I've done hundreds of nodes, all managed to a very low level (I've been to the datacenter and optimized placement of servers within the cabinet to enable shorter cables to the patch panel) which is way beyond what most companies need.
In general it's better to have fewer and more powerful and reliable nodes that you own than to have many disposable small ones, as shared instances just don't work
well and aren't cost-effective.
Cloud in general just makes everything more expensive while removing control. The costs on AWS if paying for three years upfront is the same as buying the hardware outright, except you have little say in what the hardware is and how the infrastructure is set up.
choosing serverplacement to optimize for cable length does not sound very efficient. usually you get the cables in the length you need and place servers to solve other requirements (heat, direct connections between devices, etc)
> as shared instances just don't work well and aren't cost-effective
of course ymmv from mine, but this statement being true or false depends on too many things to be of any value
