Tiers

What it is

FlowLakes runs in three tiers. Each one is a complete instance at its own address, such as acme.flowlakes.com, with the same product inside. What differs is which parts of the machinery your instance shares with other customers. The shared tier starts at once as a free trial. The two dedicated tiers are set up by FlowLakes after a conversation, and nothing is built for them until FlowLakes approves the request.

	Shared trial	Dedicated database	Dedicated stack
How you get it	Start free trial on the sign-up page	Ask FlowLakes (see below)	Ask FlowLakes (see below)
When it is ready	About two minutes after you name it	After FlowLakes approves the request and the database is built	After FlowLakes approves the request and the stack is built
Your data	Its own database, with its own database login, on a database server shared with other shared-tier instances	Its own database server	Its own database server
The application	Application servers shared with other instances	Application servers shared with other instances	Its own server
Trial clock	30 days (see Plans and the trial)	None	None
Plan changes	Self-serve, by card, once payment is switched on	Part of the agreement with FlowLakes	Part of the agreement with FlowLakes

When you’d use it

Shared trial. You want to try FlowLakes today, with your own data, without talking to anyone.
Dedicated database. Your organization requires that its records sit on a database server no other customer uses.
Dedicated stack. You also want the application itself on its own server, for example to limit who can reach it over the network.

What you manage

What stays yours on every tier

Your own database. Even on the shared tier, your records live in a database of their own, reached with a database login that belongs to your instance alone.
Your own address. Each instance has its own subdomain. FlowLakes keeps a set of names for itself, such as www, admin and docs, so no customer can take them.
Your own users and access model. Users, roles and permissions are set per instance. See Identity and access.

A dedicated database server is created with its storage encrypted, closed to the public internet, and protected against accidental deletion. A dedicated stack adds a network access setting on your side. See Manage dedicated-stack network access.

Ask for a dedicated tier

Asking for a dedicated tier starts on the same page as the trial, and it needs you to sign in first. That sign-in is how FlowLakes knows who is asking.

Go to https://flowlakes.com/request-instance and sign in with Microsoft, Google or an email link, as in Start a free trial.
On the Name it card, type your Company name and choose the Address you want.
Press Talk to us about a dedicated environment. The card changes to Tell us what you need.
Under What are you after?, choose Dedicated database (your own database, on the FlowLakes application tier) or Dedicated stack (your own server and your own database).
Optionally fill in How many people?. Fill in What do you need?, for example a private network, data residency or the size of your directory. This field is required.
Press Send request. The card changes to Request received and says FlowLakes will write to you within one business day. Nothing has been built and there is nothing to pay.

While the request is open, the address you chose is held for you. Your mailbox also counts as holding a live instance, so it cannot start a trial or send a second request until this one is decided.

What happens next

If the request is approved, FlowLakes builds the instance for the tier you agreed on. A dedicated tier has no trial clock and its limits are set in the agreement.
If the request is declined, you get one email with the subject About your FlowLakes request. Nothing was created and there is nothing to pay. The address you asked for becomes free again, and you can start a free trial at any time.

Good to know

Press Start the free trial instead on the same card if you change your mind before sending.
Already have an instance? For a plan change, a switched-off instance or a copy of your data, use the contact page at https://flowlakes.com/request-demo?type=customer. It needs no sign-in. See Contact FlowLakes.
To see the product before signing in, book a demo at https://flowlakes.com/request-demo. A demo booking is not a request for an instance.
One live instance per mailbox applies here too. A mailbox that already holds a trial, including a switched-off one, cannot send a dedicated-tier request. Sign in with a different mailbox to ask.
A dedicated tier cannot change its plan by card. The payment page on a dedicated instance refuses. Write to FlowLakes on the contact page instead.
Moving from the shared tier to a dedicated tier is arranged with FlowLakes. There is no self-serve button for it. Write on the contact page, naming your instance address.

How it connects

The shared tier starts as a trial, described in Plans and the trial. Access inside any instance is covered by Identity and access.

Now do it: Start a free trial, or manage dedicated-stack network access.

Exact shapes: Glossary (tier, trial, subscription plan).