Akamai, the global leader in content delivery network and cloud services, has recently acquired Linode, one of the oldest and most trusted cloud server providers in the market. Linode has been offering simple, affordable, and accessible cloud computing solutions to millions of customers since 2003.
If you are looking for a reliable and cost-effective way to host your website, you can choose from a variety of plans offered by Akamai’s cloud computing services, formerly known as Linode. These plans include Nanode & Standard (Shared CPU), Dedicated CPU, High Memory, and GPU.
The Nanode plan is the most budget-friendly option, including 1 GB Memory, 1 CPU Core, 25 GB Storage, and 1 TB Transfer for only $5/month. The Standard plan is the most versatile option, which will allow you to run a wide range of cloud applications, from personal projects to enterprise applications. This plan starts from $12 / month for 2 GB RAM, 1 CPU Core, 50 GB Storage, and 2 TB Transfer.
Akamai’s cloud computing services have 27 data centers across the world, and you can choose the server location that is closest to you or your customers for the best performance.
In this post, we will discuss how to set up Akamai’s cloud computing services to host your websites (web applications) with RunCloud. Connecting your server to RunCloud is very easy – let’s take a look at the different methods available.
Method 1. Automatic Server Provisioning (Recommended)
When deploying or deleting a server on the cloud, there are many things that can go potentially go wrong. RunCloud integrates with Linode to automatically launch a new server, directly from the RunCloud dashboard. If you are a beginner, we strongly recommend using this method to launch your Linode servers. Let’s see how to do this.
Connecting Akamai Cloud to RunCloud
To integrate your Akamai cloud account with RunCloud, you need to generate an API key from your Akamai dashboard. To create this API token, click on your profile picture in the top right part of your Akamai dashboard, and select API Tokens.
On the next screen, click on “Create a Personal Access Token” and provide a descriptive name for your token. After that, configure the expiry key for your token and grant the necessary permissions for RunCloud to create and deploy servers on your behalf. RunCloud needs read/write access to Account, Domains, Firewalls, and Linodes to spin a new server on your Akamai account.
After you have configured the settings, scroll down to the bottom and save your changes. As soon as you click ‘Save’, a long string of text will be displayed on your screen – this is your token, and it will only be displayed once.
You need to save this token in your RunCloud account. Open a new browser window and navigate to the Integration section in your RunCloud account.
On that screen, look for ‘Linode’, and click “Add Integration“. This will take you to the Linode integration screen.
On this screen, provide a descriptive name for your token, and paste the token displayed in your Akamai Cloud dashboard. Once you have added the token, click on ‘Test Integration’; if the test fails then it is possible that you didn’t grant all of the necessary permissions required by RunCloud.
Otherwise, you can click on “Save Integration” to save this key in your RunCloud account. You can now start deploying new servers directly from your RunCloud account.
Creating A Server from the RunCloud Dashboard
Once you have added the API token to your RunCloud account, you can directly create and delete servers from the RunCloud dashboard by clicking “Connect a Server” in the ‘Servers’ section.
On the next screen, select Linode from the list of Cloud providers and choose Deploy Server Automatically to provision a new server.
Once you scroll down, you will be asked to select between native Nginx, OpenLiteSpeed, and Containerized servers. If you are just looking to deploy a WordPress website, you can pick any of them. If you have something specific in mind, read our comparison of Nginx vs OpenLiteSpeed servers and our in-depth explanation of Containerized Servers on RunCloud to make an informed decision.
Under the ‘Keys’ section, select the key that we just created from the drop-down menu and hit ‘Continue’.
On the next screen, select the version of the operating system that you want to use (usually the latest version is the best one), and pick your server type and location from the list shown on your screen. It is usually recommended to pick a location that is closest to the vast majority of your customers.
Next, you need to select your server size. If you are just getting started, you can pick the smallest server and gradually increase it as your website grows. If you need more help, you can refer to our previous article on how to pick the right server size.
Lastly, you need to select the default RunCloud firewall rules from the dropdown menu and provide a descriptive name for your server.
When you deploy a server from your RunCloud dashboard, you will be billed separately for using Akamai’s cloud computing services – this is not included in your RunCloud subscription. Make sure to click the checkbox to acknowledge this and then click Add Server.
Once you do this, RunCloud will create a new server in your Akamai account on your behalf and automatically install all the necessary software required to deploy websites. The whole process usually takes no more than 5-10 minutes.
Video Tutorial: Provision Linode Server
Method 2. Set Up Akamai Cloud Server Manually
RunCloud provides lots of cookie-cutter templates for launching a new server with just a few clicks. However, if you want more freedom to configure your server then you can choose the manual installation method.
Creating Firewall Rules
Before we deploy a server, it is a good idea to configure the firewall rules beforehand to avoid any hiccups down the line. In your Akamai cloud dashboard, go to the Firewalls tab and click ‘Create‘. Give it a descriptive name and then hit “Create Firewall” to deploy a new firewall with an empty ruleset.
Next, we need to add rules to this firewall that will allow and deny traffic. RunCloud needs the following ports to be able to function properly:
- 80/TCP: For HTTP traffic
- 443/TCP: For HTTPS traffic
- 443/UDP: For HTTP/3 traffic (optional)
- 34210/TCP: For communicating with RunCloud agent
- 22/TCP: For establishing an SSH connection (you can close this port once the server is connected to RunCloud).
Create the appropriate inbound rules in your firewall, and then save it.
Creating a Server in Akamai Cloud
Next, you can go back to your Linode dashboard to provision a new server. When connecting a server to RunCloud, you must create a fresh server that meets the following requirements:
- Uses Ubuntu Server (20.04/22.04 LTS) 64 bit operating system
- Has more than 2 GB of disk storage
- At least 1 core processor
- At least 512 MB RAM
- Public IPv4 Address (NAT VPS is not supported)
In your Akamai dashboard, select the latest Ubuntu LTS version under the operating system section, and specify the region for your server. Next, pick your server type from the given list depending upon your requirements.
In the label section, you can either provide a descriptive name for your server or leave it as it is. Next, you need to provide the root password for your server. This is the password that you will use when connecting via SSH, so make sure you pick a strong and memorable password. Optionally, you can also configure the SSH keys for additional security.
Finally, select the firewall that we created in the previous step from the drop-down menu and hit “Create Linode“. This will provision a new server in your account.
Connecting Server to RunCloud
Once your server is up and running, you need to manually connect it to your RunCloud account. To do this, go to the Connect Server page and select Linode > Connect Via IP address.
Next, select the server stack and installation type for your server. Provide a descriptive name for your server and then enter the public IP address displayed in your Akamai Cloud dashboard.
On the next screen, you will be presented with two options. If you have configured the root password for your server then you can enter it here and then hit ‘Start The Installation’. RunCloud will automatically log in to your server on your behalf and install the necessary software.
Alternatively, if you are using SSH keys to log in to your server, then you can manually run the installation script. To do this, log in to your server with super user privileges (root) and run the provided command. Installation will take 5-10 minutes to complete, and once the server is connected you can close the terminal.
Video Tutorial: Manual Installation
Final Thoughts
With Akamai’s cloud computing services, you can host your website on a high-performance, secure, and reliable infrastructure that has been trusted by millions of customers since 2003. You can choose from a range of plans that suit your needs and budget, starting from as little as $5 / month.
RunCloud makes it easy for you to connect your servers to Akamai’s cloud computing services. You can use any of the three methods that we have discussed in this post: server provisioning using Linode API key, direct server installation via IP address and root password, or manual server installation via IP address.
Once you have set up your server, you can proceed to:
