Server Setup — What You Need and Why
The middleware has to be reachable 24/7. Students and staff might use the assistant at any time; if the server is down, the front end cannot fetch answers, and usage cannot be counted or billed.
Requirements
We recommend running Admin Bud-E on a small virtual machine (VPS) with:
- Public IP address
- Stable internet uplink
- 24/7 availability
The VPS only hosts the middleware API and the Admin dashboard — all heavy AI computation happens at the providers (e.g. Vertex AI, Mistral, Together). As a result, you do not need a powerful machine.
Why the Server Should Be in the EU
If your organization operates under the GDPR, keep traffic and logs inside the European Union whenever possible. Hosting the middleware in the EU:
- Reduces cross-border data transfers
- Reduces latency to EU model endpoints
- Supports GDPR-compliant operations
For Google Vertex AI, you can additionally select EU regions for models and data processing:
Server Sizing
Admin Bud-E is lightweight. In most deployments a small instance is more than enough.
Practical Baseline
| Tier | Specs | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe | Schools and small organizations |
| Medium | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB NVMe | Several thousand users or frequent concurrent usage |
TIP
You can scale up later if traffic grows. Choose a recent Ubuntu LTS image (e.g. 22.04/24.04), enable SSH keys (no password logins), open ports 80/443 only, and use a firewall (cloud firewall or ufw).
Recommended EU Provider: Hetzner Cloud
For cost-efficient hosting in Germany/the EU we recommend Hetzner Cloud: hetzner.com/cloud
| Instance | Price (approx.) |
|---|---|
| CX22 (2 vCPU / 4 GB / 40 GB) | €3.79/month |
| CX32 (4 vCPU / 8 GB / 80 GB) | €6.80/month |
INFO
Prices may change; see the pricing page. Creating an account and launching an Ubuntu VM usually takes just a few minutes.
Why Not Just Use a VM on Google Cloud?
You can — but for this particular workload, general-purpose VMs on Google Cloud Platform tend to be significantly more expensive than a small EU VPS.
If your organization prefers GCP anyway (budgeted centrally, compliance reasons), an Ubuntu VM on Compute Engine will work fine. Just pick an EU zone and keep in mind that the middleware is network-bound, not CPU/GPU-bound, so paying for large machines is unnecessary.
Alternative EU Providers
TIP
Compare monthly prices, included IPv4, bandwidth limits, and locations. For most schools the goal is: reliable EU hosting at minimal cost.
Operational Checklist
- ✅ 24/7 availability and a static public IP
- ✅ Ubuntu LTS image; SSH key login; firewall enabled
- ✅ Ports
80and443open; obtain a TLS certificate (e.g. Let's Encrypt) - ✅ Basic monitoring (e.g. UptimeRobot) so you know if the service goes down