Servers???

[MR. HT]

Hey guys,

Someone asked me about building them a server for a site like Myspace (on a smaller scale, I believe). I have no clue about servers so I wanted to look into the differences between a regular gaming PC and a server. Is this something that I can handle? What components do I need to look into?

[Paul Komski]

Web-hosting using a dedicated server depends most of all on the anticipated traffic and the types of server software to be installed. Remember that not only normal http pages may be required but also https, ftp, email and so forth. There is also likely to be a need to install php (or other scripting software) and a database server such as mysql. Will they or will you be setting the software up?

The users may want to use either Windows or Linux software but with the latter being, in my opinion, much easier to configure and also to have greater security from attack. They should also be clear about how they will back-up the site and whether there would be any contingency if the internet connection was lost or when it is down for maintenance.

It there is likely to be heavy site traffic then there is no point in having an appropriate server running on a poor internet connection. Can you imagine what it would be like for peeps trying to access via a server on a dial-up connection; no go.

Only when the software and internet options are known can any meaningful advice be given. They should also bear in mind that they could start the site on a retail web host and migrate to their own server at a later stage when more about the real needs would be known. (BTW an email server is the trickiest to migrate from one ip address to another). The same retail host could also be maintained as a mirror in case of downtime it that was important. It is certainly the way I would start since, in particular, all the security and backup aspects should be properly addressed by a professional web host.

[saphalline]

I agree with Paul Komski about the web-hosting service. Far cheaper and easier to go that route. Up and running within a few days if you sit down and work through it.

Also, the initial inquiry is a bit odd if you know anything about servers. I mean, in the sense of real server hardware - like multi-socket mobo's and such. Most medium-size and larger companies, for instance, do not "build" servers. They buy them. And more importantly, the hardware is often not treated as assets that are bought with a one-time fee. A lot of it is service-based, for repairs, replacements, upgrades, etc. So it's kind of like renting in some ways.

Not that this is how EVERYONE does their servers, but it is a growing trend.