# The utility, wired end to end

> See how the platform works, from the edge network to dedicated compute. Each part of the stack names who changes it.

Source: https://customhosted.com/platform/

№ 01 Platform

CustomHosted runs a global edge network, durable storage, and dedicated compute, with DNS and certificates in front. Every piece is provisioned as code and billed at one flat monthly rate.

№ 02 The stack

## The stack, end to end

Six pieces, one bill. Here's what each one does, and the page that owns it.

- Edge network — Static files are cached at many locations around the world. A visitor in Nairobi and a visitor in Toronto both reach a nearby server. The first request at a location fetches the file once. Every later visitor there gets it from cache. The edge network answers the crowd. Static Pro and its siblings have no server to queue behind — the only real limit is transfer, and transfer is priced flat. See [Delivery](https://customhosted.com/delivery) for the redirects, the cache rules, and the response headers.
- Object storage — Every static site, build, and backup lives in durable object storage. It is copied across facilities, so one hardware failure does not touch your data. The edge network pulls your site from it, and your nightly backups land in it. See [Files](https://customhosted.com/files) for what happens once your app starts writing to it.
- Dedicated compute — Anything dynamic runs on an instance that is yours alone. That can be an API, a database, or a full application. The instance is sized to the workload and billed at one fixed monthly rate. There is no per-request metering and no surprise invoice after a busy week. See [Dedicated](https://customhosted.com/dedicated) for the plans and what each one includes. The operating system and kernel patch on a fixed schedule (standing window, monthly). See [Patching](https://customhosted.com/patching) for the full schedule.
- DNS — Name servers route every request to the right place before anything else happens. You keep the domain and the final say over where it points. See [Domains](https://customhosted.com/domains) for every record on the zone and who owns each one.
- Certificates — TLS is issued before the switch, so a property is never live without it. Renewal runs on a standing schedule, well before the expiry date — the same watch signal /monitoring lists under certificates. Every property gets end-to-end encryption by default. There is no plaintext hop, and no expired-certificate outage. See [Domains](https://customhosted.com/domains) for the full certificate lifecycle, apex to redirect.
- Everything as code — The edge configuration, the compute, the DNS records, and the certificates are all declared in code. Each one is versioned and reviewed like any other change. Nothing is clicked together by hand, so nothing is a mystery six months later. See [Portability](https://customhosted.com/portability) for what a full export actually contains.

№ 03 Traffic

## How your traffic flows

DNS and certificates sit in front of both paths. Every request resolves through our name servers and arrives already TLS-terminated. The redirects, the cache, and the response headers that come next are covered in full on [Delivery](https://customhosted.com/delivery).

### Static request

1. 1 — Request hits DNS — Our name servers resolve the domain and point it at the edge network.
2. 2 — Edge serves from cache — If the asset is already cached at the nearest location, it ships immediately.
3. 3 — Origin fill on a miss — An uncached request pulls once from object storage, caches the result, and serves everyone behind that location from then on.

### Dynamic request

1. 1 — Request hits DNS — Same name servers, same TLS termination. No separate setup required.
2. 2 — Proxy takes the request — A TLS-terminating proxy in front of your instance handles the handshake and forwards it internally.
3. 3 — Dedicated compute answers — Your application, database, or API handles the request on the instance provisioned for it.

№ 04 As code

## Everything as code

Your stack is written down as code from the first day. You can review it, and you can take it with you.

- Provisioned, not clicked — Edge config, DNS records, certificates, and the instance itself are all declared in code. Each is applied the same way every time, so what is documented matches what is running.
- Versioned — Every infrastructure change goes through the same review and history as your application code. A bad change rolls back the same way a bad deploy does.
- Portable — Because it is defined as code instead of buried in a proprietary dashboard, your stack is exportable. There is no dashboard to migrate off of. It is already code.

No lock-in Your domain, your [DNS records](https://customhosted.com/glossary#dns-record), and the [code that defines your stack](https://customhosted.com/glossary#infrastructure-as-code) are yours. We export them on request, at no charge. See [what the handover contains](https://customhosted.com/portability).

Trying to work out how this stack applies to your situation? See [who it's for](https://customhosted.com/for): agencies, founders, and sites without a developer left to run them.

№ 05 Changes

## Who changes what

The stack above is code. So most changes to it are a pull request, like a change to your app. See [The Loop](https://customhosted.com/loop) for the commercial arc, and [Deploys](https://customhosted.com/deploys) for what actually ships a change live.

### CustomHosted

An ops request. No charge, sent through the same channel as any other request.

- Add a subdomain — No charge — DNS management is part of every plan.
- Point a second domain at a new site — Additional static site, another site on the same account, same edge network.
- Move mail providers — No charge — this is still a DNS record change.
- Verify a third-party service — No charge — this is still a DNS record change.
- Add or change one redirect, a header, a 404, or a maintenance window — No charge — a single edge rule is an ops request, the same as a DNS record.

### CodeHerder

A briefed pull request. An agent opens it, a human merges it, and the same pipeline ships it. It is part of the CodeHerder add-on, at $25/mo.

- Add a redirect map, a new route, or a canonical tag — Priced as a briefed change, not a record: this is application routing, not DNS, so it's briefed, an agent opens the pull request, a human merges it, and the same pipeline redeploys — the full rule set, cache behaviour, and header story lives on Delivery.
- A redirect map for a move, so old links keep their rankings — Priced as a briefed change: an agent opens the pull request, a human merges it, and the same pipeline redeploys and clears the cache.
- A Content-Security-Policy tuned to your real app, or an SPA fallback rule — Priced as a briefed change, same as above: an agent opens the pull request, a human merges it, and the same pipeline ships it.

### CustomLabs

A bigger build. Scoped up front and quoted flat, the same as a first build.

- A policy for a page full of third-party embeds, a redirect map for hundreds of URLs, or a routing redesign — Quoted flat, up front. Still ships through the same pipeline once it's built.

№ 06 Included

## Always included

No add-on required for the basics. These are part of every plan, static or dedicated.

- TLS certificates
- DNS management
- Daily backups
- Monitoring & alerts
- Security patching
- A human who answers

№ 07 See also

## Keep exploring

- [What we host A register of every stack this platform runs.](https://customhosted.com/host)
- [Static hosting Static sites and single-page apps on the edge network. Each push deploys.](https://customhosted.com/static)
- [Dedicated compute A fixed-price instance for an API, a database, or a full application.](https://customhosted.com/dedicated)
- [Databases Managed databases, backed up every night with the rest of your stack.](https://customhosted.com/databases)
- [Pricing The full rate card. Every price is flat and posted in the open.](https://customhosted.com/pricing)
- [Performance This site's measured page weight and request count, checked on every build.](https://customhosted.com/performance)
- [Migrations Already running somewhere else? Tell us where, and we move it. Any app, any stack.](https://customhosted.com/migrate)
- [Domains The full DNS record sheet behind the DNS row above, and who owns each record.](https://customhosted.com/domains)
- [In service Worked examples of the loop on each hosting shape.](https://customhosted.com/in-service)
- [Deploys What ships a change live after a person merges the pull request.](https://customhosted.com/deploys)

## Ready to start?

Tell us what you're running — one fixed monthly rate, within a business day.

[Get a quote →](https://customhosted.com/contact)