When deploying Node.js in production, the server requirements differ significantly from traditional LAMP stack applications. Node's event-driven architecture demands careful consideration of these core factors:

// Sample Node.js server demonstrating resource usage patterns
const http = require('http');
const cluster = require('cluster');
const numCPUs = require('os').cpus().length;

if (cluster.isMaster) {
  console.log(Master ${process.pid} is running);
  
  // Fork workers based on CPU cores
  for (let i = 0; i < numCPUs; i++) {
    cluster.fork();
  }
} else {
  // Worker can share any TCP connection
  http.createServer((req, res) => {
    res.writeHead(200);
    res.end('Hello World\n');
  }).listen(8000);
  
  console.log(Worker ${process.pid} started);
}

Node.js is single-threaded but can utilize multiple cores via clustering. Look for:

• Modern x86-64 architecture (Intel Xeon, AMD EPYC)
• Minimum 2 vCPUs for production workloads
• Higher clock speeds (≥2.5GHz) benefit single-thread performance

Node's memory usage depends heavily on application complexity:

// Monitoring memory usage in your app
setInterval(() => {
  const used = process.memoryUsage();
  console.log(Memory Usage:
  RSS: ${Math.round(used.rss / 1024 / 1024)}MB
  Heap: ${Math.round(used.heapUsed / 1024 / 1024)}MB);
}, 5000);

Budget-friendly recommendations:

• 1GB RAM minimum for small applications
• 2-4GB for medium traffic sites (1000+ concurrent users)
• SSD-based swap space can help with memory spikes

SSD storage is critical for:

• Faster require() operations
• Improved filesystem operations
• Better database performance if using local storage

Node.js thrives with good network throughput:

// Testing network throughput
const net = require('net');
const server = net.createServer((socket) => {
  socket.pipe(socket);
});

server.listen(8124, '0.0.0.0');

Look for:

• ≥100Mbps unmetered bandwidth
• Low latency network paths
• DDoS protection for public-facing apps

For $5-$25/month range consider:

// Recommended production settings
const os = require('os');
process.env.UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE = os.cpus().length;

// Enable production optimizations
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  require('v8').setFlagsFromString('--optimize_for_size');
}

When deploying Node.js in production, several technical factors become critical for optimal performance:

• Event-loop optimization: Node's single-threaded nature demands servers with fast I/O operations
• Memory management: V8 engine performance is closely tied to available RAM
• CPU cores: While Node is single-threaded, clustering benefits from multiple cores

Here's a comparison of viable options in the $5-$25 range:

For maximizing Node.js performance on budget servers:

const cluster = require('cluster');
const numCPUs = require('os').cpus().length;

if (cluster.isMaster) {
  console.log(Master ${process.pid} is running);
  
  // Fork workers
  for (let i = 0; i < numCPUs; i++) {
    cluster.fork();
  }

  cluster.on('exit', (worker, code, signal) => {
    console.log(worker ${worker.process.pid} died);
  });
} else {
  // Worker processes
  const express = require('express');
  const app = express();
  
  app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Hello World!');
  });

  app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log(Worker ${process.pid} started);
  });
}

Implement this basic health check middleware:

app.use((req, res, next) => {
  const memoryUsage = process.memoryUsage();
  const status = {
    uptime: process.uptime(),
    memory: {
      rss: (memoryUsage.rss / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + 'MB',
      heapTotal: (memoryUsage.heapTotal / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + 'MB',
      heapUsed: (memoryUsage.heapUsed / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + 'MB',
      external: (memoryUsage.external / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + 'MB'
    },
    cpu: process.cpuUsage()
  };
  
  if (req.path === '/health') {
    return res.json(status);
  }
  next();
});

Key configuration tweaks for production:

• Use PM2 process manager with pm2 start app.js -i max
• Configure proper reverse proxy (Nginx/Apache)
• Implement proper logging with Winston or Morgan
• Set up automatic restarts for crashes