A theory I have....

[PeOfEo]

What kind of server do isp's use? Because I was thinking if you can double your box as a server (I use mine as a game and ftp sometimes) then with the right applications then you can make your self your own localhost isp right? You would need some sort of cable server if ur dls or cable but 56k could just dial ur own number or something or maybe you wouldnt even need to dial and use a cable modem or something or I dono, if anyone can think of away I could be filthy rich... with savings for not paying an isp =)

[jpmoriarty]

you oculdnt do it with a 56 k modem - think of you browsing the internet on your own connection, and then imagine if there weree 5 people using that same connection to browse. If your computer was a host then your internet connection would be shared between how ever many people were looking at your hosted site / sites at one time, and it would get so unbelieveably slow that it would be unworkable. Add that to the fact that you would have to be connected to the internet at all times (unless you had a site that was only available at certain times of the day, and you can imagine hoe annoying that would be).

Then you have hosting for other people, most people are going to insist on uptime ratios (ie server will not be down for more than an hour a month) and will want regimented backup routines such that their site is not lost if your hard disc crashes. Add to that the fact that you would suddenly be a lot more open to hacking, and so would need pretty secure firewalls and sofware running to protect you from DoS attacks and the like.

However, the "right applications" you talk of are nothing more complicated than Apache or IIS as a web server - that will host your sites for you, and probably something like MySQL as a database server too. I dont know how the DNS side of things work (ie converting your IP into a friendly URL), so someone else will have to take that one. But if you think you can simply dial up your modem, download apache for freee and then charge people £20 a month for web hosting, it aint gonna happen. I pay $6 a month at the moment for 1 gig of webspace from serversonic, and there'd be no way you could offer the service or the security that they do for anything near as little as they charge.

[Ribeyed]

Hi Nick,
Hosting your own websites and hosting others websites requirements are completely different. There are quit a few issues you would need to address for the latter. The actual hardware for the server doesn't really matter until your hosting anything above 50 sites. The two main issues i would say is the legal aspects and the bandwidth requirements.
On the legal site you would need to check USA law but in the UK we have the Data Protection Act. This is a large document with the laws on storing confidential information on PC's. It’s all about security of data etc. being stored on your PC.
Before you go into all that, customers would expect you to have at least legal software; you would need to have a hardware firewall to be safe.
The bandwidth is another issue. 56k is a no, no, no. Cable 512k bit better, ok if you’re hosting your own, but no good if you’re planning on hosting other sites. In the UK the download bandwidth of cable is not the same as the upload; a 512k download only has an upload of around 128k. When you’re hosting sites it’s the upload that matters not the download.
Here in the UK I am on the 1024k cable, this has an upload of around 248k, again this is still not enough bandwidth to host any more that 1 site.
In reality you need to move from cable to dedicated leased lines, this is what ISP's use, these lines have capacities much greater than any of the above. Nick this is where the money for the lines jump up into the thousands per year. To give you an example for a 2mb upload and 2mb download here in Scotland i would be looking at around £4,500 installation and £9,500 per year. This would be enough for a few sites, but if your looking for any great numbers and the ability to offer large quantities of bandwidth then you would be looking at T3 and better.
I have never had to estimate the cost of setting up as an IP but if you want to do it correctly you would be look at anything up to £30,000 to start up and with around £15,000 running costs.

[Damien]

As the above posts said it can be expensive but if you want to set up your own server, however, as a learing experience you could do it quite cheaply. What you would learn doing this is invalueable.

Remember this is for learning or testing or hosting friends personal sites and not professional hosting. But the principles are the same.

What you need;

1. a cable modem or dsl comnnection (monthly fee about $30)
2. an old box (P2, 256RAM, 20 GB disk and a net card)
3. a domain name (to create A records $10 per year)
4. easydns account ( $5 a year)

Download esmith 5.6 from www.e-smith.org (free), it's a fairly big download, make a CD out of it, then boot up your machine with the CD. The software needs the complete disk, so you can't run anything else with it. It will install a fully functional web server to that machine.

You can then create as many virtual sites as you like:
http://www.yourdomain.com
http://myfriend.yourdomain.com
http://testing.yourdomain.com

The server will support, Perl, PHP, MySQL and SSI by default.
As I said, the learning curve here would prepare you to setup a professional server in the future.

If you have any problems setting it up post them here and I'll answer them

[PeOfEo]

You didn't understnad my question I think lol. I am not talking about website hosting. I am talking about being my own isp. I would not allow others on it so I would still be my regular speed and I would probably have a static IP or some sort of dns I know a place where I can get it cheaply but I dono because my firewall can rotate my ip. Anyways I was just wondering how possible it would be because it seems like a good idea, I mean save 20 bucks a month. Just a theory though.

[jpmoriarty]

again though it depends on your internet connection - if you're on a modem then no. if you get more than two hits a day then i would suggest you need at least 128k upload.

but it's your call - if you want to do it and see what results you get then go ahead - if you have all the kit to do it then you've got nothing to lose!

[PeOfEo]

what are you talking about hits lol. I wouldnt act on this I just want to know how possible it is say if I had my own t1 or something. This is all hypothetical, say I want to be my own isp, like aol and msn or earthlink or something, say I want to provide my own internet not web hosting.

[Compguy Pete]

Becoming your own ISP is very very easy accually. It's something I weas looking into some time ago.

Just go to google or your favorite search engine. and type in the following:

Virual ISP

It's a good way to get started, if you don't have a lot of capital.

Also with standard dialup access you end up becoming a Pimp for the Local telco. Since by the time you get enough local cusotmers and make a profit you have to order more incoming lines.

Take a look at the Virtual ISP's and start there. I've done the hardware and management setup side of a Real ISP and it's not a lot of fun.

[PeOfEo]

lol, here I thought I was being a pioneer in this idea and one of the first oh I dono 10,000 or so to think of it and here I find that they probably have starter kits for it lol. I just think its a good idea. I mean you can make a free msn email account and download aim for free and use google or all the web to search and you have everything an isp can give you for practically no cost at all in the long run.