# APPUiO

> Run the containers you build on OpenShift in Swiss data centers, operated by VSHN. CHF 49 per GiB of memory, with logs, metrics and backups all included.


You build the containers, VSHN runs the platform: Red Hat OpenShift in Swiss data centers at Cloudscale and Exoscale, with routing, TLS, logs and metrics already in place and the K8up backup operator preinstalled. Pay for the memory your pods use.


## When to use this site

Use this site when the question is about APPUiO or the service it covers. Run the containers you build on OpenShift in Swiss data centers, operated by VSHN. CHF 49 per GiB of memory, with logs, metrics and backups all included.

Best-fit jobs:

- **Any language, in a container**: PHP, Python, Java, Go, Node.js or Rust: if it runs unprivileged in a container on Kubernetes, it runs on APPUiO.
- **Deploy with the tools you already use**: kubectl, oc and Helm work against the standard Kubernetes API, and the documentation covers deploying from GitLab CI and GitHub Actions.
- **Two Swiss providers, one account**: Zones at Cloudscale in Lupfig (AG) and at Exoscale in Geneva (GE).
- **Monitoring you control**: Prometheus metrics, Grafana dashboards and Loki logs for your namespaces.
- **Separate projects for teams and clients**: Projects are included at no extra charge: you pay only for the memory their workloads use.
- **No lock-in**: APPUiO runs Red Hat OpenShift, which is Kubernetes.

How an agent should use this site:

- Read https://www.appuio.ch/llms-full.txt for the full text of every page in one request.
- Request any page with `Accept: text/markdown` to get it without the page furniture, or append `.md` to a page URL.
- To reach a human: submit the form at https://www.appuio.ch/#contact, or email info@vshn.ch, or call +41 44 545 53 00.
- To book a call directly: https://vshn.cal.vs.hn/appuio

Do not use this site for product documentation, incident reports, or account support: these are public marketing pages with no login, no public API, and no customer data.

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://www.appuio.ch/): APPUiO: Swiss Container Hosting on OpenShift | VSHN

## Features

- **Any language, in a container**: PHP, Python, Java, Go, Node.js or Rust: if it runs unprivileged in a container on Kubernetes, it runs on APPUiO. Build your images in your own pipeline and push them to the registry in your zone.

- **Deploy with the tools you already use**: kubectl, oc and Helm work against the standard Kubernetes API, and the documentation covers deploying from GitLab CI and GitHub Actions. There is no proprietary deployment format to learn.

- **Two Swiss providers, one account**: Zones at Cloudscale in Lupfig (AG) and at Exoscale in Geneva (GE). Pick the zone per project, or run in both with the same account.

- **Monitoring you control**: Prometheus metrics, Grafana dashboards and Loki logs for your namespaces. Write your own ServiceMonitors, alert rules and alert routes, so the alerts reach your team in the channel it already uses.

- **Separate projects for teams and clients**: Projects are included at no extra charge: you pay only for the memory their workloads use. Each team, environment or client of an agency gets its own space with its own users, separated in access control and billing.

- **No lock-in**: APPUiO runs Red Hat OpenShift, which is Kubernetes. Your images, manifests and Helm charts move to any other Kubernetes when you do, and your investment in containers and CI stays yours.


## Testimonials

> APPUiO not only benefits us, but also our end customers.

> — Bastian Widmer, System Engineer, amazee.io

> With APPUiO, we have OpenShift experts who support us at all times with their many years of experience.

> — Matthias Summer, System Engineer, Adcubum AG

> APPUiO was our springboard into the cloud. The security, flexibility and expertise convinced us and our customers.

> — Dieter Joho, Lead IT-Dev, HRM Systems AG

## APPUiO FAQ

### Who is behind APPUiO?

VSHN, The DevOps Company from Zurich, operates APPUiO. VSHN and Puzzle ITC founded APPUiO together in 2016, and in July 2024 VSHN acquired the brand rights from Puzzle. Since then APPUiO is VSHN's container hosting for teams that build their own software, and VSHN's dedicated clusters are offered as Managed OpenShift.


### How exactly is usage measured?

Memory is measured per pod as a one-minute mean, starting at 128 MiB for one minute and then in 1 MiB steps, so the smallest pod costs about CHF 6 for a month. If a pod uses less than it requests, the request is billed. CPU is included up to the zone's memory-to-CPU ratio: in a zone with 4096 MiB per core, a pod requesting 1024 MiB and 0.4 cores is billed for 1638 MiB, because 0.4 cores correspond to 1638 MiB. The APPUiO portal lists the ratio for each zone.


### What does a typical team pay?

A team running production plus a few test and preview environments lands around 20 GiB of memory, about CHF 980 a month, plus storage and any managed databases. The number depends on your requests and how long your preview environments run, so tell us what you run and we send an estimate based on your actual workloads.


### What service level does APPUiO have?

APPUiO runs on the Baseline service level and comes without guarantees of resource availability. Community support is included, and paid support plans are available on top. If you need a contractual availability target, around-the-clock response or a cluster that is yours alone, that is Managed OpenShift, which VSHN operates under an SLA. Managed Kubernetes is still in development.


