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Ive noticed, from reading past posts, that a few posters use their PC's as web servers...
I was wondering how feasable this would be over a broadband connection (or two?)
Given the obvious fleixiblity of having the webserver sitting on your desktop, and the lack or restrictions imposed by many Web Providers, e.g. lack of MySQL from Freeola, is it a realistically feasble option, or would it be cheaper, more cost effective to go through a third party? (if so, who would you reccommend?)
The intention is for the development of a small retail website, so although having limited bandwidth isnt such a problem, would a single ASDL connection still be too limiting?... would the cost of multiple be unsuitable in comparision to the prices of third partys?... is there any obvious flaw I've missed??
Is it even possibly for an individual to assoiate a domain name to an IP addy?
And help would be amazing!... cheers :)
I was wondering how feasable this would be over a broadband connection (or two?)
Given the obvious fleixiblity of having the webserver sitting on your desktop, and the lack or restrictions imposed by many Web Providers, e.g. lack of MySQL from Freeola, is it a realistically feasble option, or would it be cheaper, more cost effective to go through a third party? (if so, who would you reccommend?)
The intention is for the development of a small retail website, so although having limited bandwidth isnt such a problem, would a single ASDL connection still be too limiting?... would the cost of multiple be unsuitable in comparision to the prices of third partys?... is there any obvious flaw I've missed??
Is it even possibly for an individual to assoiate a domain name to an IP addy?
And help would be amazing!... cheers :)
Ive noticed, from reading past posts, that a few posters use their PC's as web servers...
I was wondering how feasable this would be over a broadband connection (or two?)
Given the obvious fleixiblity of having the webserver sitting on your desktop, and the lack or restrictions imposed by many Web Providers, e.g. lack of MySQL from Freeola, is it a realistically feasble option, or would it be cheaper, more cost effective to go through a third party? (if so, who would you reccommend?)
The intention is for the development of a small retail website, so although having limited bandwidth isnt such a problem, would a single ASDL connection still be too limiting?... would the cost of multiple be unsuitable in comparision to the prices of third partys?... is there any obvious flaw I've missed??
Is it even possibly for an individual to assoiate a domain name to an IP addy?
And help would be amazing!... cheers :)
I was wondering how feasable this would be over a broadband connection (or two?)
Given the obvious fleixiblity of having the webserver sitting on your desktop, and the lack or restrictions imposed by many Web Providers, e.g. lack of MySQL from Freeola, is it a realistically feasble option, or would it be cheaper, more cost effective to go through a third party? (if so, who would you reccommend?)
The intention is for the development of a small retail website, so although having limited bandwidth isnt such a problem, would a single ASDL connection still be too limiting?... would the cost of multiple be unsuitable in comparision to the prices of third partys?... is there any obvious flaw I've missed??
Is it even possibly for an individual to assoiate a domain name to an IP addy?
And help would be amazing!... cheers :)
Insomnia's the best person to ask about this kinda thing I think but from what I know it's a good idea.
You'll have to see how it goes really, one connection will be enough until you get a big market audience or until you start putting lots of heavy media on it or big downloads.
The obvious advantages to you are: an hdd full of space! and you can fill it up faster than on any FTP, you also get all the mysql you could want, php, cgi support, asp, pretty much anything you could want, and that can be expensive if your buying from a company.
Your disadvantages are really:
24/7 uptime? if you go to sleep, work or holiday, your server will need to keep running but you won't see it if your modem goes offline or disconnects, which happens with broadband even if it isn't very often.
Unlimmited bandwidth? as I said, one 512k/maybe 1mb connection would be more than enough for startering if your planning anything big but lots of hosts, including Freeola I think supply unlimmited bandwidth, this is very, very useful and means that you can try and get as many people to visit your website as possible and you'll have no bandwidth problems. Some hosts unplug your website if it goes over it's monthly bandwidth quota which means:
you loose customers,
you can't update anything,
which are both very annoying, these sites are mainly low budget hosts though.
Your PC:
You'll need to decide if Windows will make a good server, if your going to use another PC for a firewall or is the PC going to do all the work? are you going to use a dual processor? or a professional dual mobo/cpu/ram server? on a rack system?
Wheres it going to be kept? you need it to be viewable so you can keep it online as much as possible but I would expect the fans to be noisy and annoying after a while so you'd need it in a quiet place, out of the way.
The DNS situation for me is a bit annoying, I have to renew my domain with them every 30days so they don't cut me off, also it's not a very good name: http://my_name.dyndns.org you can use this when buying .co.uk/.com..etc domains from http://ukreg.com or Freeola I think, which is what you'd need to do, then transfer them over onto your home server.
You have to pay the DNS supplier a few pounds a year or something to give you a static account which means you get to keep it, theres certain software you'll need to update your I.P. address (as it will keep changing unless you ask your ISP to make that static) which may cost a few bob, the list of costs is endless. :)
I'm putting mine in my garage as it's next to the Telewest connection point and the cable would be about 5 metres, hardly anyone goes down there too so no one would care about the fans, it's also very cold so the PC would be happier.
