I was just talking to someone wondering how you guys at reddit were able to do it. The article about taking your last server offline really pushed me to move forward on this.
I should mention that I'm running Windows with MSSQL. I imagine the performance should be the same but there must be some differences of course.
I like the option of rackspace allowing for a dedicated server next to the cloud but I should probably give EC2 a few test runs of my own too. I think if EC2 is going to work it wont be an overnight solution. I'll have to move over slowly, learning to tune the box as I use it more.
If you're using Windows, I would stay away from EC2 right now. They aren't quite mature enough for Windows yet. If you look at the EC2 forums, the majority of complaints are about Windows bugs.
Actually, you might want to try and get in on Microsoft's Azure beta.
Azure is tempting, especially since MS is trying hard to get into this market, but I worry about putting all my eggs in the MS basket this early is Azure's life.
Are you able to build something quickly to do some test runs against Windows Azure to see if it has the performance you need? You may also want to check out SQL Azure (part of the Windows Azure Platform), also in beta, to see if it can do what you need for DB performance.
As far as Windows Azure being early in its life, you are correct. However, it has been in beta for about a year and it is running Windows Server 2008, which has been in the market for almost two years. You may also want to look at the Windows Azure forums at http://bit.ly/MSDNWinAzureForum to get an idea of other people's experiences with it.
Have a great time at PDC. I'm sure finding Windows Azure experts there will be like finding coffee in Seattle :-), and you'll definitely find plenty of experienced Azure users at the Azure presentations.
I should mention that I'm running Windows with MSSQL. I imagine the performance should be the same but there must be some differences of course.
I like the option of rackspace allowing for a dedicated server next to the cloud but I should probably give EC2 a few test runs of my own too. I think if EC2 is going to work it wont be an overnight solution. I'll have to move over slowly, learning to tune the box as I use it more.