From VPS to Deployment on Azure

Last year, I posted how to include a .NET API into WordPress using a custom PHP plugin using a free MySqlServer database as a backend.  It worked and works great – but admittedly, I slack on renewing my “free” credentials and the demo kept going down.  This week, I finally had the time to set up my own MySql database server for roughly $15 a year.  Yep, a year.

I’ve gathered the resources, from getting your own cheap Virtual Private Server and where, to the tutorials I used and the notes I took during setup, to deployment on Azure.

Getting a Cheap VPS

Black Friday is one of my favorite times to shop online for random hosting deals!! The past couple years, my fave to hunt for are “low-end vps” deals. Why? Well, it’s your own server to put any Linux distro you want on it, control and learn from, destroy, rebuild, and use it however you want. Whats not to love? Oh – right it’s cheap, and therefore a bit unstable. Some companies appear and disappear overnight, I wouldn’t consider your data absolutely not guaranteed to disappear overnight, etc. For side projects and learning purposes, though, it’s great!

I have used two now that have stayed very reliable the past couple of years: