Servers, do I really need one?

[George Harrison]

I was pondering to myself a bit ago that starting a server would be quite "1337" and that the main reason why open source is popular is because of its servers so I was thinking about setting one up.. yet.. do I really need one? I dunno if having a server just to be cool is worth it considering it can be a security hazard if you're stupid (no offense to those who have been cracked). I was then against it but then I got to thinking again.. my friends and I have a small little site that we run just for fun, hosted by Tripod. Can I start up a webserver and just host this myself? Repercussions to this? If it's not hosted by Tripod then can I get those icky banners/ads from up top? How will I be able to edit the site? HTML writing ? What are my advantages? I have been Googling around for the past couple of hours but I'd like to get some output from you guys. Thanks.

[sdousley]

I was then against it but then I got to thinking again.. my friends and I have a small little site that we run just for fun, hosted by Tripod. Can I start up a webserver and just host this myself?

cant see why you cant

Repercussions to this?

ISP doesn't like the amount of upstream traffic, however, mine isn't that bothered

If it's not hosted by Tripod then can I get those icky banners/ads from up top?

yup, certainly can

How will I be able to edit the site?

just edit the files on the server, which u can setup an NFS or samba share so they appear to be on your computer, so could use something like bluefish or quanta.

What are my advantages?

no longer the need to upload the files using ftp if you mount a nfs/smb share

I have been Googling around for the past couple of hours but I'd like to get some output from you guys. Thanks.

there you go

[George Harrison]

This site really helped me out, I've been reading up on Apache quite a bit, I think I'm going to do it. Thanks.

[anomie]

Why not? It will be a learning experience. While you're at it, learn how to run your service securely.

[Kingedgar]

You could do nothing but learn from having one IMO

[DoctorDan]

How will I be able to edit the site? HTML writing :shocked: ?

DONT BE AFRAID OF HTML. It's real easy to learn. I suggest that you learn CSS too, considering many html tags are deprecated now (I.E. <font> tag!). Get good with tables! You can prolly copy/paste html from ur tripod site(i dont know the legalities of that so chack that if it matters to you). theres also probably some good programs to design sites (does dreamweaver have a linux version?). give the server a try, i say!

[Giro]

Have you got a spare box for this?

[sdousley]

theres also probably some good programs to design sites (does dreamweaver have a linux version?). give the server a try, i say!

I used to use bluefish for this, but it's code syntax highlighting was crap. So mocved to Quanta. Better syntax highlighting, though does load a bit slower. Quanta i know has a WYSIWYG editor, AND code editor, not too sure about bluefish.

[alain_]

The only thing I can advise you,
use a spare box, and try things out untill you know what you are doing.

Putting a webserver on the internet without the apropriate knowledge is not so good,
you end up in asking a question like "am I hacked?".
The internet is a violent world, and you need to know how to be armed

[deek]

The other thing to keep in mind is backup power. Even for a small website, it is quite annoying to find that your server is down because of a short power outage. You can get a small UPS for under $40 and I would say it is well worth the investment if you plan to run the server at home.