8 replies to this topic

[Jammin]

i wanna test out making my computer my own web server, but how do i know how much bandwith my computer/internet can handle? thanks

[Jaymz]

Generally your ISP will limit your bandwidth, and before running a server you should check with them to make sure it is allowed. If not, you could lose your internet service.

[kschembri]

yea that too, but if you plan to sell hosting off it
i would think again.

Firstly, your server would go down to many times.
home computers arn't meant to be left on 24 hours of the day 7 days a week.
they will just get WAY to hot.
datacenters usually put there servers in cooling units.

Also, what happens if the power goes out ?
some datacenters usually have 2 - 3 backup generators incase each one fails.

Plus you got power to worry about, these machines don't
run on 2 - 3 volts. It would be way cheaper to pay for a hosting account
each month at around 5$ then pay your power bill at the end of the month
just for the machine.

Anyway, good luck if you plan to.

[Donna]

kschembri, on Jun 29 2005, 08:09 PM, said:

home computers arn't meant to be left on 24 hours of the day 7 days a week.
they will just get WAY to hot.

mine is booted maybe once a month if that, had to laugh when I read that statement lol, even when I lived in Australia in temps of 40C plus I never used to re-boot much, and none of my PC's have ever even come close to overheating.

[Jaymz]

Generally the fans are enough, servers are pushed to the max, and temperatures are kept low so you can push it that much more, that and heat is the biggest factor in equipment wearing out...

[Xanderdude]

lol donna my pc is 43 C atm (sucks i buy more fans tomorrw lol ). its only running on 1 fan now so it could be alot of cooler. But i dont think its handy to run a server on a personal computer at home.
I don't reboot much to it only goes stand by at night or downloading.

[pr0jekt]

just check the plan that you have with ur ISP and make sure u can cope... generally its better off if you go with a dedicated computer to be a web server instead of one with hardware like the latest processor, motherboard and grafix card which suck up lots of power and let off tonnes of heat.
Dedicated servers usually run on minimum hardware... thats for small servers that is.. dont wanna be fl4m'd

[Sebastian]

You shouldn't try if you don't know anything about it. Read alot about hosting (www.webhostingtalk.com) and try to host some friends site. GL mate.

[raenef]

I've successfully turned my little computer here into a webserver that hosts two sites with little problem.
Well little problem is a understatement, but lets just say its been a learning experience. (Which is another reason why I did it)
I will warn you, if you're like me you'll run into problems. But if you let that frustration turn into focusing you'll learn from your mistakes.
You'll learn much in the way of maintaining, securing, and upgrading your server. Plus its good to have if you want to test php scripts, complete websites, among other things.

I reccomend it if you dont mind keeping your computer on 24/7, (also as a sidenote, in my experience you cant let your computer go on stand-by otherwise the server will go down for that time)
However as for a long-term server I definately say paying for hosting is best. Which is what Im planning to do as soon as possible.

Edit: As for your question, call up your isp and tell them what you're planning on doing. And ask them to see what they tell ya.

Edited by raenef, 03 July 2005 - 03:21 PM.