Quick Question: Hosted vs Local?

Emoncms
1

Hi as a new user, here is a very basic question…

Is the hosted emoncms.org essentially the same as a local rpi/Base/lunix install? If so, are there meaningful limitations of one vs the other?

Thanks

2

Essentially the same - yes.
Exactly the same - no.

The local version tends to be more “advanced” than emoncms.org, there are some, not a huge number of features - particularly in the input processing, which are available only locally.

Emoncms was written by Trystan Lee, and he maintains both versions. His long-term plan is to get the two as near to identical as it’s possible to them to be, given that emoncms.org is by its very nature multi-user. (The local emonsms can be made multi-user if necessary, but this is rarely done.)

The big advantage of a local version is it’s totally under your control, and if you don’t like something and you’re able, you can change it. The big disadvantage is it’s your responsibility to maintain it and keep backups etc.

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3

Thanks Robert

I am in the early testing phase and not great with rpi/lunix. Sounds like the hosted application would be a good place to start.

4

Yes, that’s what I did.
Though when emoncms.org went subscription based, I realised things had got completely out of hand with 150+ feeds being recorded. The annual cost was a bit too much for me.

That said when my Pi crashed a couple of years ago, having had it off-site (and backed up) may have been worth the cost!

If you self host, as the saying goes, you get to keep all the pieces when it breaks.
Make sure you back up the data and the system.

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5

There is a third option which is the best and worst of both worlds: self-hosted instance on a non-local webserver. This is what I do, as I happened to already have a working webserver, and adding emoncms was relatively easy. I am also running a Pi that collects data from the house and uploads it to the server.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but it is an option.

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6

Expanding a bit on Tim’s suggestion of a non-local server…

Low End Box has some really affordable deals on virtual private servers and hosting.
I run an InfluxDB/Grafana instance on a VPS that gives me 1.5GB of RAM, 20GB of storage
and 4TB of bandwidth for 16.55 USD per year.

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