Skip to content

Cloud-Exiter

Ruohang Feng @Vonng

Stop paying the cloud tax and self-host like a pro — deep dives, cost analyses and incident write-ups.

Cloud-Exiter
Those Who Left the Cloud Made a KillingCloud-ExitCloudData Sovereignty
Why Are People Who Leave Big Tech So Useless?CloudSoftware EngineeringArchitectureCareer
If There Was No Impact, Please Ignore ThisCloud-ExitMySQLAlibaba CloudRDS
FastJSON Broke Again. Why?CloudAlibaba Cloud
Huawei Cloud Incident: Was IAM Involved?CloudIncident
Alibaba Cloud's 1 QPS DNS Limit Sent Me to CloudflareAlibaba CloudCloudflare
Xianyu, Qianwen, Alipay: Platform Trust 'Empowers' a ScamAlibaba CloudSecurityBusiness
The Data Sovereignty ManifestoCloud-ExitAIData SovereigntyOpen Source
Your SaaS, Someone Else's Kill SwitchCloud-ExitCloudToolsData Sovereignty
Digoal, the Face of PostgreSQL at Alibaba Cloud, Has LeftPostgreSQLCloudAlibaba Cloud
When AI Gets the Power to Gridlock a CityAIIncidentSociety
OpenClaw Broke npm Again: What Happens When You Ship Without TestingAIAgentOpen Source
Meituan Deleted Users' Photos: Overbroad Permissions Are Worse Than a Privacy LeakHardwarePG AdminSecurity
Tencent Cloud 'Reduced' the Lobster King's Load by 180 GBCloudAIAgentOpen Source
Shockwaves at Alibaba Qwen: The Soul of the Team Walks AwayAILLMAlibaba Cloud
Drones Took Out Three AWS AZ: Into the Era of Bombable Data CentersCloud-ExitAWSIncident
Claude's Global Outage: Missiles or a Success Tax?AIClaudeIncident
Did RedNote Exit the Cloud?Cloud-ExitAlibaba CloudBusiness
Alipay, Taobao, Xianyu Went Dark. Smells Like a Message Queue Meltdown.Cloud-ExitAlibaba CloudIncident
Cloudflare’s Nov 18 Outage, Translated and DissectedCloudflareIncident
Alicloud “Borrowed” Supabase, the giant free loaderAlibaba CloudPG EcosystemOpen Source
AWS’s Official DynamoDB Outage PostmortemCloud-ExitAWSIncident
How One AWS DNS Failure Cascaded Across Half the InternetCloud-ExitAWSIncident
Column: Cloud-ExitCloud-Exit
KubeSphere: Trust Crisis Behind Open-Source Supply CutContainersOpen Source
Alicloud’s rds_duckdb: Tribute or Rip-Off?PostgreSQLAlibaba CloudPG EcosystemOpen Source
Escaping Cloud Computing Scam Mills: The Big Fool Paying for PainCloud-Exit
OpenAI Global Outage Postmortem: K8S Circular DependenciesCodexIncident
WordPress Community Civil War: On Community Boundary DemarcationOpen Source
Cloud Database: Michelin Prices for Cafeteria Pre-made MealsCloud-ExitRDS
Alibaba-Cloud: High Availability Disaster Recovery Myth ShatteredCloud-ExitAlibaba CloudIncident
Amateur Hour Opera: Alibaba-Cloud PostgreSQL Disaster ChronicleCloud-ExitRDSAlibaba Cloud
What Can We Learn from NetEase Cloud Music's Outage?Incident
Blue Screen Friday: Amateur Hour on Both SidesCloud-ExitIncidentCloudflare
How Ahrefs Saved US$400M by NOT Going to the CloudCloud-ExitAWSCostTranslation
Database Deletion Supreme - Google Cloud Nuked a Major Fund's Entire Cloud AccountCloud-ExitCloudIncident
Cloud Dark Forest: Exploding Cloud Bills with Just S3 Bucket NamesCloud-ExitAWSObject Storage
Cloudflare Roundtable Interview and Q&A RecordCloud-ExitCloudflare
What Can We Learn from Tencent Cloud's Major Outage?Cloud-ExitCloudIncident
Cloudflare - The Cyber Buddha That Destroys Public CloudCloud-ExitCloudflare
Can Luo Yonghao Save Toothpaste Cloud?Cloud-ExitAlibaba Cloud
Analyzing Alibaba-Cloud Server Computing CostCloud-ExitAlibaba Cloud
Will DBAs Be Eliminated by Cloud?Cloud-ExitPG AdminRDS
Cloud-Exit High Availability Secret: Rejecting Complexity MasturbationCloud-Exit
S3: Elite to MediocreCloud-ExitCloudObject StorageAWS
From Cost-Reduction Jokes to Real Cost Reduction and EfficiencyCloud-ExitAlibaba CloudIncident
Reclaim Hardware Bonus from the CloudCloud-ExitCloudHardware
What Can We Learn from Alibaba-Cloud's Global Outage?Cloud-ExitAlibaba CloudIncident
Harvesting Alibaba-Cloud Wool, Building Your Digital HomesteadCloud-ExitAlibaba Cloud
Cloud Computing Mudslide: Deconstructing Public Cloud with DataCloud-Exit
DHH: Cloud-Exit Saves Over Ten Million, More Than Expected!Cloud-ExitTranslation
FinOps: Endgame Cloud-ExitCloud-ExitCloudCost
Why Isn't Cloud Computing More Profitable Than Sand Mining?Cloud-ExitBusiness
SLA: Placebo or Insurance?Cloud-ExitCloud
EBS: Pig Slaughter ScamCloud-ExitCloud
Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?CloudCloudflare
Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"Cloud-ExitRDSPG Admin
Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-FirstCloud-ExitOpen Source
Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?Cloud-ExitRDSAWSAlibaba Cloud
Is DBA Still a Good Job?Cloud-ExitRDSPG Admin
Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to ExitCloud-ExitPG AdminRDS

