Are you tired of using the same web host over and over again? Have you considered hosting your own websites? Do you want to manage and control your own site? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then you’re ready to start hosting your own sites! In this article, we’ll cover some of the things you need to know before making the switch to hosting your own site. To be a web host, you’ll need to be tech-savvy and have a good understanding of operating systems and technical terms. You’ll also need to know how to set up a server environment and how to use different types of servers. You should have a good grasp of scripting languages like PHP, Perl, and MySQL, as well as current technologies. You also need to have a good knowledge of hardware as well as server components.
The first thing you should be aware of is the pros and cons. It's one thing to tell you that you want to run your own web site, and it's another to do it.
Pros
- You’ll have a higher level of awareness (you’re at the heart of everything that happens on the server),
- you’ll have no monthly hosting charges/accounts,
- you’ll no longer feel like you’re in a state of ineffectiveness,”
- “You’ll be in a non-shared environment” (a dedicated server),
- “you’ll have unlimited websites, databases and content, and storage,”
- You’’ll have more bandwidth”,
- “you won’t have to wait on someone else’s time”, and “you’ll have complete control”.
Cons
- Sometimes it’s exhausting.
- Server/hardware issues
- Internet service provider (ISP) monthly business/broadband expenses
- Website is offline if server goes down
- No technical support team
- Software, hardware and network expenses
There could be many other advantages and disadvantages, but I’ve listed some of the most important ones below. Managing a web server begins as a full-time job. You’ll need to keep an eye on your site’s performance and security at all times. This can be time-consuming, especially if you already have other responsibilities. However, the control you’ll have over your site and its performance is highly gratifying. You won’t have to wait for tech support or approval to run a script on your server. You can host as many sites and databases as you want, so long as your hardware is up to the task. There’s no need to trawl the discussion forums to find the best web host, or complain about your current host’s performance. You can even start hosting your family and friends’ personal websites.
Ask yourself, “How tech savvy am I?” In many cases, you don’t need to be a “tech guru” or anything of that nature, but you need to be extremely resourceful, and you need to be able to find solutions and solutions to problems quickly and effectively. That means you need to be internet savvy, not just the “average surfer, surfing aimlessly,” but the “surfer who always finds what they’re looking for.” And that’s important because with any kind of server environment, you’ll run into problems, and you’ll find solutions to those problems online, using a variety of resources, search methods, and search engines. Sure, you can hire somebody to fix it for you, but like we learned from “web hosting”, that’s not always the best choice. So, let’s see if you’re ready to find answers to those problems. How would you search for solutions? I’m looking for: Microsoft Windows 2003 Server: 1056? It’s A DHCP Server Error
Did you go to Google first? If so, that’s a nice try and normal for most people, plus a great place to begin, but most of the time it’s best to go to the developers’ website, and in this case “microsoft.com” would be the first thing that came to mind. Why? Well, Google will more than likely give you an answer from Microsoft or other sources, and you don’t want to get an answer that’s not accurate from another source. It’s not uncommon to get an answer from Microsoft that doesn’t exactly solve your issue, but you should always go to the developer’s website first. Now search the error once more, and go to Microsoft’s site to find the solution:
What search term did you use? Event ID: 1056 Because the Event ID is an exact error, it identifies your exact issue without expanding your search query. In some cases, the error description is relevant to search as well. For example, I didn’t include the error description in this example. Sometimes, the error description alone or in conjunction with the Event ID is relevant to search. This depends on the error, the search feedback, your skill, and your search technique.
If Google or Yahoo! is your second choice (the two biggest search engines), then look for other smaller, niche search engines. An example of a good search site that uses Google’s operator tags is: soople.com Next, you’ll want to search within forums and discussions groups. If you’re well-versed in the internet and have a large or small number of forums and discussion groups that you visit regularly, you may want to visit those sites before Google or Yahoo! You can even visit those sites before the developer site, since it’s a trusted source (although I wouldn’t recommend it, I’d still go to the developers’ site first). Now that we’ve planted our feet and become internet (search) knowledgeable, we’re ready to buy a server! Before buying a server, there are a few things you need to consider. 1. What type of server should I buy? Buying a top-of-the-line, quad-processor, super-fast turbo server is always good, but it’s not always logical or affordable, so you’ll have to weigh your options
What to buy?
First, set your budget. Realistically, you should aim for a minimum of two-and-a-half-thousand dollars for low-end servers. For a high-end, high-quality server with all the necessary equipment and services, I was able to easily spend a little over four-thousand dollars. Next, choose your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provider. Do your research and talk to several vendors before settling on the best broadband solution for you. Each ISP plan is unique and offers different benefits, so pick the best one that best suits your needs. Consider your bandwidth when selecting your ISP provider.
Before implementing a server installation, it is important to purchase a backup device. Backup devices should be at least twice the size of the server storage. Backup devices can be standalone devices such as external hard drives or network storage devices, or they can be multiple devices like backup tapes, discs, etc. The reason why you need a larger backup device is that you want to have more than just a few weeks or even a few months of backups. You want to have at least a couple of months of backups without having to worry about storage space. Backup devices or safe deposits can also be outside, removable, or portable. This means they can be stored at a remote location, usually for secure-keeping in the event of theft or disaster
Example:
Daily Traffic Goal: 10,000 (Divided by) Current Daily Traffic: 500 (Times X) 5 = 100GB
For example, if you want to buy a 100GB hard drive, it is better to buy 2 hard drives as opposed to 1. For example, in this example, since there are no 50GB hard drives or they are hard to find, we would buy 2 60GB hard drives, giving us 120GB of hard drive space. 2 or more hard drives are usually required in a server in order to configure the correct RAID option. In some cases, you may need 3 or more hard drives. Your backup storage space needs to be at least 200GB or 240GB (optional). Remember to specify your memory. For example, if you have a web server with a daily traffic goal of 500,000, then you should have at least 2 GB of memory. However, if your server is shared, meaning other server services are running on your machine, such as mail server, database server (not recommended), then you should have 3GB of memory or more. You can also upgrade as needed. For example, you could upgrade to 1GB of memory.
Determine which network component(s) works best under high traffic and which router(s) work best for your LAN/web server. Best to go with a router(s) that have built-in firewalls (commonly called??hardware firewalls??). Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can provide you with either a router (Router) or hardware firewall (Hardware Firewall). Just like a cable box for cable television, the router(s) on your network share your IP address to other clients on the network. This allows you to share an internet connection without needing to get another IP from your Internet service provider (ISP). A hardware firewall is just a router with built-in Firewalls. In addition to sharing your IP address, hardware firewalls also provide added security to your network by blocking bad addresses/port(s) at the forefront before they can even reach your computer. It is not a good idea to rely solely on hardware firewalls for security. This is only the first step.
A software firewall should also be installed on your computer, and you should continue to update and patch your system on a regular basis.