Case Study: PoC Evaluation Guide
Tổng quan
Hướng dẫn đánh giá khi nào nên sử dụng Light Stack (Next.js + Supabase + Cloudflare) cho dự án PoC/MVP.
Light Stack là gì?
Định nghĩa
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LIGHT STACK │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Frontend + Backend-for-Frontend │
│ └── Next.js (on Cloudflare Workers) │
│ │
│ Backend-as-a-Service │
│ └── Supabase │
│ ├── PostgreSQL Database │
│ ├── Authentication │
│ ├── Storage │
│ ├── Realtime │
│ └── Edge Functions │
│ │
│ Edge Computing │
│ └── Cloudflare │
│ ├── Workers │
│ ├── KV Storage │
│ ├── Queues │
│ └── Cron Triggers │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Đặc điểm chính
| Aspect |
Light Stack |
Traditional Stack |
| Backend code |
Minimal |
Extensive |
| Database setup |
Managed |
Self-managed |
| Auth implementation |
Built-in |
Custom |
| Time to MVP |
Days/Weeks |
Weeks/Months |
| Initial cost |
~$0-50/month |
~$100-500/month |
| Team size needed |
1-3 devs |
3-8 devs |
Khi nào NÊN dùng Light Stack?
Use Case phù hợp
✅ PoC / Proof of Concept
- Cần validate idea nhanh
- Budget hạn chế
- Team nhỏ
✅ MVP / Minimum Viable Product
- Feature set cơ bản
- < 10,000 MAU
- CRUD-heavy applications
✅ Internal Tools
- Admin dashboards
- Reporting tools
- Simple workflows
✅ SaaS Startups (Early Stage)
- Multi-tenant apps
- Subscription-based
- Need to iterate fast
✅ Side Projects / Indie Hackers
- Solo developer
- Cost-conscious
- Full-stack needs
Specific Examples
EXCELLENT FIT:
1. Task Management App
- CRUD operations
- User authentication
- Team collaboration
- Real-time updates
✅ All covered by Light Stack
2. E-commerce MVP
- Product catalog
- User accounts
- Order management
- Payment (via Stripe Edge Function)
✅ Supabase handles most complexity
3. Content Platform
- User-generated content
- File uploads
- Comments/reactions
- Search functionality
✅ Storage + Realtime + Full-text search
4. Internal Dashboard
- Data visualization
- CRUD management
- Role-based access
- Export functionality
✅ RLS + Server Components
Khi nào KHÔNG NÊN dùng Light Stack?
Use Case không phù hợp
❌ High-scale Production (>100K MAU)
- Supabase limits may become bottleneck
- Need custom infrastructure
- Cost optimization required
❌ Complex Business Logic
- Heavy computation
- Complex workflows
- Multi-step transactions
❌ Compliance Requirements
- HIPAA, SOC2, PCI-DSS
- Data residency requirements
- Custom audit needs
❌ Real-time Gaming / IoT
- Sub-10ms latency required
- Thousands of concurrent connections
- Custom protocols
❌ ML/AI Applications
- GPU computing required
- Large model inference
- Custom training pipelines
Specific Examples
NOT IDEAL:
1. High-frequency Trading Platform
- Microsecond latency required
- Complex calculations
- Custom protocols
❌ Supabase latency too high
2. Video Streaming Service
- Large file processing
- Transcoding required
- CDN optimization
❌ Need specialized infrastructure
3. Healthcare App (HIPAA)
- Strict compliance
- Audit requirements
- Data encryption
⚠️ Possible but needs careful setup
4. Real-time Multiplayer Game
- < 50ms latency required
- Custom networking
- Game state synchronization
❌ WebSocket limitations
Decision Framework
Step 1: Assess Requirements
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ MUST HAVE (Light Stack can handle): │
│ □ User authentication │
│ □ Database storage (SQL) │
│ □ File storage │
│ □ API endpoints │
│ □ Real-time updates │
│ □ Background jobs (basic) │
│ │
│ NICE TO HAVE (Possible with workarounds): │
│ □ Full-text search (Supabase built-in) │
│ □ Geolocation queries (PostGIS) │
│ □ WebSocket connections (Supabase Realtime) │
│ □ Scheduled tasks (pg_cron / Cloudflare Cron) │
│ │
│ DEAL BREAKERS (May need different stack): │
│ □ Sub-10ms latency requirements │
│ □ Heavy computation (ML/AI inference) │
│ □ Strict compliance (HIPAA, SOC2) │
│ □ Custom database (MongoDB, Cassandra) │
│ □ > 500 concurrent realtime connections │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step 2: Evaluate Scale
SCALE ASSESSMENT:
Expected MAU:
├── < 1,000: ✅ Free tier likely sufficient
├── 1,000 - 10,000: ✅ Pro tier ($25/month)
├── 10,000 - 50,000: ⚠️ Monitor usage, may need Team
└── > 50,000: ⚠️ Evaluate custom infrastructure
Expected Data:
├── < 500 MB: ✅ Free tier
├── 500 MB - 8 GB: ✅ Pro tier
├── 8 GB - 100 GB: ⚠️ Additional storage costs
└── > 100 GB: ⚠️ Consider data architecture
Expected Requests:
├── < 100K/day: ✅ Comfortable
├── 100K - 1M/day: ✅ Within limits
├── 1M - 10M/day: ⚠️ Need caching strategy
└── > 10M/day: ⚠️ Edge caching essential
Step 3: Team Assessment
TEAM CONSIDERATIONS:
Skill Set Required:
├── TypeScript/JavaScript: Required
├── React/Next.js: Required
├── SQL basics: Required
├── PostgreSQL advanced: Nice to have
├── Cloudflare Workers: Nice to have
Team Size:
├── 1 developer: ✅ Light Stack is perfect
├── 2-3 developers: ✅ Good fit
├── 4-6 developers: ⚠️ May want more structure
└── > 6 developers: ⚠️ Consider microservices
Learning Curve:
├── Supabase: Low (good docs, familiar concepts)
├── RLS: Medium (PostgreSQL specific)
├── Cloudflare Workers: Medium (edge computing concepts)
└── Overall: 1-2 weeks to productivity
Migration Considerations
Growing Out of Light Stack
MIGRATION PATHS:
Phase 1: Optimization (stay on Light Stack)
├── Add caching (Cloudflare KV)
├── Optimize queries (indexes, RPC functions)
├── Implement pagination everywhere
├── Add CDN for static assets
Phase 2: Partial Migration
├── Move heavy computation to dedicated services
├── Add Redis for session/caching
├── Implement read replicas
├── Add external search (Algolia, Meilisearch)
Phase 3: Full Migration (if needed)
├── PostgreSQL stays (easy to migrate)
├── Next.js stays (framework agnostic)
├── Replace Supabase Auth with custom
├── Replace Supabase Realtime with custom WebSocket
├── Replace Cloudflare Workers with Kubernetes
What Migrates Easily?
