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Google Compute Engine

Google’s Compute Engine just released into General Availability, and I’ve been testing it out the last couple of days.

The one thing that blows me away is how reliably fast even the low-end instances are. I provisioned and set up a f1-micro instance – it runs great and quite consistently. That’s in sharp contrast to Amazon’s micro instance which is limited to “bursty” processing; there are spikes where processing goes quickly, then the CPU gets throttled and the instance grinds to a near-halt.

I’m considering building a mail app on top of GCE – so far, everything looks great. GCE even allows inbound SMTP connections (although unfortunately no outbound SMTP connections).

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Configuring Nameservers For .IO Domains

I recently purchased a .IO domain name from nic.io, and immediately set about configuring it for Google App Engine. I was surprised to find out that nic.io doesn’t provide customizable DNS – you can’t set CNAMES, TXT or MX records. The only options provided are to set your own nameservers, or forward the domain to another web site.

Fortunately I have a spare GoDaddy account, and they offer free DNS services even for domains not hosted with them. Here’s how I configured nameservers for my .IO domain:

First, go to DNS Manager:

Select Off-site > Add Off-site:

Type in your .IO domain:

Copy the provided nameservers to your clipboard, and press finish:

Paste the nameservers into the nic.io administration page:

Wait 24 hours for the changes to propagate, and you’re done!