Other than that i'd say making your own server is a very good idea, if your working in the web industry or planning to having server knowledge on Windows, linux or whatever is very useful, expecially Apache workings but i'd only recommend it if your:
a) skint and can't afford a proper host ;)
b) curious about Servers and want to learn more,
Running your own server with it's own connection can be more expensive than paying a host to do it for you.
NTL charge £25-£30 for 512k connection, + all the PC and your personnal time and coffee it will cost quite a lot of money whereas it can cost around £25p/m for a darn good Yahoo server which will be online 24/7 and you won't have to move an inch.
sorry for rambling on for so long, I hope some of it was of some use for you.
You'll have to see how it goes really, one connection will be enough until you get a big market audience or until you start putting lots of heavy media on it or big downloads.
The obvious advantages to you are: an hdd full of space! and you can fill it up faster than on any FTP, you also get all the mysql you could want, php, cgi support, asp, pretty much anything you could want, and that can be expensive if your buying from a company.
Your disadvantages are really:
24/7 uptime? if you go to sleep, work or holiday, your server will need to keep running but you won't see it if your modem goes offline or disconnects, which happens with broadband even if it isn't very often.
Unlimmited bandwidth? as I said, one 512k/maybe 1mb connection would be more than enough for startering if your planning anything big but lots of hosts, including Freeola I think supply unlimmited bandwidth, this is very, very useful and means that you can try and get as many people to visit your website as possible and you'll have no bandwidth problems. Some hosts unplug your website if it goes over it's monthly bandwidth quota which means:
you loose customers,
you can't update anything,
which are both very annoying, these sites are mainly low budget hosts though.
Your PC:
You'll need to decide if Windows will make a good server, if your going to use another PC for a firewall or is the PC going to do all the work? are you going to use a dual processor? or a professional dual mobo/cpu/ram server? on a rack system?
Wheres it going to be kept? you need it to be viewable so you can keep it online as much as possible but I would expect the fans to be noisy and annoying after a while so you'd need it in a quiet place, out of the way.
The DNS situation for me is a bit annoying, I have to renew my domain with them every 30days so they don't cut me off, also it's not a very good name: http://my_name.dyndns.org you can use this when buying .co.uk/.com..etc domains from http://ukreg.com or Freeola I think, which is what you'd need to do, then transfer them over onto your home server.
You have to pay the DNS supplier a few pounds a year or something to give you a static account which means you get to keep it, theres certain software you'll need to update your I.P. address (as it will keep changing unless you ask your ISP to make that static) which may cost a few bob, the list of costs is endless. :)
I'm putting mine in my garage as it's next to the Telewest connection point and the cable would be about 5 metres, hardly anyone goes down there too so no one would care about the fans, it's also very cold so the PC would be happier.
Other than that i'd say making your own server is a very good idea, if your working in the web industry or planning to having server knowledge on Windows, linux or whatever is very useful, expecially Apache workings but i'd only recommend it if your:
a) skint and can't afford a proper host ;)
b) curious about Servers and want to learn more,
Running your own server with it's own connection can be more expensive than paying a host to do it for you.
NTL charge £25-£30 for 512k connection, + all the PC and your personnal time and coffee it will cost quite a lot of money whereas it can cost around £25p/m for a darn good Yahoo server which will be online 24/7 and you won't have to move an inch.
sorry for rambling on for so long, I hope some of it was of some use for you.
Remember that your upstream connection is slower than the downstream connection speed.
With ADSL (even the super-fast 2 MB version), the upstream bandwidth is up to 256K.
With Telewest Broadband I believe it's only 128K upstream (same as 2 x ISDN channels).
Danny
With ADSL (even the super-fast 2 MB version), the upstream bandwidth is up to 256K.
With Telewest Broadband I believe it's only 128K upstream (same as 2 x ISDN channels).
Danny
Freeola don't offer you unlimited bandwidth. Hosting services usually adopt 1 of 2 approaches, fixed amounts or like in Freeola's case stuff like:
6. You shall not use the Freeola Services to publish, link to, post or otherwise transmit:
6.5. streaming data, downloads or web pages accessible to the public or any matter which is likely to create a heavy load upon the systems or bandwidth of Freeola.com.
Basically, there is a limit, they just aren't telling you what it is. :)
Bandwidth isn't free, and there aren't many(if any) companies which can afford to give it out in unlimited amounts. You will find similar limits on home net connections too.
However at least at first you'll probably find its hardly a problem.
Other things you should look out for though is the terms & conditions, some providers prohibit you from running servers (for anything but private use), using your connection for commercial gain and so on..
I have to say, its difficult to recommend going down the route of hosting the site yourself. Its more expensive, its less reliable, and its extra hassle to have to use your machine in that manner, unless you want to set up a second machine for it (even more cost). I pay 20 pound a year for my hosting, and I get a much better product than I could ever hope to provide myself.