| Component |
Migration Difficulty |
Notes |
| PostgreSQL |
Easy |
Standard PostgreSQL |
| Next.js |
Easy |
Framework agnostic |
| Auth users |
Medium |
Export/import |
| Storage files |
Easy |
S3-compatible |
| RLS policies |
Medium |
Convert to app logic |
| Realtime |
Hard |
Custom implementation |
Cost Comparison
Light Stack vs Traditional
YEAR 1 COSTS (MVP with 5K MAU):
LIGHT STACK:
├── Supabase Pro: $25/month = $300/year
├── Cloudflare (free tier): $0
├── Domain: $15/year
├── Development: 1 dev × 2 months
└── Total: ~$315/year + dev costs
TRADITIONAL (AWS + Custom):
├── EC2 (backend): $50/month = $600/year
├── RDS (database): $30/month = $360/year
├── S3 + CloudFront: $20/month = $240/year
├── Auth0 (auth): $23/month = $276/year
├── Domain: $15/year
├── Development: 2 devs × 4 months
└── Total: ~$1,491/year + dev costs
SAVINGS: ~75% infrastructure costs
~50% development time
Break-even Analysis
When does Light Stack become expensive?
Supabase Pro limits:
├── 8 GB database
├── 250 GB bandwidth
├── 100 GB storage
├── 2M Edge Function invocations
Approximate break-even: 50,000 - 100,000 MAU
At this scale, custom infrastructure may be more cost-effective.
Case Study: Real Decisions
Scenario 1: Startup MVP
SITUATION:
- 2 founders (1 dev, 1 business)
- $20K runway
- 3-month deadline
- Task management SaaS idea
DECISION: ✅ Use Light Stack
REASONING:
- Fast time-to-market critical
- Budget constraints
- Simple CRUD app
- Standard auth needs
- Can migrate later if needed
RESULT:
- Launched in 6 weeks
- $25/month running cost
- 500 beta users
- Ready for seed funding
Scenario 2: Enterprise Dashboard
SITUATION:
- Large enterprise
- Internal analytics dashboard
- Compliance requirements (SOC2)
- 500 users
DECISION: ⚠️ Conditional Yes
REASONING:
- Internal tool (lower risk)
- User count within limits
- SOC2 compliance available (Pro plan)
- Fast development needed
CAVEATS:
- Review Supabase security docs
- Implement additional logging
- Get compliance sign-off
RESULT:
- Launched in 2 months
- Met compliance requirements
- Saved 6 months vs custom build
Scenario 3: Real-time Gaming
SITUATION:
- Multiplayer game
- < 50ms latency required
- 10,000 concurrent users
- Complex game state
DECISION: ❌ Not Light Stack
REASONING:
- Latency requirements too strict
- Connection limits insufficient
- Custom protocol needed
- Game-specific optimizations
ALTERNATIVE:
- Supabase for auth/profiles
- Custom game server (Golang/Rust)
- Redis for game state
- Custom WebSocket server
Summary Checklist
Use Light Stack If:
✅ Building PoC/MVP
✅ < 50K MAU expected initially
✅ Team of 1-4 developers
✅ CRUD-heavy application
✅ Standard auth requirements
✅ Budget under $100/month initially
✅ Time-to-market is critical
✅ Willing to migrate later if needed
Consider Alternatives If:
❌ Strict compliance requirements
❌ Sub-10ms latency needed
❌ Heavy computation required
❌ > 100K MAU from day one
❌ Non-SQL database required
❌ Custom protocol needs
❌ Team > 6 developers
Final Recommendation
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RECOMMENDATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ For most PoC/MVP projects: │
│ │
│ START WITH LIGHT STACK │
│ │
│ Benefits: │
│ • Ship fast │
│ • Low cost │
│ • Small team │
│ • Focus on product │
│ │
│ If successful and growing: │
│ • Optimize first │
│ • Migrate gradually │
│ • Keep PostgreSQL │
│ • Replace services as needed │
│ │
│ Remember: │
│ "Premature optimization is the root of all evil" │
│ Start simple. Scale when needed. │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
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