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Thread: Where Do i START!!!
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05-13-2003, 04:21 AM #1Disabled
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- May 2003
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- Alexandria, Virginia
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Where Do i START!!!
Hi there,
I'm Very Very Newat this whole webhosting thing.. I got no clue what so ever where to Start! Help From anyone will be highly appreciated.
I run couple of websites... Most of them business oriented. I'm trying to get my Own Server to Host my own sites. I do have a reseller's account with another company, they're service is pretty good, yet i wanna do everything by myself :|
Now what should be my first step? Buying/Building a Server? : almost Done.
What Operating system should i install? and where do i get that? what other software shall i need, where do i get them? any free ones!
I'm actually even willing to pay someone to teach me the whole system, from getting started to trouble shooting etc.
Please contact me via e-mail at aumit666@hotmail.com , use the same address to get in touch with me in MSN.
Once again i thank you all in advance for your help..
Aumit
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05-13-2003, 04:25 AM #2Web Hosting Master
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- Apr 2002
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- Southampton, UK
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- 1,025
You shouldn't be going anywhere NEAR webhosting if you don't even know what operating system to choose. The best advise you could have is: slow down, take a few MONTHS / YEARS to learn the OS of your choice (Linux is probably the best) and ONLY WHEN you have even the most basic skills should you even think about becoming a web host.
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05-13-2003, 04:38 AM #3Web Hosting Master
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- May 2001
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- 8,076
Actually if you are new to web hosting, it might be better to just keep doing what you are doing right now. No need to move to virgin territory or fix something which is not broken. Getting your own dedicated server itself can be enticing but it is not without a lot of pain and sorrows since all aspects would need to be handled by you. It might mean doing things such as patching, securing, updating, upgrading, configuring and monitoring the server would be additional tasks to what you are already accustomed to.
The most expensive way of getting it done is to build and host the server on your own location as you would require getting a bandwidth provider to lay cables to your location, getting routers, switches and so on, taking care of backup power supply, hiring staffs to maintain and manage the servers and so on. This in itself could cost a bomb.
The other means is to lease a dedicated server from one of the dedicated server web host around and manage the server remotely. The datacenter would handle the hardware aspects while you just take care of all the software components. It is way cheaper too.
Use the Operating System which you are familiar with. If you are familiar and confident with Linux then use it. If you are more familiar with Windows then use that. There is no point using an operating system which you have little or no knowledge in as it means having to learn everything from bottom up and during that time if you so decide to host it, may open the server up to abuse by those who want to do so. Securing the server is important is keeping as much of the security holes closed and monitoring would encompass making sure the server is up and when it is up that it is not being infiltrated. Updating and Patching the server regularly would ensure that the lastest fixes are applied to the server. Configuring would ensure that the server works at the optimum performance.
Learning such a thing could take quite a while. I have been playing with dedicated servers for about 4 years now and there is still many areas which I still am not confident in.
There is two avenue here, opt for a Managed Dedicated server, so in this way you could rely on tech support if you run into any problems OR set up a local computer with the operating system you intend to use, set it up, run it within a LAN, get a good linux management book, start off with the DUMMIES guide if you need to do so. Once you are confident in tackling the world then move to a dedicated server.
I opted for the managed solution..
Linux is typically more free but may be harder to learn or use. Redhat or FreeBSD would usually include a web server, email, ftp servers which should handle the basic operations.http://www.batchimage.com - Offering Batch Image Processing and TIFF/PDF Software Solutions
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05-13-2003, 04:40 AM #4Web Hosting Master
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- Aug 2002
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- London, UK
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I would recommend leaving your sites where they are and getting a server to learn on in a non-production environment. That way you can learn and troubleshoot without the pressures of real sites being affected by downtime.
Matt Wallis
United Communications Limited
High Performance Shared & Reseller | Managed VPS Cloud | Managed Dedicated
UK www.unitedhosting.co.uk | US www.unitedhosting.com | Since 1998.
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05-13-2003, 05:20 AM #5Dennis Johnson
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- Jun 2001
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- Kalamazoo
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There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.
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05-13-2003, 05:20 AM #6ex-Aussie
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- Aug 2000
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- Tacoma, Washington
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Or better still, set up a partition on your local computer and install Linux onto it. Get a feel for it in a desktop environment first and learn to move about in root with an aim to working with the system.
Please.. do *not* under any circumstance learn to operate an unmanaged server remotely while there are businesses (customers) involved. Your learning experience could possibly cost them the income they pay their mortgage with.
Greg MooreFormer Webhost... now, just a guy.
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05-13-2003, 06:44 AM #7Web Hosting Master
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- Sep 2001
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- Connecticut
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build 2 servers, one some form of *nix and one windows
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06-10-2003, 02:18 PM #8New Member
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- Jun 2003
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- 3
Similar situation..
I'd like to get into this, I think it'd give me the fun, yet relative independance.
So far, I've been learning Red Hat linux (mainly command-line), PHP, MySQL and CMS for around a year.
As I've a fast internet conn. at home, I thought the best way was to give a few mates free space on a (pretty low-spec) machine. Just their homepages and such, managed remotely with Webmin (Yes, you can cut webmin down for 'normal' users so it's an el-cheapo control panel)...
Get a few beers occasionally, and as they're all at different levels, I'm learning. Tricky, I'm way the wrong side of middle age....However, stop learning, start dying.
Object of the 'excercise' will be to
a) Learn as much as I can (Used to have a PDP-11 at home. When I was the wrong side of 30...)
b) Concentrate on local charities, etc. As you can guess, I'll be 'part-time' for awhile.
Does it seem sensible? Good way to start?
-Cheers
-Andy