Is there anybody out there who owns their own server? What do you do with it, and why do you run it yourself instead of renting space from a hosting company? I've known people who have had servers, but they only had them for a 'coolness' factor and to store their terabytes of movies and music. What other reasons are there for owning one?
What does it cost to "own" your own server? Does the server has to be in certain physical places - does it have to be connected to spacial high bandwidth lines? For example you couldn't just set up a server from your house could you or could you?
I'm not sure about the details. I'd like to know that too.
I believe you can buy a server and hook it up as you would a regular computer. In fact, any computer can act as a server if it allows public access to its files. I guess servers are visited through the IP address, which all computers have. Therefore, you could set your computer to allow me to access certain files. (anyone correct me if I'm wrong)
A server is good because it's not a "computer" with an interface and monitor, (cuts down on price), and usually just a series of hard drives. It has much more space and you can allow public access to it through the IP.
I believe you can buy a server and hook it up as you would a regular computer. In fact, any computer can act as a server if it allows public access to its files. I guess servers are visited through the IP address, which all computers have. Therefore, you could set your computer to allow me to access certain files. (anyone correct me if I'm wrong)
This is correct
Originally Posted by multimediocrity
A server is good because it's not a "computer" with an interface and monitor, (cuts down on price), and usually just a series of hard drives. It has much more space and you can allow public access to it through the IP.
Differences
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- Typically don't have the more power hardware components.
- Typically do not run the Server OS (Windows Server 200x Edition, Linux as a server. . blah blah blah)
- Has vastly different software installed on it. Example, you don't need office on a server.
- Typically servers are tuned differently than desktops.
- A Servers purpose is to play a very specific role on a network. Example: Web Server, DB Server, Domain Controller, etc.
Server = Control/specific purpose.
Desktop = Large range of tasks.
I hope this helps.
It's truly shameful that I have to tell people that they are asking .NET questions in a classic ASP board. . .
That's interesting. What else can you do with servers besides store your personal files and host sites?
Don't think of a server as just store files/host sites. Most of the things you can do with on a server you can do with a desktop if you configure that PC correctly.
Really it all comes down to what OS you are running and how it's tuned. Could you run a Linux web server on a desktop? Absolutely. Would you have RAID, or multiple 64 bit processors with 12gig of RAM on a desktop. . . most likely not.
It's the different between moving a ton of stuff with a small S10 vs a U-haul. The U-haul is better equipped to move stuff.
It's truly shameful that I have to tell people that they are asking .NET questions in a classic ASP board. . .
So what do you people usually do with your servers? Why did you get one, and for what purpose?
So here's another thing I've been curious about. What's the difference between the different server types (ex. Apache, IIS, etc.)?
Well you are talking about 2 different things. Apache,IIS are web servers, but they aren't hardware.
Typical network diagrams have a domain controller, second domain controller, file share system, FTP server, Web Server. . . etc.
Apache vs IIS
==========
Apache is an open source web server that has been around for a long time. It has a lot of nice features such as rewrite mods (.htaccess file), and it works on all OS's out there.
IIS is a microsoft web server that only runs on microsoft OS's (to the best of my knowledge). IIS comes in a lot of different flavors and isn't as robust as Apache IMO. For instance there is no rewriting tools out of the box, unless you are using IIS 7.0. Don't even bother using IIS unless you are planning on purchasing and running a Microsoft Server Addition OS. One big advantage of IIS is that it's very easy to use the .NET framework.
At the end of the day they more or less do the same thing, and really it's about what server side language you want to develop with.
.NET or Classic ASP = Microsoft/IIS
Everything else = Apache.
It's truly shameful that I have to tell people that they are asking .NET questions in a classic ASP board. . .
You would need a static ip though would'nt you to host your own sites on your own server. Also, what about the bandwidth. Commercial ISPs need a lot of bandwidth if they are going to host 100s of sites. How do you go about gettting that bandwidth? Thats really what I meant when I said could you do it from home. Typically a standard internet connection would not have that necessary bandwith I don't think.
Typically a standard internet connection would not have that necessary bandwith I don't think.
Are we capable of getting a commercial ISP out of a residence with relative ease, or is there a lot of hardware to set up to get the necessary connection?
You can lease T1-T3 lines but they can cost a lot of money. Some states/cities have special requirements on zoning to install. They typically require extra hardware to be installed between the cabling and your dwelling. Typically you are also not able to lease those types of lines in an apt and most residential leasing situations.
This sounds like a pretty interesting topic so I’d like to jump in with a few observations of my own.
Having a server can mean different things to different people. Since “server” really means having a particular type of software (Web server, mail server, streaming server, etc), it’s just another type of tool which may help you with your projects.
First, having your own server (connected to the Internet or not) allows you to test your server side coding (like PHP, etc.). So installing a Web sever on a local machine and you can test your server side coding (PHP, forms, etc).
Second, as far as Web servers go, rarely can a local garage type operation match the connection bandwidth of a commercial type host. So you get in a T1 line, WOW, now you have a 1.5Mb connection! That means you can download a 400kbps bitrate video to 3 concurrent viewers (1200kbps).
Third, if you attempt to install a Web server on a connection to your ISP, you may find that doing so is a NO-NO. Most ISPs do not allow other servers on their networks due to security concerns.
So to recap, I think it’s a great idea to have your own server software installed on a local machine to use to test your server side coding. However, trying to match a commercial hosting service will cost a lot money.. just not worth it.
Best wishes,
EfV
You can lease T1-T3 lines but they can cost a lot of money. Some states/cities have special requirements on zoning to install. They typically require extra hardware to be installed between the cabling and your dwelling. Typically you are also not able to lease those types of lines in an apt and most residential leasing situations.
So, these T1 - T3 lines run across the country in certain areas do they? And to have your own server connected to them you probably would have to physicallty locate the server right on one of these T1 - T3 lines? Is having your server directly connected to a T1 - T£ lines a necessity for commercial servers?
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Originally Posted by multimediocrity
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