Popular Linux orgs Freedesktop and Alpine Linux are scrambling for new web hosting – Ars Technica
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Donor’s shift away from bare-metal servers leaves groups looking for new homes.
In what is becoming a sadly regular occurrence, two popular free software projects, X.org/Freedesktop.org and Alpine Linux, need to rally some of their millions of users so that they can continue operating.Both services have largely depended on free server resources provided by Equinix (formerly Packet.net) and its Metal division for the past few years. Equinix announced recently that it was sunsetting its bare-metal sales and services, or renting out physically distinct single computers rather than virtualized and shared hardware. As reported by the Phronix blog, both free software organizations have until the end of April to find and fund new hosting, with some fairly demanding bandwidth and development needs.An issue ticket on Freedesktop.org’s GitLab repository provides the story and the nitty-gritty needs of that project. Both the X.org foundation (home of the 40-year-old window system) and Freedesktop.org (a shared base of specifications and technology for free software desktops, including Wayland and many more) used Equinix’s donated space.Equinix Metal “were very kind and generous with us and even if it’s a shame we have to move out on a short notice, all things come to an end,” writes Benjamin Tissoires, admin for the project, on the issue page. Tissoires lays out the project’s needs—more than 400GB of database storage and close to 100TB of storage data—and a wishlist for new hosting.An Equinix spokesperson wrote to Ars that the firm is ending its credit program as part of its wind-down of bare metal serving, “as we focus on the growth and acceleration of parts of our business, like colocation, interconnection, and hyperscale.” Customers with free credits could keep using Equinix through June 2026, but at market-on-demand rates, the spokesperson wrote.Among the potential improvements for the next Freedesktop space are a delivery service like Cloudflare or Fastl, “to keep the AI-scrapers away.” Freedesktop has “quite a bunch of AI bots literally pumping our entire GitLab instance,” Tissoires writes.Having worked “around the clock” to move from Google Cloud Platform after its open source credits there ran out, and now rushing to move off Equinix, Tissoires suggests a new plan: “[H]ave [freedesktop.org] pay for its own servers, and then have sponsors chip in.”Alpine Linux, a small, security-minded distribution used in many containers and embedded devices, also needs a new home quickly. As detailed in its blog, Alpine Linux uses about 800TB of bandwidth each month and also needs continuous integration runners (or separate job agents), as well as a development box. Alpine states it is seeking co-location space and bare-metal servers near the Netherlands, though it will consider virtual machines if bare metal is not feasible.Like X.org/Freedesktop, Alpine is using this moment as a wake-up call. Responding to Ars, Carlo Landmeter, who serves on Alpine’s council, noted that Alpine Linux is a kind of open source project “that became popular without most users knowing it.” Users are starting to donate, and companies are reaching out to help, but it’s still “early days,” Landmeter wrote.Every so often, those working at the foundations of open source software experience something that highlights the mismatch between a project’s importance and its support and funding. Perhaps some people or some organizations will do the harder work of finding a sustaining future for these projects.Ars has reached out to X/Freedesktop and will update this post with responses.After the initial publication of this post, Jason Donenfeld, founder of Wireguard, told Ars by email that WireGuard is “in this same situation” (i.e. initially given credits by Equinix Metal) and “scrambling to find a new host,” and is accepting donations or hosting offers.Ars Technica has been separating the signal from
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