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Thread: Homeservers...

  1. #1
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    Homeservers...

    Hi,

    I'm just wondering..
    we're getting a 10mbps (up/down) line at home soon, and I wondered.. could I just start buying some cabinets, computers.. install Win2k3 and *nix on them and start my own "datacenter" from my room and start renting out cheap dedicated servers?
    Thanks for any replies I may recieve

  2. #2
    thats something i would do for personal use or if i want to offer hosting but not rent out the full server........ i will be better that way if something goes wrong u can fix it right away .... by the way how much is a line like that costing u

  3. #3
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    I will get the line in a few months from now, its almost 200$ a month. I plan on buying atleast a couple celerons and pentiums, but not all sure yet what to have on them. And host some for friends etc, but would be nice to earn some $$ on it aswell if I can. And I am not paying anything for the line, - parents do. =D
    Just wondered if it would function like the ones you buy from regular datacenters? Would I be allowed to just .. get a neat template, download Win2k3 and needed apps from p2p nets, do some advertising and rent out deds? I could for sure advertise with 24/7 monitoring and lots of nice stuff.. (as I sleep and am in my room alot of the day) and pretend its some high-tech datacenter? Thx
    Last edited by UrlGuy; 06-20-2005 at 01:14 AM.

  4. #4
    lol trust me thats something i will do .... u can even rent it out like some cheap gameserver , also i dont see the diff between a 10mps line at home and a 10mps line from a datacenter they are both pretty much the same from what i see it ..... if u do something like that make sure u keep ur room cool etc ... sounds like a good idea really ..... good luck in your decitions

  5. #5
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    Thx
    Just hope it works out well

  6. #6
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    I wish I could get a 10mbps line to my house for $200

  7. #7
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    Well if you are just doing it for friends etc maybe but as a real hosting enterprise, what happens if your mom plugs in the vaccum and trips the circuit breaker?

    Or the dog goes bezerk chasing the cat and knocks over rack #2 onto rack #1? Hosting at home for anything but fun is a bad idea bud.
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  8. #8
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    Where in the world are you getting 10mbit line (up and down) for $200/mo ?
    Mike from Zoodia.com
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  9. #9
    Sounds like it's not a dedicated 10mbit line and probably oversold.


    Quote Originally Posted by UrlGuy
    And I am not paying anything for the line, - parents do. =D
    That gives me a really bad impression...


    Quote Originally Posted by UrlGuy
    Just wondered if it would function like the ones you buy from regular datacenters?
    For the price that you quoted, I do not think that you are getting a 10mbit dedicated line. In that case, it is not comparable to ones at a datacenter. Also, your connection won't be too redundant. I recommend you not start your 'own datacenter'.


    Quote Originally Posted by UrlGuy
    download Win2k3 and needed apps from p2p nets
    hmm...pirated copies of software to run your own business and rent out to others, and as a minor, doing this all under the consent of your parents?


    Quote Originally Posted by UrlGuy
    pretend its some high-tech datacenter?
    I hope you mean that you're going to put a lot of work into this as if you were working in a high-tech datacenter and not talking about decieving your customers into thinking their servers are located in one...


    I strongly advise that you DO NOT persue this idea of yours. Some of what you stated already looks bad, especially openly stating that you will download Win2k3 and other apps from p2p witch implies pirated software. Also, I got the impression that you are a minor from the 'parents do' quote, so I am not too sure how many people will trust a minor, who doesn't seem to have full control over their network/hardware, with their important data and hardware.


    [edit]I now see that, according to your profile, you just turned 18 a few months ago, so you can disregard the minor comments. However, I still strongly advise against your plan due to the other things I have pointed out.[/edit]

  10. #10
    Have you checked with your ISP to see if they permit you to run a datacenter legally behind their network in your home ?

  11. #11
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    Yes, Eddy's got a point. I have screaming fast Cox Cable, but every time I ask for the smallest little bit of permission (to run a VERY VERY small gameserver on my computer) they instantly say no.

    And there's ALOT of difference between a datacenter and your bedroom. First of all, a datacenter has alot more bandwidth. ALOT. Gigabits. When you overload that 10Mbps connection that's probably already slow as heck, you won't have any reserve bandwidth or dark fiber to light and use. Also, datacenters have massive power conditioning systems and UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) systems to stop power surges and blackouts from frying their equipment or bringing down servers.

