Sean

“and can also be deployed on cloud computing services like Amazon EC2.”

You can do that already http://bitnami.org/rightscale

“It has a built-in mechanism for upgrading/backing up and allows you to get updates to the entire technology stack.”

The BitNami stuff is self-contained, so you can just save the folder in a zip file to backup or restore

the basic distinction is this: JumpBox is what’s called a “virtual appliance.” It’s a VM that’s stripped down and optimized to serve a particular application. It’s intended to be used without requiring knowledge of the underlying OS and dependencies. It has a built-in mechanism for upgrading/backing up and allows you to get updates to the entire technology stack. Also it can be deployed and managed entirely via web interface so you needn’t worry about running scripts and changing permissions. And lastly, it’s compatible across all the major virtualization technologies and can also be deployed on cloud computing services like Amazon EC2.

The method you describe does give you the end result of an app running on a VM but now you need to maintain updates to the OS, app server, web server, database, library dependencies, etc. You also need to figure out a good backup solution, know how to manage network config, know the command line, how to handle SSL certs, etc. Bitnami is appropriate when you need a native install of an application. But the advantages of app isolation, portability, ease of deployment and management make JumpBoxes a compelling solution for running new instances of standalone web apps.

does that help?

Sean

I am wondering whats the difference between the Jumpbox solution and say using Bitnami on a VM?

Regards

Mark