Hosting web applications on cloud is the new rage. Cloud offers you dedicated servers, security, backup and storage, network accessibility, mobility, and whatnot, all this combined with the high performance, availability, and scalability that NCache brings to the table would be the perfect combination. This is why Alachisoft has launched NCache Cloud that offers you a platform to use NCache as a service on your favorite cloud environment.
NCache Cloud is available for use on Azure and AWS marketplaces as Software as a Service (SaaS) for both Enterprise and Professional editions. Using NCache Cloud is easy; as discussed in Getting Started with NCache Cloud in Azure and Getting Started with NCache Cloud in AWS posts, and understanding NCache Cloud is even easier. I’m going to break it down for you real quick; everything you need to know about NCache Cloud.
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NCache Cloud Offers
You can purchase NCache Cloud based on these two offers:
- Pay as You Go
- 1-Year Reserved
Let’s dissect both these offers for better understanding:
Pay as You Go Offer
The Pay as You Go offer is based on hourly charges of the licenses being used. This means that you do not have to purchase any licenses beforehand; you can simply use as many licenses as you need at any time. You will be charged hourly for all licenses you use according to the pricing chart.
1-Year Reserved
1-Year Reserved offer allows you to purchase however many licenses that you require at the time of subscription creation. In this way, you are charged for the licenses that you have purchased once a year, which is the tenure of your subscription. Choosing 1-Year Reserved offer comes with many perks, some of which have been scribbled below:
- Discounted Prices: The estimated license cost in 1-Year Reserved is economically light on your wallet as NCache Cloud cuts down on the overall license cost. This means that if you purchase a license, it will be way more economical for you than using it on an hourly basis.
- Hourly License Usage: In a 1-Year Reserved offer, on top of using the licenses that you reserved, you can also use additional licenses that will be charged on an hourly basis. Say that you need 2 additional server licenses at runtime for about 2 hours, then instead of purchasing them for a year, you can simply use the required licenses on an hourly basis.
- Purchase Licenses at Runtime: Other than the licenses purchased at the time of subscription creation, NCache Cloud allows you to purchase any number of licenses required at any time during the course of your subscription.
- 24×7 Customer Support: 1-Year Reserved guarantees that you receive technical assistance while using NCache Cloud at all times. Opting for 24×7 support comes with additional charges on your licenses, be that reserved or hourly. To see how it affects your cost estimation, please refer to NCache Cloud License Calculator.
- Auto-Renewal of Subscription: At the end of your subscription period, you have the choice to automatically renew your reserved licenses with 24×7 tech support for the next year’s subscription. While carry forwarding your licenses, you can increase or decrease the number of licenses you want to reserve as per your requirement.
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NCache Cloud License Types
We discussed earlier how your cloud subscription is based on the licenses that you require, be that in 1-Year Reserved offer or Pay as You Go. The important bit concerning the licenses offered by NCache Cloud is this:
- Client-Server Plan: Licensing of Client-Server plan is based on the VM cost of servers to use as well as the clients that can connect to those servers.
- Server-Only Plan: Licensing of Server-Only plan is based on the software and VM cost of the reserved servers. No matter how many servers you purchase in this plan, you will get unlimited free clients to connect with them.
NCache Cloud Deployment Methods
NCache Cloud service supports two methods for deploying resources in your subscription. These methods are:
Automatic Deployment
Automatic Deployment method allows you to seamlessly deploy cache servers directly from NCache Cloud Portal. This method of deployment comprises of automation of the following steps:
- Use Azure/AWS Deployment User (a user that has permissions on your subscription) for authentication.
- Retrieve NCache Cloud cache servers from the respective cloud marketplace based on your VM preferences.
- Deploy these servers to your cloud environment as well as the selected VNET.
- Activate NCache license against all deployed servers.
Manual Deployment
Manual Deployment method allows you to manually deploy resources in your subscription without providing sensitive information to NCache Cloud. This method requires a bit of work from you but it ensures the overall security of your subscription. As the name suggests, you need to manually deploy everything in order to get started. And to use NCache in the reserved or hourly machines, you need to manually activate NCache against them. It’s all manual work from start till end.
NCache Cloud makes this process comparatively easier for you by providing forms on NCache Cloud Portal that let you manually create and set up your environment. Check out how this process has been modified for you from our guide on Manual Deployment of Resources.
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NCache Cloud Servers
No matter which method of deployment you select, it doesn’t change the fact that the configured servers will be deployed inside your own cloud subscription and VNET. The benefits you will notice with these servers are:
- Fast Performance: You will notice a prominent boost in performance numbers as your server and client machines, all reside in the same VNET.
- Security: As nothing resides outside your VNET, this ensures that your environment is completely secured from any unauthorized access, including Alachisoft.
- Machines of Your Choice: You have a free hand in choosing which VM suits your subscription the best. As NCache Cloud takes VMs along with all their configurations from the cloud marketplace, this gives you absolute control over the machine you want to deploy in NCache Cloud subscription.
What Else Do You Get with NCache Cloud?
Other than the NCache Cloud specific features mentioned above, I would also like to show you what comes with NCache Cloud that can make your experience ideal for you. Have a look at these extra shenanigans:
- Free 60-Day Trial: All NCache servers deployed from Azure and AWS marketplace are equipped with a free 60-day evaluation period that allows full-fledged working licensed machines free of cost.
- WAN Replication: NCache Enterprise supports WAN Replication through Bridge that allows you to replicate cache within or across multiple regions.
- NCache Clients: NCache offers various NuGet packages and MSI installers that allow complete integration of NCache Clients. You can use these libraries inside your application that is deployed in your subscription.
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What’s Next?
After learning about what NCache Cloud is and how it benefits your application deployment on cloud, you can go ahead and Get Started with NCache Cloud in Azure or Get Started with NCache Cloud in AWS that offers a detailed step-by-step guide. To understand the concepts and flow of NCache Cloud Portal, refer to our guides on Getting Started with NCache Cloud and Administrator’s Guide. New to NCache? Go to alachisoft.com to learn all about it.
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