Setting up my own linux server?

paddyrg

EC2 - make your own price comparisons. An 'instance' is the equivalent of 'a server', but because it is virtual if you decide you need 3 servers, you have 3 instances within moments instead of calling up Dell and getting it hosted. Now that server comes blank, you can do whatever you want with it, including LAMP (linux/apache/mysql/php) for wordpress, or even using turnkeylinux wordpress appliance http://www.turnkeylinux.org/wordpress (which has everything set up for you). Bearing in mind, any sort of server/virtual server hosting will be a learning curve beyond just increasing your shared hosting capacity!

kwikbreaks

Sorry but I've still no idea what you are talking about. PHP is a scripting language and you can't run out of a language. It can run too long or require too much memory and either of those suggest that as you've said the hosting isn't good enough or it could just be badly written but as it's off-the-peg then I doubt you'd be capable of doing anything about that.

If you get any significant traffic on the site then it will run very slowly on a home broadband connection. Particularly one where the server wasn't set up by somebody who is experienced because there is every likelihood it will be attacked by script kiddies.

victor2

kwikbreaks wrote: »

If you get any significant traffic on the site then it will run very slowly on a home broadband connection. Particularly one where the server wasn't set up by somebody who is experienced because there is every likelihood it will be attacked by script kiddies.

Not only that, but your upload speed (which will be responsible for sending data requested by other browsers) is normally a fraction of your download speed on home broadband. That has the potential to cripple your site, especially if any of its existing performance issues are related to the number of hits you're getting.

asbokid

One thing to remember about hosting your own website is security... Weirdos and criminals will try and hack your web server.

Also, if you plan to run Wordpress locally, as you know, that requires the php module for apache, but also you have to run the mysql database server. So you've got several different applications to install, configure and maintain, and keep secure there.

php scripts are a popular target for hackers, and wordpress have been hacked themselves. You have to keep everything up to date with security patches.

That said it's not that difficult to run your own web server. In fact, it's very easy.

Whether it's worth the effort is another question.

Nowadays we also have to think about the extra electricity used by leaving a PC on 24/7 as a server.

A headless PC draws perhaps 400w an hour. At 12p per kWh, that all mounts up over the year. Hosting companies are efficient here, through economies of scale. They typically host dozens of websites on a single web server, so that saves on hardware costs and on the electricity bill.

Go for it! It's an interesting learning exercise if nothing else! Good luck John!

spud17

A headless PC draws perhaps 400w an hour. At 12p per kWh, that all mounts up over the year. Hosting companies are efficient here, through economies of scale.

95% of the above has gone over my head, but just had to reply to the above.
I run a simple site from home, taught myself some basics etc, think 'vanity publishing'.

I picked up an HP t5700 thin client for under £10 from ebay. I installed embedded FreeNAS to the flash module, ticked http, and pointed it to the site contents on a plugged in flash drive.

According to the meter it uses 6.5w/hr or around £7 pa, similar to a router.

asbokid

spud17 wrote: »

95% of the above has gone over my head, but just had to reply to the above.
I run a simple site from home, taught myself some basics etc, think 'vanity publishing'.

I picked up an HP t5700 thin client for under £10 from ebay. I installed embedded FreeNAS to the flash module, ticked http, and pointed it to the site contents on a plugged in flash drive.

According to the meter it uses 6.5w/hr or around £7 pa, similar to a router.

Hehe! That's less juice than my clock radio! Sounds fun! Amazing value! I see it's FreeBSD-based as well.

What is the web server software? Do you think the OP would struggle to squeeze the php module, and a mysql database server onto it?

None for a tenner now though. I bet you've bought them all, and are running them as a server farm that is powered by a gerbil wheel!

Linbox

I dont think freenas has php or mysql capabilities, but can be installed . Installing MySQL And phpMyAdmin On FreeNAS

spud17

Linbox wrote: »

I dont think freenas has php or mysql capabilities, but can be installed . Installing MySQL And phpMyAdmin On FreeNAS

Sorry for the sidetrack.

Agreed, I'm no expert, but the http side is very basic, no logging etc. It can be set up as a print server, but requires a fair bit of expertise.

I have also 'mucked' about with ubuntu server + gui on low powered old desktops.
The best I got was down to 35watts.:)

john_howard_fisher

thanks for the replies everyone.

we don't have a forum at the moment, thinking of setting one up. it would be forums.mysite.com. as you know this is a sub-domain.

as your excellent advice suggests not worth the hassle unless learning curve. could i forward the sub-domain to another hosting company? would this be a good idea. this would give me flexibility / feel for other hosts / security as all eggs not in one basket / more difficult to hack to different servers.

whats the best way to forward from my sub-domain to second host? .htaccess file?

good idea / bad idea? advice please MSE's.

victor2

I think you probably could redirect a sub-domain to another server at a different hosting company, but would question why. The redirect would only function if the primary host was operational and you'd have two servers to worry about the security of instead of one.
Yes it would keep them separate, but you'd have twice the overhead, including an increased hosting cost. I feel it would be better to concentrate all your security concerns on one server. Your sub-domain would have its own folder, so concentrate on the security of that on top of what the server already provides.