Deploy Bonsai in your own AWS account with Bonsai Vaults

Countless blog posts and Hacker News threads have asked a simple question: Heroku or AWS? Sometimes you want the convenience of Heroku, and sometimes, you need the scale and control of AWS. We want to make it easy to completely secure Bonsai with any app, no matter where you host it.It’s always been easy to deploy Bonsai from the Heroku CLI, and now you can deploy Bonsai within your own AWS account using a Bonsai Vault. We’ve had a lot of demand for this option. Thus far, our beta customers are quite pleased.

What are the primary advantages of using a Bonsai Vault if you’re on AWS?

1. It’s secure and can help meet compliance requirements. Bonsai Vaults are actually deployed in your AWS account using the AWS Organizations API. Clusters deployed in Bonsai Vaults do not communicate with your app over the public internet. It’s one extra measure your team can take to protect against hackers and ransomware.
2. You can save money by using your own AWS reserved instances to host your cluster. Reserved instances can be up to 75% cheaper than on-demand instances. By opting for this option, you’re saving money while still getting the convenience of Bonsai. It’s a win/win.
3. It’s fully managed and supported by a staff of Elasticsearch experts. Get the benefit of cost at scale, without the hassle of managing that scale on your own. Our team will still offer the same kind of white glove support you’d get on our Enterprise tier.

What if you’re still using Heroku?

While Heroku doesn’t enable add-ons to be deployed in Heroku Private Spaces, we do offer VPC peering with them. It’s an increase in security and can help meet compliance requirements. See our overview on Heroku Vaults for more details.

Getting started with a Bonsai Vault

Bonsai Vaults have been in beta mode for months, and are now available in General Availability. Contact our team if you’re interested in setting up your own Bonsai Vault.