    Also, the initial investment you're talking about (Racks can easily cost an upwards of $1000 each for 42U, which is just over 7 feet, servers will cost at least a couple hundred each, rackmount routers are probably just as expensive as servers, and with an operation as big as you're suggesting, your pirated MS2k3 software will not last long, because you do have to register it with Microsoft within 30 days of installation. Oh, and they track IPs and Serial Numbers.)

    This would easily cost $25,000+ to setup and run, and the hardware required to maintain the racks and servers will soon become a month-by-month expendature. If you just colocate the servers at a real datacenter, you'll pay less over a period of at least 5 years than you would to purchase and set up the equipment. (That's another thing... Do racks come pre-assembled? Nope )

  12. #12
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    Oh, ok.. maybe not the best idea after all then.
    Didn't know I had to fix all this first :\

    But is there no way around?
    Is it required that I contact my ISP about it?
    And since racks seem to expensive I probably couldn't afford it, and it would end up in one of my lockers with a fan hehe..
    No, parents dont know about this.. they just know I'm interested in computers and use it alot. And oi, we got backup generator for the power, as the lightning may cause power to go off once in a while so thats already covered, so I could advertise that "our datacenter" have backup generators and highly redundable network, and just give them same uptimes as our ISP advertise about. But the Win2k3 servers I already got valid updatable keys which I already tried on my old homeserv which workd perfectly.. but thats probably not the best thing for me to discuss here hehe.. Couldn't I just place a lots of comps, install Win2k3/*nix on them, software needed, connect them to the internet, get some nice looking template.. act as we got 200 highly skilled empoylees, make 200 email accounts with sales, billing, tech etc. and all redirect them to my 1 mail, and with a highly redundant datacenter and just sell away? Would bn cool.. =P
    And yea, I have some dedicated servers in real datacenters which I payed for, although this costs money.. and can't be up forever as I dont make any $ on them. Not sure whether I'd need racks at all then.. as this costs so much.. maybe I just fill my closet with some fans and put as many servers in as I can.. depending on the space and heat. Just didn't know I had to seek some permissions from my ISP.. didnt know that :\

    Thanks alot everyone for your replies :]

  13. #13
    But is there no way around?
    Is it required that I contact my ISP about it?
    Well, you could read the contractual agreement which you sign up with your provider, it should contain the finer details of what you can or cannot do.

    I mean they would have to consider all the users within your network and the reason why they could offer you discount pricing for a 10mbps line is because the bandwidth is shared with your neighbours.

    Most ISPs would not allow you to take advantage of their low prices to run servers behind it.

    Just asking your ISP should not be a big issue, it would just prevent you from doing something you will regret doing if it is not allow and save you from any legal proceedings against you.

    It is probably not ethical to deceive your paying public as to what you are offering because if you do, it would probably come back to haunt you.
    Last edited by eddy2099; 06-20-2005 at 05:17 AM.

  14. #14
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    Okay, thanks for advices!

  15. #15
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    Originally posted by UrlGuy
    Oh, ok.. maybe not the best idea after all then.
    Didn't know I had to fix all this first :\

    But is there no way around?
    Is it required that I contact my ISP about it?
    And since racks seem to expensive I probably couldn't afford it, and it would end up in one of my lockers with a fan hehe..
    No, parents dont know about this.. they just know I'm interested in computers and use it alot. And oi, we got backup generator for the power, as the lightning may cause power to go off once in a while so thats already covered. But the Win2k3 servers I got valid updatable keys which I already tried on my old homeserv which workd perfectly.. but thats probably not the best thing for me to discuss here hehe.. Couldn't I just place a lots of comps, install Win2k3/*nix on them, software needed, connect them to the internet, get some nice looking template.. act we got 200 empoylees with a highly redundant datacenter and just sell away? Would bn cool.. =P
    And yea, I have some dedicated servers in real datacenters which I payed for, although this costs money.. and can't be up forever as I dont make any $ on them. Not sure whether I'd need racks at all then.. as this costs so much.. maybe I just fill my closet with some fans and put as many servers in as I can.. depending on the space and heat. Just didn't know I had to seek some permissions from my ISP.. didnt know that :\

    Thanks alot everyone for your replies :]
    How did you ever make it to the postcount you have with this kind of ethics and ideas on WHT?

