Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Dedicated Server : Internet Connection for Homebuilt Server?

[ellisgolf]

I've been doing the "reseller account" thing for about a year now and feel confident enough to try and run my own server. I thought about going through a company like Rackshack and just leasing a dedicated machine, but I'm really starting to lean towards the idea of building my own server and having it on location. However, my only question is this: What do I need to do for an Internet connection? I can handle all of the server-side necessities and details, but I have no idea what I need to be looking for when it comes to an Internet connection for a homebuilt server.

- Where should I look?
- What type of questions should I ask?
- How much are we talking?

This is truly unchartered water for me and I have absolutely no idea where to start (except for here). Any thoughts, advice, suggestions? Thanks.

-ellisgolf

[Pipson]

Go to rackshack and get the server there, at home its more expensive and you wont be very profitable!

[Genocide]

Originally posted by Pipson
Go to rackshack and get the server there, at home its more expensive and you wont be very profitable!

He is talking about colocation I believe.

What you need to do is browse the forums for colo's that fit your budget/needs. I currently colocate with http://www.fdcservers.net/ - They paid for shipping to their dc too

[Mfjp]

It depends totally on what you're hosting. Here is a brief introdcution to connectivity available to you. To keep your server on site, the minimum you need is a T1 connection. A T1 would give you 1.544Mbps of bandwith. They generally run from 500-1000 depending on how far the loop has to go. If you're looking to host some high traffic site, a T1 probably wont' do it, you would have to look into Ethernet drops or DS3. An ethernet drop would give you 10mbps while the DS3 would give you 45Mbps of bandwidth. The cost of DS3 is in the thousands. If you need even more capacity, you should look into Fast E drops or Gige drops. There is also the Sonets, but the equipment that supports it is usually more expensive.

[Ankheg]

It sounds easy at first... get a couple of servers, an ethernet switch, and a $500 T-1 (or...shudder...a DSL line), and you're up and running... not. Well, you could, and people do, but it's a bad idea.

Redundancy is important to a lot of people. Want to spring for two T1's from different providers? How about an electrical generator? (Bet your neighbors are going to love the noise if you ever need to use it.) Need power conditioning? Got data backup?

Assume that stuff is going to break. Even if it's under warranty, replacement will take a while, so you'll need to keep spare power supplies, NIC's, hard drives, and memory around. A spare hub/switch/router is a really good idea, as are CPU's/fans/heatskins and even motherboards, if you're paranoid.

If you're going to host rackmountable machines, you're going to want a rack, and good ones are over $1,000 each... without niceties like shelves, rackmountable power strips, doors, and the like....

And that's barely scratching the surface.

Until you're taking about several dozen servers, it's easier and cheaper to rent dedicated ones or colocate your own somewhere.

That's just my take, though.