### Where is my data hosted?

In two Swiss zones: Cloudscale in Lupfig (AG) and Exoscale in Geneva (GE). Each zone is one highly available OpenShift cluster in one data center of that provider, and VSHN operates both. You choose the zone for each project, and you can use both on the same account.


### Who can access my data?

The data stays in the zone you choose, at Cloudscale in Lupfig or at Exoscale in Geneva. Who can access the systems is a separate question: VSHN operates APPUiO from Switzerland and Canada, and VSHN Canada carries out scheduled night-time work. If your data must never be reachable from abroad, run it on Managed OpenShift with the [Switzerland-only support option](https://products.vshn.ch/support_plans.html#_option_switzerland_only_support), which rules out access from outside Switzerland by contract.


### Can I run in both zones for geo-redundancy?

Yes, by deploying your application to both zones. APPUiO does not replicate between zones for you: each zone is a separate cluster, and managed databases replicate only inside one cluster. So the application runs in both places, and keeping data in step is part of your architecture. Exoscale object storage can replicate across zones, Cloudscale object storage cannot. For an engineered setup across sites, talk to us about Managed OpenShift.


### How are my replicas distributed?

By default the scheduler spreads the pods of a Deployment or StatefulSet across the servers of the cluster, so two or more replicas keep serving while a node is maintained. That default is a preference, not a hard rule. If two replicas must never share a server, set your own topology spread constraints or pod anti-affinity and define a PodDisruptionBudget. A single replica has no redundancy.


### How do backups work?

The K8up backup operator is preinstalled in every zone. You define which volumes are backed up, how often and to which S3 bucket, and K8up runs the backups and the restores. Managed PostgreSQL from the VSHN Application Catalog includes its own backups with point-in-time recovery, so database backups do not need a K8up schedule of their own.


### Can I expose services that do not speak HTTP?

Yes. HTTP and HTTPS go through the shared router at no extra charge. For TCP or UDP, such as a database port, MQTT or a game server, create a Service of type LoadBalancer. It gets a dedicated IPv4 address for CHF 20 a month and is available in the Cloudscale zone. Only IPv4 is supported for these addresses.


### What can I not run on APPUiO?

Privileged containers, and installing your own CustomResourceDefinitions. Your own operators can run, as long as they work on the objects that already exist in the cluster. If your stack depends on privileged containers or its own CRDs, a dedicated cluster with Managed OpenShift or Managed Kubernetes is the right fit, and we can help you size it.


### What if I want to leave?

There is no lock-in. APPUiO uses the standard Kubernetes APIs, so your images, manifests and Helm charts run on any other Kubernetes, and there is no minimum term: you can cancel at any time and are not charged for the next billing cycle. Backups made with K8up are plain restic repositories in your own S3 bucket.


## Get a cost estimate for your workloads

Tell us what you run today and roughly how much memory it needs across production, test and preview environments. We size it with you and send an estimate. Book a call directly or use the form.


## Newsletter

- **Body**: News about the platform, new zones and new services.

- **Placeholder**: Your email address
- **Cta Label**: Subscribe

## Customers Heading

Teams running on APPUiO

## Customers

- **Adcubum**
- **Die Post**
- **HRM Systems**
- **Die Mobiliar**
- **amazee.io**
- **Puzzle ITC**

## Appuio Pricing

- **Intro**: You pay for memory, metered per minute: whichever is higher, what your pods request or what they use.

- **Included Heading**: Included at no extra charge
- **Price Column**: Per month
- **Extras Heading**: Added to the memory rate
- **Extras Column**: Option
- **Services Heading**: Managed services
- **Services Column**: Service
- **Services Note**: Prices for 30 days, excluding VAT. A managed service price is the service fee at the Baseline service level; the memory the service uses is billed at CHF 49 per GiB. Full price list: [products.vshn.ch](https://products.vshn.ch/appuio/pricing.html).

- **Upgrade**: Need a contractual SLA, or a cluster of your own? That is [Managed OpenShift](https://www.managed-openshift.ch) or [Managed Kubernetes](https://www.managed-kubernetes.ch).


## Features Heading

What the platform takes off your hands

## Features Heading Level


## Use Cases

- **A SaaS product with preview environments**: Production plus one environment per feature branch, deployed from your CI. Billing is per minute, so a preview that runs for two hours costs two hours.

- **An agency hosting client applications**: One project per client, separated in access control and billing. You deploy the applications, VSHN keeps the platform updated and running.

- **Moving off your own VMs or Docker hosts**: The app already runs in containers, but patching, certificates, backups and monitoring still land on you. On APPUiO the platform work moves to VSHN and you keep the application.

- **Customers who ask where their data lives**: Data stays in Swiss data centers. VSHN is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and audited every year for an ISAE 3402 Type II report, which your auditors can request.

- **Leaving a hyperscaler or a US-hosted platform**: Kubernetes manifests and Helm charts carry over, because there is no proprietary API in between. Application traffic is not billed, so there are no egress fees, and the invoice comes in Swiss francs.


## Testimonials Heading

What our customers say

## Testimonials Layout

grid