Show HN: I built a cloud on my own ASN w real 1:1 compute to fight the cartels(infuze.cloud)

11 pointsby ccheshirecat7 months ago6 comments

mdaniel7 months ago
For your consideration, having <https://infuze.cloud/help/vm-creation-management#:~:text=inf...> without the ability for the user to influence the cloud-init of those newly launched instances is practically worthless
A middle ground may be for you to add just the webhook feature <https://docs.cloud-init.io/en/latest/reference/yaml_examples...> so folks could react to newly launched instances and provision them "from outside" or, of course, https://docs.cloud-init.io/en/latest/reference/modules.html#...
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  That's an excellent point, and you were 100% right. It was a major gap in our initial MVP. Your feedback (and similar comments) pushed us to prioritize this immediately. I'm happy to say we've already shipped full user-data and vendor-data support for cloud-init. You can now pass it in directly via the web UI during VM creation, or via our CLI/API. We wanted to make sure it was properly implemented before announcing it widely, but you called it out perfectly. Thanks for the push, this kind of feedback is exactly what we need to make the platform genuinely useful.
mtmail7 months ago
The pricing page tries to sell that the pricing is easier to understand, no hidden fees etc. Then has to explain the top-up discounts multiple times. I'd remove the whole discounts, it's distracting.
"Wallet" sounds like crypto to me. Maybe it isn't but it's not clear enough "add money to your account" might be sufficient.
The "See The Difference" table. Is it really that different? The header lists a different amount of memory as the table cells. The price difference is about 20% (40 vs 48). Where's the 80% savings from the homepage.
"Perfect Resource Balance - 1:4:50:2000 ratio ensures all resources saturate equally." Sorry, I have no idea what the numbers mean.
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  This is incredibly valuable feedback, thank you. You've pointed out some major areas of confusion on our pricing page that we need to fix. You're right. The intention was to offer a loyalty reward, but the execution is clearly confusing and distracts from the core message of simple, transparent pricing. We've restructured it to be more easy to understand and intuitive and it's not exactly entirely there yet but it's better than it was before I guess, am constantly looking for better ways to handle this!
trod12347 months ago
Interesting project.
Do you have any plans to blog about your experience on things like the setting up of your own ASN?
Are you planning, or already have rolled RPKI, monitoring, or other methods so your traffic doesn't get attacked (i.e. common BGP issues).
By "cartels", I assume your meaning is the monopolies in the industry space, but word choice is highly associated with South America illegal organizations. I understand you hit the cap which is probably why you didn't clarify but it was a clunker.
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  Thanks, I appreciate the kind words and the great questions. Blogging about the ASN/Network Journey: Absolutely. The process of getting an ASN, IP space, and setting up peering at IXs as a solo bootstrapped entity was a wild ride. for sure I've thought a lot about blogging, if not for sharing the journey then because the insights I've gained along the way has ingrained in myself some lessons or well some would call it opinions, that I feel a need to share. So yes I am plannng to do it but it's not especially my nature. Network Security (RPKI, etc.): Yes, security is critical. We've already implemented RPKI for our announced prefixes to prevent route hijacking. We're also using BGP Flowspec with our upstreams for DDoS mitigation and are continuously monitoring our network for any anomalies. It's a constant process, but the foundation is there. "Cartels" Wording: Fair callout on the word choice. You're right, it's a bit of a clunker. I hit the character limit and was trying to be punchy. The intent was to capture the feeling of being locked into a few dominant players with opaque pricing and oversubscribed resources, but I can see how it lands poorly. Point taken, will be more careful with the copy. Thanks for the feedback.
mdaniel7 months ago
Related to the API part, I was browsing and noticed that https://infuze.cloud/docs/api#/Virtual%20Machines/post_vms references templateVMID but https://infuze.cloud/docs/api#/Templates/get_templates shows only "get" so is the template just for quick-start scenarios or users could [eventually] create their own?
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  Great question. Currently, the templates are pre-configured by us for quick-start scenarios (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04, AlmaLinux, etc.). The API allows you to list these and use them to launch a new VM. The ability for users to create their own custom templates (i.e., take a snapshot of a configured VM and use it as a base image for future deployments) is very high on our roadmap. It's the logical next step after implementing cloud-init support. We see that as a critical feature for building scalable, repeatable infrastructure. So, to answer directly: not yet, but soon.
  - mdaniel7 months ago
    > (i.e., take a snapshot of a configured VM and use it as a base image for future deployments)
    I would advise against that if possible, since the "reset" process for an already contaminated VM is much trickier than the "build-up" process for what one would think of as a template. That's actually why `docker build` exists when `docker save` already exists. I do recognize from your other comments that my mental model may not map onto your target audience, so my comments are always "for your consideration" and not wagging my finger at your choices
    If you were to choose to go with "build up," there are already so many specifications for that template construction process you could choose any one of them that you think would work well for your audience: Containerfile[1], Dockerfile, Packer, AWS Image Builder, and probably hundreds of others
    1: relevant: bootc-image-builder: Build your entire OS from a Containerfile - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44367004 - June, 2025 (27 comments)
mdaniel7 months ago
Because I have been curious about this for so long, and you said "It's built on mostly open source technology" I figured now's my chance to ask:
Why roll your own control plane when OpenStack ships with so many batteries included, and (arguably important) doesn't require someone making a vanity SDK to interact with your vanity cloud?
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  This is a fantastic and fundamental question. We evaluated OpenStack, and it's an incredibly powerful and comprehensive project. For us, it came down to two things: complexity and opinionation. Complexity: OpenStack is a massive suite of services designed to do everything for everyone. We needed to do one thing exceptionally well: provide high-performance, dedicated-core VMs with a dead-simple control plane. The operational overhead of running a full OpenStack cluster felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut for our specific, focused use case. Opinionation: We have very strong opinions about how the user experience should feel (e.g., the simple slider for scaling, the transparent pricing unit). Building our own control plane allowed us to bake those opinions directly into the product from the ground up, without fighting the "OpenStack way" of doing things. It let us focus obsessively on the user-facing API and CLI experience. It was definitely a harder path in the short term, but it's given us the freedom to build exactly the lean, fast, and user-friendly platform we envisioned.
  - supitsj7 months ago
    Yeah but we definitely will get there, this also is not a race per se. Finishing quickly is important but finishing safely for everyone %99.99 of the time is probably the most important thing, next to a flashy UI/UX. We definitely have attention of some fantastic people and of course it will be even better when the bills can be more easily managed or offset costs. I know I immediately stopped paying for all my other cloud services and deposited to float an early bump but also importantly to test the payment systems. Last thing we need is that to fail for a user who has already been sold.
baobun7 months ago
Why not have a non-cartel non-third-party payment method, too? Please support Bitcoin/Monero payments.
- ccheshirecat7 months ago
  You read our minds. We agree that offering non-traditional payment methods is important. We just finished integrating support for cryptocurrency payments. Still having issues with a lot of coins but most of the common ones are there and XMR works fine just tested it, BTC as well.