Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : Help with my new server

[Articman]

Hey guys, nice to meet you all. what a great forum!

I was browsing on running a small hosting company? And came across this forum.

I bought a Blade server, and I am wanting to run a small site for a few websites. I just need some expert advice on how to set up and where to start, I have done a lot of research, and know quite a bit, but I really want somebody with experience to guide me along.

Here is some specs on my server:

It has 4 Hard Drive slots, only 1 in it 160G
XP pro service pack 3
2 xeon CPU
3.06GHz
5.75 GB ram
Intel 82801 ultra storage container

Any help would be great... Thanks a lot.

[gate2vn]

Setting up a server might be the last step in your business plan. Do you have it yet? What do you want to offer to your customers?

[Articman]

Hi,
Yes I have the server now. I just wondering the best place to start?

[gate2vn]

I mean, do you have any business plan yet? What do you want to offer to your customers?

[Articman]

I was just hoping to set up a small company, offer great prices. Not for profit, for hobby!

[timstephenson]

Originally Posted by Articman

Hey guys, nice to meet you all. what a great forum!

I was browsing on running a small hosting company? And came across this forum.

I bought a Blade server, and I am wanting to run a small site for a few websites. I just need some expert advice on how to set up and where to start, I have done a lot of research, and know quite a bit, but I really want somebody with experience to guide me along.

Here is some specs on my server:

It has 4 Hard Drive slots, only 1 in it 160G
XP pro service pack 3
2 xeon CPU
3.06GHz
5.75 GB ram
Intel 82801 ultra storage container

Any help would be great... Thanks a lot.

First suggestion would be to install at least one more hard disk, setting up a mirrored pair / raid 1 volume as it's somewhat vulnerable to failure with a single drive.

Then, get rid of Windows XP Pro and install either a proper Windows Server OS (2003 or 2008 Server Web Edition / Standard), or your preferred Linux OS.

[AeonCube]

If your starting out new you might want to go an easier root and maybe try some the following:

1) As 'timstephenson' has said install a second hard drive so you can either hardware or software RAID your drives
2) Install Linux CentOS 64Bit (5.6+ would be ideal to start with but v6 is out)
3) Install a good working control panel, I would suggest cPanel/WHM - You can get licenses from buycpanel.com for a good price. - Using cPanel will help you know more about hosting sites and the hosting industry as its one of the best and useful control panels we have found. A free one which is good would be Koxo.

Hope this helps, and the best of luck!

[Articman]

Thanks for all the great reply's guys! I will get working on doing your suggestions.
I am wondering tho? After I get windows server on it, and another hard drive, how do I set it all up so, like a hosing company? So people can come and buy some cheap hosting?

Thanks again.

[Kakashi]

You might want to set up a website to sell/give away your products Generally speaking it's not always a good idea to host your website on your own servers/network because in the event of downtime your clients/friends won't be able to contact you through it. So might be worth getting a reseller account from another provider in addition to your dedicated server.

[eventus]

You have a blade server but do you have the switches, enclosure, power supplies and a colo facility?

[Articman]

I think I am going to sell the server? I really dont have the time, I been thinking and i do a lot of coding for people, and building sites. So i will put it up for sale.

What would you think its worth? I have asked a few people, and they say start bid at 1k.

Thank youl

[Brandon-RS]

Search eBay for similar pricing. What's the exact processor model?

[shvinod]

Originally Posted by Articman

I think I am going to sell the server? I really dont have the time, I been thinking and i do a lot of coding for people, and building sites. So i will put it up for sale.

What would you think its worth? I have asked a few people, and they say start bid at 1k.

Thank youl

Hey, Your business got closed before starting....

[userkiller]

Originally Posted by Articman

Hey guys, nice to meet you all. what a great forum!

I was browsing on running a small hosting company? And came across this forum.

I bought a Blade server, and I am wanting to run a small site for a few websites. I just need some expert advice on how to set up and where to start, I have done a lot of research, and know quite a bit, but I really want somebody with experience to guide me along.

Here is some specs on my server:

It has 4 Hard Drive slots, only 1 in it 160G
XP pro service pack 3
2 xeon CPU
3.06GHz
5.75 GB ram
Intel 82801 ultra storage container

Any help would be great... Thanks a lot.

Add 3 more hard drives set them up in Raid 10,
Install centos 6.0 with ispconfig if your budget is low, if not go with cpanel

[StaticDescent]

You haven't even started yet, and now you're planning on selling? That's bad..

Well good luck on getting a good price though.