Is DBA Still a Good Job?

Ruohang Feng 1538 words 8 min

Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. Although DBA sounds like a profession with glorious history and dim prospects, who knows if it might …

  • Harvesting Alibaba-Cloud Wool, Building Your Digital Homestead

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 2333 words 11 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitAlibaba Cloud

    Featured Image for Harvesting Alibaba-Cloud Wool, Building Your Digital Homestead

    Alibaba-Cloud’s Double 11 offered a great deal: 2C/2G/3M ECS servers with a list price of ¥1500/year for just ¥99/year for three years (¥99 annual renewal available until 2026), plus they’re reportedly giving every Chinese university student a free …

    Alibaba-Cloud’s Double 11 offered a great deal: 2C/2G/3M ECS servers with a list price of ¥1500/year for just ¥99/year for three years (¥99 annual renewal available until 2026), plus they’re reportedly giving every Chinese university student a free …

  • Cloud Computing Mudslide: Deconstructing Public Cloud with Data

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 1878 words 9 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-Exit

    Featured Image for Cloud Computing Mudslide: Deconstructing Public Cloud with Data

    Once upon a time, “going to cloud” was almost politically correct in tech circles, but few people use hard data to analyze the trade-offs involved. I’m willing to be this skeptic: let me use hard data and personal stories to explain the traps and …

    Once upon a time, “going to cloud” was almost politically correct in tech circles, but few people use hard data to analyze the trade-offs involved. I’m willing to be this skeptic: let me use hard data and personal stories to explain the traps and …

  • DHH: Cloud-Exit Saves Over Ten Million, More Than Expected!

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 691 words 4 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitTranslation

    Featured Image for DHH: Cloud-Exit Saves Over Ten Million, More Than Expected!

    Author: DHH, “Our Cloud-Exit savings will now top ten million over five years” Feng’s Commentary As a cloud exit advocate, I’m gratified to see DHH’s tremendous success in the cloud exit process. The world always rewards leaders with the wisdom to …

    Author: DHH, “Our Cloud-Exit savings will now top ten million over five years” Feng’s Commentary As a cloud exit advocate, I’m gratified to see DHH’s tremendous success in the cloud exit process. The world always rewards leaders with the wisdom to …

  • FinOps: Endgame Cloud-Exit

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 3939 words 8 min

    Ruohang FengCloudCloud-ExitCloudCost

    Featured Image for FinOps: Endgame Cloud-Exit

    At the SACC 2023 FinOps session, I fiercely criticized cloud vendors. This is a transcript of my speech, introducing the ultimate FinOps concept — Cloud-Exit and its best practice. TL; DR Misaligned FinOps Focus: Total Cost = Unit Price x Quantity. …

    At the SACC 2023 FinOps session, I fiercely criticized cloud vendors. This is a transcript of my speech, introducing the ultimate FinOps concept — Cloud-Exit and its best practice. TL; DR Misaligned FinOps Focus: Total Cost = Unit Price x Quantity. …

  • Why Isn't Cloud Computing More Profitable Than Sand Mining?

