platform as a Service (PaaS), containers, and shared web hosting (webhotell).

Virtual Machines are used when full OS-level control or customized setups are needed. For customer projects, we prefer that the hosting provider manages the VM to ensure timely patching, monitoring, and operational stability.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) refers to managed cloud services where the provider handles most of the underlying infrastructure, allowing us to focus on the application itself. Examples include Azure App Service or serverless options such as Azure Functions. PaaS is efficient and reduces operational overhead, though it can sometimes come with higher costs compared to other models.

Container hosting is preferred when portability and scalability are priorities. Docker is the standard, with orchestration solutions like Docker Compose, Portainer, or Kubernetes used when appropriate.

Shared web hosting is the simplest solution and can be the right choice for projects with limited requirements, such as traditional websites that do not need complex infrastructure.

Naming Conventions

To keep infrastructure organized and easy to manage, use a clear and consistent naming conventions for servers and services. Example: itiden-fixa-stage or itiden-iknowfootball-prod.

The most important part is not the exact format itself, but that a convention is chosen and followed consistently. If a client already has an established naming standard in their organization, we adapt to it rather than introducing a conflicting system.

Access and Maintenance

Server access and ongoing maintenance are closely linked and must be handled with care. For Linux-based servers, access is provided through SSH, while RDP is used for Windows servers. In some cases, especially when connecting to customer infrastructure, access is secured through a VPN. Access is always role-based, meaning users are granted only the rights they need, and credentials are managed securely.

Maintenance in this context refers to the servers and operating systems. For managed virtual machines, shared web hosting, and other managed solutions, the hosting provider is responsible for patching, updates, and monitoring the system. When we operate servers ourselves, our team ensures that updates are applied on a regular schedule. Critical security updates are prioritized and applied quickly, while less urgent updates are bundled into planned maintenance windows to minimize disruption.

For information about maintaining the application code, see Code maintenance.