    Best link you'll ever get right here: Http://www.google.com , believe it or not, 99% of your questions can be answered there.

    1. Racks are expensive, servers are expensive, software is expensive, and you are no datacenter.

    2. You have brought up the concept of warez and illegal keys twice now, I for one would not stop at reporting any business you start to Microsoft and any other retailer that you use just to make sure you are not using illegal copies of software. Do you have any clue how much a real windows server license is going to cost you? What about a control panel, go to Plesk and Helm's site and check out the cost of licenses on there.

    3. "Could I not just place a lot of comps..." and where are all these "comps" comming from? Are they all hidden in your closet? You're looking a large investment there as well. Do you know the power and heating requirements of these comps? Are you sure you can even come close to taking care of that?

    4. Just connect them to the internet. What are you going to be using to connect them to the internet? Some random switch that you pick up at best buy and a DSL router?

    5. Act like you have 200 employees, datacenter, blah blah balh: It will simply not show. If you had any decent support team they would be responding in under 15 minutes to tickets. I doubt you'd get even close to a 4 hour response time on your ticket system, if you were able to ansewr the questions at all. You would soon be shown as a fraud, your business ruined, left with much debt, and most likely legal action.

    6. You have dedicated machines in a real datacenter but you are going to stop using them and instead try and build a datacenter in your own home? You really need to sit down and write out all the actual costs, and then remember that you're going to loose every dime you put into this venture once it is all said and done before you start thinking about things like that. Why do you have more than one machine if you are not using them or making any money off of them? Just for fun?

    7. Filling your closet with some fans. All this is going to do is circulate the hot air that you have in your closet around in your closet. You ned to do some real thinking about heating and how it all works.

    8. Didn't know you had to ask permission from your ISP: To be blunt, you don't seem to know much of anything about this industry. You are the exact sterotype that is talked about so often on these forums and called a "kiddie host". You are the person that is making a bad name for the younger hosts out here and I for one don't appreciate it. You really need to sit down and think about what you are doing. Write it all out. Make a plan. Wait till you're at least 18 an d register a business, because if you do anything close to what you are talking about you are just going to fail, ruin quite a few people's days and wallets when you do, and overall just do much much more harm than good.
    Mike from Zoodia.com
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  16. #16
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    Originally posted by UrlGuy
    ... get some nice looking template.. act as we got 200 highly skilled empoylees, make 200 email accounts with sales, billing, tech etc. and all redirect them to my 1 mail, and with a highly redundant datacenter and just sell away?
    Cool, now you just have to do different voices and accents for when they call you up. Seriously though... if I understand you correctly, you intend to use deception as part of your business plan? You're selling something you cannot offer or sustain. Ask yourself 1 question: would you do business with someone like yourself? If your answer is "no way!", then you know why you shouldn't proceed with this plan.

    If you're all enthusiastic about hosting people on that line, then go ahead... but I suggest that you find something you're better at that the competition (e.g. more personal touch) and be honest in your advertising.
    There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

  17. #17
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    While putting a rack full of servers in a room in your home is an excellent way to start a fire, I'd go with old newspapers and some matches, it's alot cheaper.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by UrlGuy
    No, parents dont know about this..
    Boy will they get a kick out of this when they get all those phone calls from ISP and possibly lawyers due to your little piracy ring. Just stay away from your idea at all costs. It already seems illegal and decieving, especially since you're so open about trying to trick potential customers into thinking you're running a professional operation in a high-tech datacenter with 200+ employees.

    May I have your name and potential website address so I know never to wander near?

  19. #19
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    hehe.. okey maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, guess I'm not gettin rich then :\

    So the only way for me to start a "datacenter" would be to have millions of $, seek legal permissions and all that first? phew.. I never in my life manage that :\ O'well.. we'll c.. :]

  20. #20
    You need to start small. Most people do unless you have the backing of major corporations or that you grow so large that you can seek shareholders' funding or if you have a good plan, you could approach venture capitalists or banks who might fund your pet project.

    Before anything can happen, you need to work really really hard and be willing to make sacrifices. There is no quick rich formula out there and it takes time.

