A Server in Home

[letom]

I have a old celron computer, just wasting my room space, I got an idea that, instead of wasting that hardware can i design a server through that system. It have 20 GB HDD and 256MB x2 512 RAM, running at a nice speed.

How can i proceed the work to use it as server, i had centos package already, then which are the software i require additionally, for which type of internet connection i want to consult ISP ?

I know it will not bring a professional service like xeon, but only need what it can provide ..

[djr33]

You don't necessarily need a very powerful computer for a server for basic websites. Of course it might limit you if you wanted to do something like video streaming, but it should be fine for a basic website.

Software: the simplest option is to install WAMP (Windows), LAMP (Linux), or MAMP (Mac), which includes Apache, MySQL and PHP. Or you can do whatever you want with customizing that or just installing a basic server (probably Apache).

Of course you'll need to learn how to run/manage a server as well, but you can figure that out as you go. Note that you'll need to run the software 24/7 if you want your website to be available all the time.

Internet connection: this is usually a very limiting factor-- often the download speeds are much faster than the upload speeds on a home connection. If you're running a very small website without too many visitors, that might not be a problem-- it might be slow, but it would work. If you do more than that, it might be a problem, and you might also run into whatever limits your ISP has set. They may offer some kind of professional/server package, but that would likely be more expensive.

Accessing the website: you can configure external access to your computer via HTTP by using the IP address (and perhaps reconfiguring your router, etc., as well). But you'll need a static IP so that the same IP address always goes to your computer, rather than to another for your ISP-- IPs usually rotate every few days. That will probably cost more from your ISP. It is also possible to set up a domain name based on the IP, or even to try to connect that domain to a dynamic IP, but I don't know how well that would work. (I imagine you could do something clever, like having your computer automatically update the IP in a database somewhere, so that another page can forward you to the local server. But that would require a second server to do all of that, so I don't know if you'd still have an advantage using your own computer.)


Another option is to not connect it to the internet-- use it as a test server (a "sandbox") where you can design websites, then later copy them to an external server. That takes almost no configuration, just the LAMP (etc.) software for running a server locally. But then you could do it on your own computer anyway, so I don't know if that would be an advantage, using this second computer.

[traq]

Internet connection: this is usually a very limiting factor-- often the download speeds are much faster than the upload speeds on a home connection.
Very true. Many ISP's don't allow self-hosting on "home/residential" service plans.


Accessing the website: you can configure external access to your computer via HTTP by using the IP address (and perhaps reconfiguring your router, etc., as well). But you'll need a static IP so that the same IP address always goes to your computer, rather than to another for your ISP-- IPs usually rotate every few days. That will probably cost more from your ISP. It is also possible to set up a domain name based on the IP, or even to try to connect that domain to a dynamic IP, but I don't know how well that would work.
You can use an online service like afraid (http://freedns.afraid.org/) or noip (http://www.noip.com/) for free (noip is free for personal use only), dynamic DNS services.


Another option is to not connect it to the internet-- use it as a test server (a "sandbox") where you can design websites, then later copy them to an external server. That takes almost no configuration, just the LAMP (etc.) software for running a server locally. But then you could do it on your own computer anyway, so I don't know if that would be an advantage, using this second computer.
It's a good idea if you (know and) want to duplicate the primary host environment for development. If you work on more than a few sites, it can be a good idea to give them their own machine as well. You don't need a monitor/kb/etc., just ssh to it.

If you set up a nameserver on your local network, you can also use your "sandbox" server to test your sites on different devices.

[letom]

Dear Mr Daniel

Thanks for your information.


Software: the simplest option is to install WAMP (Windows), LAMP (Linux), or MAMP (Mac), which includes Apache, MySQL and PHP. Or you can do whatever you want with customizing that or just installing a basic server (probably Apache).
Yes that is a good idea, i have it...


Of course you'll need to learn how to run/manage a server as well, but you can figure that out as you go. Note that you'll need to run the software 24/7 if you want your website to be available all the time.
Yes,, running this system around the clock will cause any system crashes ? cooling is sufficient ? which is the best temp to keep the server.

[letom]

Very true. Many ISP's don't allow self-hosting on "home/residential" service plans.
Yes they will insist to take bigger plans.


You can use an online service like afraid or noip for free (noip is free for personal use only), dynamic DNS services.
New information for me


It's a good idea if you (know and) want to duplicate the primary host environment for development. If you work on more than a few sites, it can be a good idea to give them their own machine as well. You don't need a monitor/kb/etc., just ssh to it.

If you set up a nameserver on your local network, you can also use your "sandbox" server to test your sites on different devices.

Informative

[djr33]

Yes,, running this system around the clock will cause any system crashes ? cooling is sufficient ? which is the best temp to keep the server. It's not a bad idea to restart the computer once in a while (once a week?), but as long as you aren't stressing it, I don't think that will be a problem. If you're running it at full processing power all the time and receiving many page requests, that might be problematic. It depends on the traffic.

I'm assuming it's a desktop. A laptop might be a little more fragile.

[letom]

I'm assuming it's a desktop. A laptop might be a little more fragile.
Yes..

But cooling is a different option, all we know, intense hot will capture the fire in processor.. but there is fan also, it will not reduce hot in such a way, Room Ac will provide some cooling i mean.

[djr33]

A server doesn't need anything special. If you can run your computer 24/7 with AC or whatever you need, then go ahead. It does depend on how much you use it, just like anything else with the computer.

[getitfaster]

You will need a fast upload speed though, if you actually want to use it for anything, ie serving up webpages.

[jake_ten]

You will need a fast upload speed though, if you actually want to use it for anything, ie serving up webpages.
A server without fast speed doesn't have any sense. Therefore fast speed should be implied in such a case.

[djr33]

I don't see why. It depends on your purposes.
A slow server would be perfectly acceptable for personal testing purposes, or for sharing files/content with friends but not in a wide public website.
Or it would be fine if you don't need a fast website-- fast responses, but slow loading, if it is, for example, only text (no media).
But, sure, for an average website, a fast server is useful.