I am thinking about setting up a small server from home and running my website from there.

I was just wondering what sort of check list i'd need to go through... i dont want to offer hosting, i just want to be able to host my website.

is it as simple as running a computer with windows server, php, apache, mysql?

hooking it up to my network? how would i host the domain?

any help is appreciated in getting home-made servers up and running.

is it as simple as running a computer with windows server, php, apache, mysql?

And a firewall, at least one anti virus product, fixed IP or a dynamic updater, minimum 64k synchronous connection, a router without a HTTP configuration GUI running on port 80, an ISP that doesn't block inbound port 80 through their system just for a start.

been there done it, won't be doing it again!

Originally Posted by chrishirst

And a firewall, at least one anti virus product, fixed IP or a dynamic updater, minimum 64k synchronous connection, a router without a HTTP configuration GUI running on port 80, an ISP that doesn't block inbound port 80 through their system just for a start.

been there done it, won't be doing it again!

thanks for reply... may i ask why?

It's not worth the headache, did you see the list of things required? Often times the ISP is the biggest problem. Why would you want to do this? Why not just go with a free host / inexpensive host?

I've also done this. I can tell you that it is a great way to learn what you're doing! However, it really isn't the solution to your hosting needs.

I'm planning on creating my own datacentre in the distant future, so i'll be taking "sort-of" the same route. Well I want to... don't know if i'm planning it yet .

As far as hosting your domain goes, your going to have to go get BIND (Free). Configure your DNS zones properly, and eventually forward your nameservers to your IP. Then simply take your nameservers and place them as your domain's defaults.

This is a REAL pain if you don't have a static IP. They take about 8 hours to progate ... so everytime your IP chnages, your going to experience 8 hours of downtime.

Lastly, your going to need to have port 25 open for mail. Some IPS's, again, block incomingand outgoing traffic on this port. Some don't. some, only unblock it to their own mailservers. The ISP is oging to play a big roll in this.

It is as easy as installing apache, php,mysql and BIND. However, it's not going to be fast, secure, or stable.

Apache is made for Linux, so using it on Windows IS possible, however it really leaves those holes that linux would otherwise cover, open. Think of it as trying to put two broken pieces from different pots together. They just won't fill each other. Think of those holes as security risks.

I've hosted my own stuff in the past for years. It's not as tricky as you think.

This is a REAL pain if you don't have a static IP. They take about 8 hours to progate ... so everytime your IP chnages, your going to experience 8 hours of downtime.

Not true. You set the TTL (time to live) for your own domains, so when you're in a dynamic IP environment, you set the TTL real low. It forces visitors to look up your IP address every half hour unless they're already on the site, but it prevents any downtime during an IP change.

However, it's not going to be fast, secure, or stable.

I did it for years -- it was secure and stable enough. As far as fast, well I started out on the lowest grade of DSL available so no it wasn't that fast, but your speed needs are dependent on how much traffic you're getting anyway.

If you're making serious attempts to monetize your traffic, then by the time you need a faster connection, you will have enough traffic that the revenue you get from it will pay for the faster connection.

Upgrading to a static IP is highly recommended ASAP for email more than it is for http, but getting a static IP on DSL these days costs as much as the DSL service itself so it's okay if you wait a while. Once you get serious traffic you can have a T1 put in, then move your servers to a datacenter when that's insufficient.

For a technophile like myself, if I didn't host my servers on my own, I'd have 24/7 access to them at a datacenter anyway (colocation)... running them off a connection I control just prevents trips to the datacenter in the cold at 4 am for maintenance/upgrades or if there's a problem.

I don't have the luxury of doing EVERYTHING myself any more as some of my sites get enough traffic that I've outsourced some of the hosting. But in the beginning when I _needed_ to save as much money as possible, it was the perfect solution to just run everything off my dsl connection.

Originally Posted by nyef

I've hosted my own stuff in the past for years. It's not as tricky as you think.

That is really going to depend on your level of knowledge.

I did it for years -- it was secure and stable enough. As far as fast, well I started out on the lowest grade of DSL available so no it wasn't that fast, but your speed needs are dependent on how much traffic you're getting anyway.

Apache and Windows are seriously not built for each other. Putting them together on a home machine is already a security risk. Your going to have your regular programs running, things you would need, such as Microsoft office, some sort of instant messenger, and everything else you're going to use. I believe this is what forcerdj meant by hosting it from home.

Using a dedicated computer, should not be a problem, if you know what you're doing. The DSL connection is really what's going to bite you, and your ISP may prove to be limiting what you can do.

However, if you're really considering purchasing a server, or another computer, just for this purpose, It would be wise to purchase shared hosting instead.

If you're not planning to host anything but your website, purchasing hosting is probably your best option.

I have a spare system that i managed to hide away and get on my network that would make a great little server... which is where i got the idea from.

ive contacted my ISP before i make a start to see what sort of upload/download speeds i can get and do they have anything in place for people like myself, my IP i think is dynamic but i have an always on connect so my IP wont change unless i disconnect the modem.

i already have knowledge with windows server... but would be willing to try other OS's

i currently have hosting, but i'm not able to host large files because they would rape my bandwidth.. so i have them hosted on external sites like windows skydrive.. i would love to be able to host them directly on my own server which would render endless possibilities

Keep security in mind as you do it. Also be well aware that your ISP has a bandwidth limit for you as well. Currently i have 60GB as part of Bell Sympatico's plan.

I would try out linux as your OS just to be on the safe side.

Good luck with this. A few month and you'll be a Guru at Security, and Web Hosting .

Also be well aware that your ISP has a bandwidth limit for you as well.

A lot of them don't. They are getting fewer though.

There are many Linux distributions that you can download an iso file, burn a CD and boot from a live CD without affecting your current OS installation on the hard drive. I am currently running a dual-boot Linux-Windows system here, and have been asking a lot of questions in the Linux support forum along the way.

Not that this is about linux versus windows but since it went that way I'll chime in. Windows is fine for messing around even if you don't know what you're doing. But if you want to be serious about your site, serious in the sense that you want to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, you will want to begin the pleasure path to the penguin side. Linux was a mispelled word for me three years ago and now I run 8 servers with various versions of linux, one windows box for remote administration and some commercial windows programs.

And the best part, of course, is you can try it for free and host it right there in your home. I have a testing box in my office at home that I run many of my scripts and sites through before going to the collocated servers for publishing.

It's a GREAT way to learn form the many, many mistakes you will make and have to recover from down the line. The live CD options sounds good because you could have two versions, one for testing and one for your live server.

Whatever you do, if you are thinking about paying more for Internet to get this done, consider a VPS or Virtual Private Server. It's a complete operating system, linux or windows, which you can do whatever you like. It's cheaper than renting a dedicated server or hosting your own collocated server. THe only difference is you will be sharing that server with however many other VPS customers they can fit on their hard drives. With TBs coming down in price you it would not be strange to have 100 other servers, running right along side your server, all using portions of the RAM and HD allotted to that environment.

Better yet, it's all super-paranoid backed up in real time, but that may be out of your league for right now. Test it at home and see how it goes. USE LINUX!

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