Forum Moderators: phranque
Yep static is very important. That is all you need.
If that's not the case, what route should I take? How much does a rack at server warehouses (I don't know what you'd call 'em. Places like Abovenet) cost nowadays?
You will pay for space by the U. A "U" is about 1.5 inches less then 2 inches high. You will want a rankmounted machine not a desktop case. But don't be shocked when a company tries to charge $1500 for 6U. Just move on and keep looking.
Space can be found very cheap after this bubble popped. I would say you can locate 1U of space for as little as $25 a month.
If you have ADSL, that means people can't download from you as fast as you can download from the world. So you will need to find out what your upstream rate is. Try setting up a webserver see if it works. You will also need a Name server to tell the world what IP address your domain name can be found on. I would recommend mydomain.com. It is free.
(edited by: Lisa at 8:48 pm (utc) on May 14, 2002)
I'm looking for a cost-effective solution (I'd be paying for this on my own, so I want a solution that, all-in-all, comes to less than $150 / mo after setup) that I can really tinker with. It would be the first time I really maintained a non-windows server and I want to learn as much as possible in the process.
Until recently in the UK, you could only be an ISP in the UK via the major pipeline providers, which was very expensive, until they derestricted ADSL, and stopped the dynamic IP switching at midnight.
I would suggest finding a company that will let you place your own box in on their pipeline.
Really it depends which country you are in, and what the comms/isp/government deals/legislation is under the table. Its definetly worth researching.
But if you want a production server I would recommend not building your own server. You will pay more in the end if you do everything yourself. I would buy a dedicated hosting account with a hosting company. You will be given your own machine and charged like $1-- a month.
I put togethor these servers all the time. Typical rack mounted servers are 4U or 2U. The trend is to use as little U as possible because people pay by the U. So now there are 1U servers on the market. Very slim. I can purchase 4U cases second hand for around $60. If you buy it new expect to pay more. A lot more.
If you just want to learn then put togethor a generic server at home (doesn't have to be rackmountable)
Plus you'll need a firewall of some sort. It's a big project. But fun.
the next step is actually becoming an ISP.
Boy, does that ever sound not worth the effort.
I think I might go with a home-based *nix box I can tinker with. I'm not overly familiar with Unix-style OSes. I'm fairly versed in DOS (::chortle::) but I'm not used to doing things like CHMOD and Unix-style file searches, etc. etc.
Once I have the actual box set up, I imagine I'll need LOTS of help setting up things like Apache, networking, and other stuff like that. (I tried setting up Redhat 6 once, and when I was all done installing the OS, I found it pretty difficult to install things. Maybe I just need more practice.)
Yes, it costs money. But you can still run Perl for free, mySql for free, and you can install TomCat and run any J2EE software for free as well.
But I'd like to put in a quick mention for Redhat linux 7x.
It'll only cost you £100 or so if you want all the (very good) manuals they supply along with the CDs etc. You get sendmail (which starts itself running on boot up), perl, php, ftp server, apache and lots of other bells and whistles I havn't played with yet. Couple that with an install proceedure thats even easier than win2000 (honest) and you've got a more secure webserver at a fraction of the software cost with not much more effort - you just need to get used to the different architecture, and setting up different users to run your services under.
I'm no webmastering guru compared to some that frequent these boards, but thats my 2p :)
I guess my biggest concern then at this point is getting the bandwidth I'd need. I wouldn't mind running it out of my home, but my DSL is starting to flake on me again, so it looks like the datacenter for me (as much as I'd like to just toy around with it). With a remote *nix machine, can you still just telnet in and use it as if you were there? I don't plan to use any GUIs.
With a remote *nix machine, can you still just telnet in and use it as if you were there? I don't plan to use any GUIs.
You can remotely administer a W2000 machine just as easily as a NIX machine. If you are comfortable with Windows, which it sounds like you are, why not just get a dedicated Windows machine?
With PCAnywhere, or Sunbelt Remote Admin, you can dial into your machine very easily, and work with the GUI. That's how I keep track of my server from wherever I have to be.
I say "Laugh at Windows" because people like to scoff at Windows web servers. But I like it just fine.