    No one starts big. You need to start small, probably with a reseller's account and then move up to a dedicated server and then acquire other businesses and grow from there. If you got the right business accumen and entreprising spirits, you could grow.

    At which time, you will not need to run a datacenter in your basement or closet or try to deceive anyone. Once you have the proper permits, it should not be a problem.

  21. #21
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    Originally posted by UrlGuy
    hehe.. okey maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, guess I'm not gettin rich then :\ So the only way for me to start a "datacenter" would be to have millions of $, seek legal permissions and all that first? phew.. I never in my life manage that :\ O'well.. we'll c.. :]
    Trying to "get rich" by selling something you don't own is scamming. There's no doubt you can run your scam and earn money from it, but you and your parents will just end up having to talk to unpleasant people and regretting the whole thing. Possibly, your parents will associate your computer hobby with out-of-control trouble and forbid you from continuing it.

    And yes, unless you have a budget of at least $100k/month, there's no way you're going to get close to starting a real datacenter.
    There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

  22. #22
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    I cant even offer some cheap "closet-colocation" if I ask the users to have it colocated at their own risc? lol, I couldnt actually tell them to bring the serv to the "datacenter" either as it wouldnt be looking very good when they arrive at a reg. house to place their colocated server in my closet beneath my clothes and where the cat sleeps ontop of the warm servers hehe.. but if I got a 10mbps line.. is there no way I could sell some of its bandwith to make a lil profit out of it? My parents dont even use 1/1000 out of it and could probably do fine with dial-up so its just lots of unused bandwith. :\

  23. #23
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    Originally posted by UrlGuy
    I cant even offer some cheap "closet-colocation" if I ask the users to have it colocated at their own risc? lol, I couldnt actually tell them to bring the serv to the "datacenter" either as it wouldnt be looking very good when they arrive at a reg. house to place their colocated server in my closet hehe.. but if I got a 10mbps line.. is there no way I could sell some of its bandwith to make a lil profit out of it? My parents dont even use 1/1000 out of it and could probably do fine with dial-up so its just lots of unused bandwith. :\
    I would really like to know what provider you are getting this 10mbit line from.

    Do you even read what you type? Would you honestly pay money to host some place at your own risk? I don't know of one person that would od anything like that.

    You are right it wouldn't look good at all if they ever stopped by, and you would be discovered as nothing more than a young kid running an illegal business lying to anybody you can. You should really just stop replying to this thread and have one of the mods here close it because it is turning into one big joke.

    You are talking about everything from stolen CD keys to lying about your support team and trying to figure out a way to scam people out of their hard earned money.

    Here's a better solution, don't get the fast internet connection and just go with dialup and save your parents the money. When I wanted to get off dialup and go to high-speed, my parents told me that it was up to me to pay the difference between the two costs.
    Mike from Zoodia.com
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  24. #24
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    Originally posted by UrlGuy lol, I couldnt actually tell them to bring the serv to the "datacenter" either as it wouldnt be looking very good when they arrive at a reg. house to place their colocated server in my closet beneath my clothes and where the cat sleeps ontop of the warm servers hehe..
    Ah, but that's where you're going all wrong. You're making an assessment of what you can offer and instead of bragging about your main assets, you're trying to *hide* them and pretend to be just like the rest with their "world class data center redundant super duper gigabit bla bla" mumbo jumbo.

    It's all about marketing and knowing how to bring it. Think about these slogans:

    "The topology and location of our datacenter reflects our commitment to the importance of family involvement"

    "Even when we sleep, we are never far away from your servers"

    "In our commitment to protecting the environment, we take extra care to recycle dissipated energy for the benefit of local wilflife"

    "For reasons of security and company stability, we have chosen an unconventional and hidden location for our datacenter. Only a highly select number of people are authorized to physically access our DC. We believe that we are very unique in our choice of location compared to other DCs"

    "We are politically neutral: our servers will remain IN the closet."

    You have a lot of material to work with here... my advice is to base your business on what you DO have, not on what you DON'T have. My points above may be a little sarcastic, but I'm sure there is some wisdom in it somewhere.
    There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

  25. #25
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    Ha-Ha! Great dude, I will reconsider this whole thing. Atleast you got a sense of humor lol, and those above ^^ arguments could really work with some tiny changes, and it would be honest aswell. Great reply =D

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