Most providers sell fixed instance shapes, pairing a set number of cores with a set amount of memory. Kamatera lets you choose each independently, which is either very useful or irrelevant depending on your workload.
When independent sizing pays
Fixed shapes assume your CPU-to-memory ratio matches the provider’s. Many workloads do not:
- Caches and search nodes want a lot of RAM and little CPU. On fixed shapes you buy cores to reach the memory.
- Video encoding and compilation are the reverse: CPU-heavy, modest memory.
- Databases often want generous RAM and disk with moderate CPU.
Where the mismatch is large, the saving from a custom shape is real. Where your needs are balanced, a standard shape elsewhere is simpler and often cheaper.
CPU types
| Type | Suits |
|---|---|
| Burstable | Development boxes, low-traffic services, anything mostly idle |
| General purpose | Typical application servers with moderate steady load |
| Dedicated | Sustained load, latency-sensitive services, databases |
Burstable is genuinely cheaper for idle workloads and genuinely disappointing under sustained load. The signal you have chosen wrong is variance: response times that move without a matching traffic change.
Sizing method
- Measure memory working set. Swapping to cloud disk destroys latency.
- Review a week of CPU data, not an hour.
- Check I/O wait. High wait with idle CPU means storage, not cores.
- Choose the CPU type from the load shape, then the smallest size with headroom.
- Prefer two smaller servers behind a load balancer over one large one.
Regions
Kamatera operates data centres across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Choose for user proximity and any data residency requirement, and confirm the features you need exist in that location before committing.
Mail and port 25
Outbound SMTP on port 25 is restricted by default. Our Kamatera listings include a configuration with port 25 opened, which is for running an actual mail server. Application email should relay through Amazon SES or similar on port 587. The setup order for direct sending is in the port 25 guide.
Where Kamatera fits
Kamatera competes with DigitalOcean, Linode and Hetzner in straightforward virtual servers. Its advantages are configuration flexibility and region spread; its disadvantages are a smaller managed service catalogue and a smaller community, which shows when you are searching for answers. See Kamatera vs DigitalOcean.
Common questions
Can I resize after creation?
Yes, with a reboot for CPU and memory changes.
Is burstable fine for production?
For low, intermittent load, yes. For sustained load, use dedicated.
Does Kamatera offer managed databases?
The catalogue centres on servers and infrastructure rather than a broad managed data portfolio.