I plan on launching the web hosting portion of my business *late* next year. Probably like september....


Currently, I know ****NOTHING**** about Linux, but yet I plan on having linux servers.

Do you think that is enough time to read like... The RedHat Linux bible or something and learn enough to administer a linux box?

Even deal with problems that might arise with the kernel, httpd, ftpd, mysqld, hardware etc... (btw, i have no clue what any of those are)

So, one year to figure out how to do all that by messing with a linux box and reading the linux 7.2 bible...

enough time?

yes, if you really want to learn and are truly motivated. also, a certain amount of intelligence is required.

make sure you spend an adequate amount of time during this period to develop a sound business plan and learn about things like marketing, branding, advertising, etc.

There is also a lot to learn about merchant accounts, helpdesk software, security, optimization, etc.

You could certainly learn enough Linux in that time to get some idea of what to do, but I would suggest going with a managed server for a while anyway so you're covered in case of problems.

I plan on spending lots of time about marketing/advertising...

whats branding? :P

I refuse to go with a reseller. Plain and simple... If I'm willing to devote 24/7 to running this thing, why sit back and pay someone to hold the data. If something goes wrong, I want to be the one fixing it so my customers won't get mad at me if I have to wait for someone else to fix it.


I'm just asking if you all think a little less than a year (10 months) is enough time if I'm spending about 6 hours a day just reading about linux and messing with a box that has linux on it.. and spending every hour on the weekends doing this... if it's enough time to be proficient in linux to deal with problems if something happens.

I do plan on spending lots of time with learning about security aswell... But will 10 months be enough time?

branding is basically the identity of your company. it includes things like your logo, slogan, color choices, etc. it lets people know what to expect from you and what sets you apart from the others.

Yes it is enough time.
No it is not enough time.

Sorry about the duality of the answer but you could spend 10 minutes a day for three years and not do much, or you could spend 40 hours a week for three months and do a lot. It totally depends on how fast you understand the information and how much time you spend on it.

That being said, if you don't get it after spending a year on it, you probably won't ever get it, so yes, it probably is enough time.