Server and webpage question...

I am going to build a server and then build my own web page to hose on my own server.

I will most likely use a version of linux on the server and possibly apache for the web building. (did I get that right?)

Honestly I know very little about the requirements for a dedicated server, any suggestions would be helpful. Also if I hosted my own website on my own server what would I need to do as in getting and setting up my domain name, through go daddy or someone like that?

Last question, what is the best way to learn how to use apache or other web building program, is there a book recommended...?

I'm not in a big hurry, I've got some time to learn this which is what I'd like to do.

Would love any suggestions from anyone who has experience in this.

I am currently running linux (ubuntu) on my computers. I've got a little command line experience but no where near where I'd like to be.

Thanks!

Brian

Brian my first question to you is why do you wish to go to all this effort when today for a fraction of the cost you can sign up to a service provider that will provide you the entire thing for a small monthly cost and have it situated in a location where there is more than enough bandwidth and security and backups.

Example
Netfirms
http://www.netfirms.ca/vps/

Monthly 34.95 based on two year plan for a server with all the software loaded and 1000gb of traffic per month dedicated ip address 20gb of storage space and 10 domains names.

Then another option is a hosting plan
http://www.netfirms.ca/web-hosting/

Scroll down on the above page and see what is typically already installed for you.

Do you really want to go through all that trouble when you have an idea to implement?

If you consider that in two years on a plan like this you will have paid $840 then its still only a fraction of what you would have spent on your own server and what you buy will be obsolete before you even buy it.

If you have an idea in mind spend the effort on the idea and programming the idea. Even there depending on the idea I would spend the effort on content and get one of the many templates available and if none make you happy for a small fee you can buy a template of many types that only you would have access to.

Time is you enemy on the web. There are so many reliable great services today that the focus needs to be on content and the basic idea. If you need actual hard programming done to implement your idea pm me I can hook you up with people that will do it at $15 per hour.


Of course if you want to for the fun of it get into the whole server bit etc then well be my guest but I would prefer to be spending time in my shop.

The above is just a taste and sample of what’s available so there will be even way better deals abounding. I see no point in buying server hardware anymore.

Even for mobile apps an associate of mine in the UK has a company where they have set up a site for us to use to make our own apps at a very cost effective price and for real special custom work they have a very affordable rate.

I am not trying to discourage you just giving you options in the event you not aware of what is available.

By the way with open source today there are so many software suites for content management and all sorts of aspects that you don’t even have to buy it. Most of it comes loaded on your server space if you buy a hosting plan and if you rent actual private server space you can have it installed the same way.

Weigh up a server and the aspect of bandwidth to your premises if you think that what you want to host has merits consider what your isp is going to charge you for bandwidth to your place when you get traffic going.

Rob's right, even if he's way high on the cost. You shouldn't be paying more than about five bucks a month for the hosting. With unlimited bandwidth.

Most hosting companies will offer something like wordpress for free. Easy to take its blog functionality and turn it into a website. Easy to update and configure, life's a dream. It's what I use on my site.

This is way easier than it used to be...

Thanks,

Bill

Another thing to consider is that most home internet service providers don't allow the bandwidth used for hosting a site at home, that is your "upload".

Check with your provider.

Cheers,

I'll chime in that we pay about $7.00 per month for the servers that this forum is sitting on.

I've set up a number of websites, but I wouldn't know where to begin setting up my own hosting server. Could be a fun project for the sake of learning, but for me, there'd be a ton of learning. My brain's already pretty leaky...don't know how much more I can fit in.

Wow,
Sounds good. I guess I'll leave setting up a server for a home network if I still can't shake the bug.

Thank you for all the advice, very good advice. I will look around and see what I can find.

Is there a recommended list of things to look for in finding someone to host and build your web page for you?

Vaughn McMillan said:

. My brain's already pretty leaky...don't know how much more I can fit in.

Click to expand...

Vaughn i dont think you realize just how comfortable your comment made me feel. I was beginning to think i was the only one with a hole in my brain.

Prices down south are pretty darn good.

Must be because of the healthy competition.

Got to explore some new options.

Another recommendation to go with a hosting plan. I still run some servers at home for development and testing of software, but I was spending half my time running patches, backups, doing security checks, & following up on security bulletins. I sat and watched my intrusion alarm one day and I was getting hacked by someone (different IP's) about every 30 seconds or less all day long. Wasn't worth it.

After going to the hosting plan I've found I can do just about anything I need to do with minimal inconvenience (can't have god rights on the server). I spend about 10 minutes each week running my backups and downloading the gzip files from them. I could automate this, but I still have to have some control over this and make sure it's getting done.

Brian Altop said:

Is there a recommended list of things to look for in finding someone to host and build your web page for you?

Click to expand...

Hosting is one thing, building a site is quite another kettle of fish.

Find a hosting company that gives you free Joomla, Wordpress, or Drupal. Most of them do. They're all content management systems. Don't mess with anything like dreamweaver, it's not worth the trouble. You can find many comparison pages out there, here's one: http://www.goodwebpractices.com/other/wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal.html

For images, use GIMP. It's free and does what you need. Everything else is in the CMS...

Thanks,

Bill

I'd say that comparison is pretty right on Bill. I've used all three and found the pros and cons to be my experience. The new Drupal is pretty nice, just not a lot of plug-ins available for the new version yet. I find Word Press to be my go-to for most sites I build. The blog features can be minimized and static pages setup to give it a web site feel. Also lots of plugins available. I only have one site running Joomla and it's going away later this year, which is fine with me, keeping up with all 3 frameworks has been a bit cumbersome.