Shared vs Dedicated Architecture

Filess offers two distinct operational modes designed to scale with your application's lifecycle: Shared and Dedicated. Choosing the right mode allows you to balance cost, performance, and isolation requirements.

Shared Mode

The Shared mode is optimized for development, testing, hobby projects, and lightweight production applications. In this model, your database runs in a high-density secure environment where compute resources (CPU and RAM) are shared among multiple tenants, while storage remains strictly isolated.

Key Characteristics

• Cost-Effective: Plans start from €0/month.
• Resource Efficiency: Shared CPU/RAM with burst capabilities.
• Automated Management: Fully managed backups and updates.
• Restrictions: No root or superuser access to ensure stability for all tenants.

Ideal For

• Development and Staging environments.
• Hobby projects and prototypes.
• Applications with intermittent traffic.
• Learning and experimentation.

Dedicated Mode

The Dedicated mode provides a single-tenant environment with guaranteed resources. Your database runs on isolated compute infrastructure, ensuring consistent performance and enhanced security controls.

Key Characteristics

• Performance: 100% isolated CPU, RAM, and Disk. No noisy neighbors.
• Full Control: Root/Superuser access allowed. Custom configuration (e.g., my.cnf, postgresql.conf).
• Advanced Features:
  • Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR): Restore to any second.
  • Private Networking: Support for Tailscale and SSH Tunneling.
  • Add-ons: Advanced monitoring and firewall options.
• Engines: Access to SQL Server Express (exclusive to Dedicated).

Ideal For

• Production workloads.
• High-traffic applications.
• Regulatory compliance requirements.
• Workloads requiring specific database extensions or custom tuning.

Comparison Matrix

Feature	Shared Mode	Dedicated Mode
Resources	Shared CPU/RAM	Isolated & Guaranteed
Storage	Isolated Volume	Isolated Volume (NVMe)
SLA	Best Effort	Production SLA
Root Access	No	Yes
Backups	Daily/Weekly (Snapshot)	Continuous (PITR)
Network	Public IP	Public IP + Private Network (VPN/SSH)
SQL Server	Not Available	Available (Express Edition)
Pricing	Fixed Monthly Plans	Resource-based (Pay-as-you-go)