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 2236 words 11 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitBusiness

    Featured Image for Why Isn't Cloud Computing More Profitable Than Sand Mining?

    Public cloud margins worse than sand mining, Why are pig-butchering schemes losing money? Resource-selling models heading toward price wars, Open source alternatives breaking monopoly dreams! Service competitiveness gradually neutralized, Where is …

    Public cloud margins worse than sand mining, Why are pig-butchering schemes losing money? Resource-selling models heading toward price wars, Open source alternatives breaking monopoly dreams! Service competitiveness gradually neutralized, Where is …

  • SLA: Placebo or Insurance?

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 2398 words 5 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitCloud

    Featured Image for SLA: Placebo or Insurance?

    In the world of cloud computing, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are seen as a cloud provider’s commitment to the quality of its services. However, a closer examination of these SLAs reveals that they might not offer the safety net one might expect: …

    In the world of cloud computing, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are seen as a cloud provider’s commitment to the quality of its services. However, a closer examination of these SLAs reveals that they might not offer the safety net one might expect: …

  • EBS: Pig Slaughter Scam

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 3862 words 8 min

    Ruohang FengCloudCloud-ExitCloud

    Featured Image for EBS: Pig Slaughter Scam

    We already answer the question: Is RDS an Idiot Tax?. But when compared to the hundredfold markup of public cloud block storage, cloud databases seem almost reasonable. This article uses real data to reveal the true business model of public cloud: …

    We already answer the question: Is RDS an Idiot Tax?. But when compared to the hundredfold markup of public cloud block storage, cloud databases seem almost reasonable. This article uses real data to reveal the true business model of public cloud: …

  • Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 814 words 4 min

    Ruohang FengCloudCloudflare

    Featured Image for Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?

    While Swedish Ma and I disagree sharply on cloud databases VS DBA issues, we can reach consensus on one point: domestic public cloud vendors really make garbage. In Ma’s words: “Alibaba-Cloud is a legitimate cloud with poor engineering quality, but …

    While Swedish Ma and I disagree sharply on cloud databases VS DBA issues, we can reach consensus on one point: domestic public cloud vendors really make garbage. In Ma’s words: “Alibaba-Cloud is a legitimate cloud with poor engineering quality, but …

  • Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 2338 words 11 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitRDSPG Admin

    Featured Image for Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"

    Guo Degang has a comedy routine: “Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed coal. If that scientist takes me seriously, he …

    Guo Degang has a comedy routine: “Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed coal. If that scientist takes me seriously, he …

  • Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-First

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 2111 words 10 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitOpen Source

    Featured Image for Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-First

    In the previous article, we used data to answer “Are Cloud Databases an Intelligence Tax?"—the exorbitant markups of several to over ten times are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public …

    In the previous article, we used data to answer “Are Cloud Databases an Intelligence Tax?"—the exorbitant markups of several to over ten times are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public …

  • Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 5417 words 11 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitRDSAWSAlibaba Cloud

    Featured Image for Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?

    Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? Recently, an article by DHH, co-founder of Basecamp & HEY, caused a stir【1,2】. The …

    Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? Recently, an article by DHH, co-founder of Basecamp & HEY, caused a stir【1,2】. The …

  • Is DBA Still a Good Job?

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 1538 words 8 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitRDSPG Admin

    Featured Image for Is DBA Still a Good Job?

    Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. In the digital age, data is the core asset of many enterprises, especially for internet/software service companies. The people responsible for …

    Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. In the digital age, data is the core asset of many enterprises, especially for internet/software service companies. The people responsible for …

  • Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to Exit

    By Ruohang Feng In Cloud-Exit 916 words 5 min

    Ruohang FengCloud-ExitPG AdminRDS

    Featured Image for Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to Exit

    In my previous article “Is DBA Still a Good Job”, I mentioned: Although DBA as a profession is declining, who knows if DBAs might become trendy again after several terrifying large-scale cloud database failures. Well, I recently witnessed a live …

    In my previous article “Is DBA Still a Good Job”, I mentioned: Although DBA as a profession is declining, who knows if DBAs might become trendy again after several terrifying large-scale cloud database failures. Well, I recently witnessed a live …