How should i go about starting an internet server?

Question

I'm considering starting an online business and I want to buy a server of my own to host websites. Any suggestions on whats a good server type, were i can get it, and how much it will cost.

Answer 1

Firstly, you need to assess the scale of what you are going to do. If all you want to do is host a simple site, check out plans for a shared server from a company such as 1and1.com or networksolutions.com. this is the cheapest, and likely the best option, ranging from $5/month to $20/month.

If you will have A LOT of traffic, or want to host large multimedia etc, then you would want a dedicated server. This can be done in two ways.

1. you do 'co-location'- which is where you purchase and manage your server, but have it placed in a data center for security and internet speed. this will mean that you will pay about $100/month for your server's place there. One such place is fdcservers.net (where my shared server is)

2. you go (again) to a company such as 1and1.com and select to get a 'Dedicated Server'. in this case, they have a preconfigured server, which they just have you pay for (in a rent-style way). You will have complete control over it. this also is about $100/month and more.

However, I really do recommend that you have an extensive computer knowledge before attempting anything here. Personally, I would suggest that you just get a good shared hosting package, and if you ever need to upgrade, then do so- otherwise it is a waste of money.

Answer 2

Depending on your dedication and complexity of your web page, hosting would be a better option. The server is only part of the equation (performance and price considerations) Lots of people have hosted services for many budgets (Yahoo, Google, etc.). It you get really big or fancy, consider a hosted server (Rackspace is good there are thousands of others. Remember network costs as you look at this . Remember DSL is asymetrical and Cable is shared. If you are rich, dedicated and want something rock solid. look at Penguin Computing (www.penguincomputing.com) products. Same warranty as Dell or HP at 2/3 the cost! Stay away from IIS unless you are a pro.

Answer 3

If you have to ask questions like this one, I doubt it very much you are ready to host paying customers websites.

Any computers can act as an server, its the software on it that counts, if you have big budget, then one would run Windows server software on it, low budget, you end up with Linux, but do you know what to do should your server die on you at 2am ?

You will also need to patch/update them if major security holes or bugs are found to prevent hacking.

And lastly, you need a fast connection, many think just because they have a fast broadband connection (ie.8Mbps) then they can start to host, the truth is, you cant, as most ISP may allow superfast download speed, the upload speed (when users on the web accessing your webpages) are normally a fraction of the download so a few users downloading could bring the server to its knees. To bypass this, you may take your server to a hosting company and pay to use their super fast lines, but you have to pay, how much depend on how much traffics comes to your server.

Theres a lot to think about, so be very careful planning it.