For 4-5$month you can run VPS non stop ... without stopping at all. Or even dedicated ARM board at scaleway

So are you using google app engine or no? Because if yes then the whole thing is



and done

https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/python/backends/#Python_Commands

and why he is using vm to start vm? That's weird.

This post was edited by nuvo on Feb 24 2017 07:13pm

sorry i thought it was very detailed

google said i need a crontab to run and have my vm turn on and off during a specific schedule



so the guy i paid so far said in order to run a crontab job non stop 24/7 i'd need a cheap vm for it to work
he said something about a app engine would only run 15mins or so and cant be ran 24/7 uptime to start my scheduled task (start 7am central monday - saturday and turn off at 7pm every night)

to keep the cheap linux server up 24/7 to run the crontab job is costing roughly $5 or less to stay on and run the script
but i've gotten replies and suggestions where i can run an app engine or something for less than $1/month and still get the result i want o.O

hmm so should i just cancel my contract since the guy isnt fulfilling part of his agreement to reduce my scheduled task to the lowest cost possibly available D:

This post was edited by AlvinHu on Feb 24 2017 10:21pm

Well you do need some kind of computer - VM, full server or anything - to run cron. Otherwise it wouldn't execute.
BUT if you run that thing 24/7 you can as well host your app there and have it work always, not only 7-7

Also where did he get idea that app engine runs for 15 minutes? It can be run 24/7 it's just kind of hosting. Read up on its features and pricing to see for yourself.

Also what are you hosting? Go app? Python? Java? Other?

Yep your right, app engine is also another kind of hosting/instance/vm but cheaper

Im running a windows server for my employees to work on
But for cost and security reasons, i need the server to only be on during work hours only
Having the server be on during work hour saves me 50% on cost (saving $50-$100/month)

The guy made a linux instance with the lowest machine configuration (roughly $5-6/month to keep up 24/7)

Compared to the info you and a google representative said, app engine (less than $1/month)

But i told the guy, hes looking into app engine now

You can probably get yourself a linux shell for extremely cheap ($3 ish a month in most cases, sometimes free with limitations). All they are is a user account on a vm/server which you pay for, which means you will get your own cron tab. Be aware though that unless you set your permissions really tight that other users may be able to see your data since it will be a massively shared server. Also because of it's sharedness if someone roots the box all users are vulnerable.

This post was edited by AbDuCt on Feb 25 2017 11:50am

currently this contractor started me a crontab job via linux vm instance. (costing me $5-6/month to keep up and running 24/7 to process the job)

like nuvo was saying, there's app engine which only would cost me around less than $1.00/month to run it 24/7 scheduled tasks. (i skimmed the docu and it says app engine acts as an vm also and can run schedule tasks cmds)

i've asked several google cloud support, everyone told me to minimize the cost and have my vm start up everyday at 7am i would have to use crontab, app engine, and some one also recommended shell
sadly i don't know anything about them, so i needa hire someone who knows about it and can help me set it up :<

What is actually running on this windows server you want to start/stop every day? Do your employees remote to it and work on it?

I am asking because such start/stop cycles -especially if done that way cannot be very good to it. Data loss is likely (they likely "pull the plug", not shutdown gracefully). And what if one of your employees is running 2 minutes late to save changes? What about backups? What if one day they take a little longer and are interrupted by your start/stop cycle?

All I'm saying is that this seems quite dangerous. The main server you're talking about, it's VPS or dedicated? If you run business, honestly, sometimes it's not worth it to save $50

Not to mention it's likely easier to stop the remote software service on the vm rather take the entire thing offline.

Most providers provide LISH or some other way to get into the server if ssh and the like are disabled.

we all work remotely on there between 8am - 6pm
but all of our offices closes at 6pm, and i have backups scheduled between 6 -7pm, and then the server runs a scheduled batch file to shut down after the server finishes a backup
i believe google vm is vps?

honestly the only task i need the cron tab to do is just start my server in the morning because no one is really authorized to start it every morning besides me



im shutting it down thru a batch file so it should be safe?

How do you normally start it? Some datacenter managament panel? IPMI/iDrac?