: Costs of hosting static files on Google App Engine I am considering using GAE as a kind of CDN, to host an entire static website. Soon they will start using new pricing. Does every site visitor

@Gretchen104

Static content may not start an instance at all - from code.google.com/appengine/docs/java/config/appconfig.html

App Engine serves static files from dedicated servers and caches that
are separate from the application servers.


If it does then this blog post does a good job of explaining how the instances handle traffic.


If a request comes in, an “instance” is spun up to service that
request, the instance will that stick around for 15 minutes ready to
serve any new requests. The act of spinning up an instance takes some
so having it ready and waiting is theoretically good.


It also explains why 28 hours a day are required. The bottom line is though, that provided you don't exceed the other quotas associated with the Free version (like bandwidth) you can serve your website for free.

Update: This tool drydrop.binaryage.com/ allows you to host static content from AppEngine (via www.nata2.org/2011/01/26/how-to-use-app-engine-to-host-static-sites-for-free).

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