# Book: "Creating a SAAS hosting company for $25"



## jdereus (May 27, 2010)

Hello,

I'd like to get some feedback on the idea of writing a small book on the use of FreeBSD. It should allow a jr. linux/unix admin to learn to use FreeBSD in a very efficient way.

I'm creating a lot of documentation whenever I install or tweak things on my FreeBSD server, and I want to share the most practical information with anyone that is interested. Next to bringing out a book, I'm thinking about sharing this information online.

The reason that I started to work on this, is because I always end up reading 6 books or install guides to get 1 important application or feature to do what I want. And over time, sometimes I forget important details of an install process. Furthermore, because I document so much in detail, I save a lot of time, and this way I learn a lot about hosting on FreeBSD.

The idea is to combine information on the following subjects.

INTRO
- starting a hosting company (short business plan)
- FreeBSD 8 and it's possibilities
- Designing a flexible and secure hosting/development platform

BASIC SETUP
- Using FreeBSD Jails
- Setup PF
- Proxying with Apache, Nginx or Lighttpd
- Setup database systems (MySQL, PostgreSQL)
- Setup SAAS applications (RoR environments, eCommerce, collaboration, etc)
- Use OpenSSL


INTERMEDIATE SETUP
- Packaging software for later use
- System automation (cron, backup scripts, etc.)
- Monitoring your system
- Using Dtrace for various reasons
- When and how to utilize ZFS (optionally in jails)


ADVANCED SETUP
- VIMAGE (network stack virtualization)
- PF block tables and more
- Intrusion detection
- Mandatory Access Control
- Filesystem based ACL's



What do you think? Is it too much for 1 book? Should I focus on certain unmentioned areas?

What book are you missing on hosting various public services?


thanks for your time


Best regards,
Jelmer


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## qsecofr (May 30, 2010)

..and don't forget setting up a credit authorization system so one can be paid for their services.


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## jdereus (May 31, 2010)

thank you, I need this very much indeed. and there are nice OSS ways of doing it.


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## graudeejs (May 31, 2010)

I'd definitely read that book


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## carlton_draught (May 31, 2010)

I'd read it too. One thing I don't understand - the $25. Is that what you would charge for your book? Somehow I think it would cost more than that to set up the business. 

But hey, there isn't even a book out on freebsd 8.0 AFAIK, so you'll get people buying it on that basis alone.


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## Carpetsmoker (Jun 1, 2010)

heh, that reminds me of:


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## graudeejs (Jun 1, 2010)

Carpetsmoker said:
			
		

> heh, that reminds me of:



Now that is funny


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## jdereus (Jun 1, 2010)

I guess I shouldn't have put that title in this thread.

what I meant is that the $25 p/month is spent on a VPS for a startup company.

once you provide some paid services, you could move to a dedicated platform.


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## gkontos (Jun 1, 2010)

jdereus said:
			
		

> What do you think? Is it too much for 1 book? Should I focus on certain unmentioned areas?
> 
> What book are you missing on hosting various public services?
> 
> ...



Sounds very interesting. I would also include a lot of information on high availability. This is a rare topic to find in a book.

Regards,

George


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## jdereus (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks George,

HA is well worth describing. I'm just thinking that the issue with HA and the other 'Advanced' subjects, is that this deserves it's own book.

however, I could combine material in 1 book for startup hosting initiatives (with some business goals and a lot of text to help relative newcomers), and produce a 'part 2' with the best possible way to do hosting and networking in larger setups. I'm starting to work for a large hosting company starting next Monday, so this is a great place to see in practice what's best for various setups 

I'll think hard on this. I want readers to have very targeted and practical information. I have read a book called 'Networking with FreeBSD 7' which is explaining quite a lot on HA and networking. I enjoyed reading it and utilizing it.


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