-G
6. You shall not use the Freeola Services to publish, link to, post or otherwise transmit:
6.5. streaming data, downloads or web pages accessible to the public or any matter which is likely to create a heavy load upon the systems or bandwidth of Freeola.com.
Basically, there is a limit, they just aren't telling you what it is. :)
Bandwidth isn't free, and there aren't many(if any) companies which can afford to give it out in unlimited amounts. You will find similar limits on home net connections too.
However at least at first you'll probably find its hardly a problem.
Other things you should look out for though is the terms & conditions, some providers prohibit you from running servers (for anything but private use), using your connection for commercial gain and so on..
I have to say, its difficult to recommend going down the route of hosting the site yourself. Its more expensive, its less reliable, and its extra hassle to have to use your machine in that manner, unless you want to set up a second machine for it (even more cost). I pay 20 pound a year for my hosting, and I get a much better product than I could ever hope to provide myself.
-G
Thats what I meant :D i'm with Supanames they don't allow anything other than Flash media over 1Mb in size, which is fair enough but they say i've got unlimitted bandwidth for other stuff..images, pages, Flash media :) ..etc
Twlewest Broadband allow you to run their connections as Servers, I think NTL are ok with it but don't jump for joy about it either.
Twlewest Broadband allow you to run their connections as Servers, I think NTL are ok with it but don't jump for joy about it either.
Fog wrote:
> Thats what I meant :D i'm with Supanames they don't allow anything
> other than Flash media over 1Mb in size, which is fair enough but they
> say i've got unlimitted bandwidth for other stuff..images, pages,
> Flash media :) ..etc
Nah, I use Supanames too, look at the guarantee, they just don't impose a fixed limit on your bandwidth usage, but if you do use too much then they'll give you a refund (ie close your account).
-G
> Thats what I meant :D i'm with Supanames they don't allow anything
> other than Flash media over 1Mb in size, which is fair enough but they
> say i've got unlimitted bandwidth for other stuff..images, pages,
> Flash media :) ..etc
Nah, I use Supanames too, look at the guarantee, they just don't impose a fixed limit on your bandwidth usage, but if you do use too much then they'll give you a refund (ie close your account).
-G
http://andi.ath.cx is running on my PC here now. I use ADSL so I've got 256kb/s of upload speed so anyone using broadband notices it's a bit slow, if a few people start using it, things slow down even more. Remember that cable connections are only 128kb/s upload, so things wil be even slower.
I use it because I'm a cheap skate and cant be bothered with uploading, and it's good for that. I'm now running an Apache web server with PHP and MySQL, plus an e-mail server and an ftp server, and currently trying to work out running a BNC server..
It's ok, not as fast or as reliable as a proper hosting company, but it is free, so fair enough.
Pipex dont seem to mind, they havent complained about me yet, and I get quite a bit of traffic. I know for a fact that Blueyonder DO mind, as my mate got a rollocking for running a server, and was told he had to limit it to 20 users, with a password logon, and was restricted to what he could have on it, etc etc.
I use it because I'm a cheap skate and cant be bothered with uploading, and it's good for that. I'm now running an Apache web server with PHP and MySQL, plus an e-mail server and an ftp server, and currently trying to work out running a BNC server..
It's ok, not as fast or as reliable as a proper hosting company, but it is free, so fair enough.
Pipex dont seem to mind, they havent complained about me yet, and I get quite a bit of traffic. I know for a fact that Blueyonder DO mind, as my mate got a rollocking for running a server, and was told he had to limit it to 20 users, with a password logon, and was restricted to what he could have on it, etc etc.
Ah shucks, I was told I could, he was a bit dodgy though, telling me to get a router for extra connections as second modems wern't worth the bother :/
How far to ASDL modems go? I was reading somewhere that broadband modems can have upto 22Gb transfers! that seems a little far fetched..
How far to ASDL modems go? I was reading somewhere that broadband modems can have upto 22Gb transfers! that seems a little far fetched..
TBH, hosting your own sites is really only a good idea if you can never expect more than 2-3 people ever surfing at any one time. Luke gets away with it. Really though, if you expect to be able to host a high-load shopping site on your connection I would consider thinking again.
Plus you have to consider 24/7 uptime and security. For us Linux users this is no problem whatsoever. For Windows users this is more of a problem, due to Windows's habit of dropping out networks, and requiring reboots through crashes or even general use. Me and Luke just leave out servers humming, but I only know one person who just has a Windows box he doesn't want that just sits and serves pages.
Plus you have to consider 24/7 uptime and security. For us Linux users this is no problem whatsoever. For Windows users this is more of a problem, due to Windows's habit of dropping out networks, and requiring reboots through crashes or even general use. Me and Luke just leave out servers humming, but I only know one person who just has a Windows box he doesn't want that just sits and serves pages.