Help Me build a SERVER. I have a Few Questions.

[Purvin]

I am getting 3mbit dsl soon (Static IP). I want to make some money from it. What do you recommend? I need help with building a server and what i should do like setup web server or what?

I have linux / windows 2000 server bought and also have old copies of NT4 Server too. What do you recommend?

I have 300gb of storage now ready to go.

I need help in choosing
MOTHERBOARD
PROCESSOR (AMD, XEON, P3, P2 Etc.)
MEMORY TYPE (DDR, SDRAM, RAMBUS etc.)
Software etc. Please help if you can.
Case & Power Supply (300watt, 400 or 530watt).

Email Me please. [email]purvinv@hotmail.com[/email]

I want somethign that don't takeup too much time to maintain because i am still in college. I have right now a P2-400 256 MB Ram 300gb hd. But now i want to start hosting pages or something and i guess i need a BETTER & FASTER SERVER for that stuff. Want to Start a small web hosting thing and charge people some $$$ to host pages and hopefully this will help pay for college & dsl.

MY BUDGET IS MAX OF $1400. I already have the Hard Drive.

THANKS
PURVIN VAKHARWALA
Email Me please. [email]purvinv@hotmail.com[/email]

 

[jsm]

There is no absolute perfect answer for this really. Well.. hmm.. with no budget, you could get a Compaq Alpha GS320 server, but with your budget, you probably want something a little more .. price conscious.

I think you should figure out what services are going to run on this web server. Cold Fusion? MySQL? SQL7? If you run a database of some kind, you need RAM and CPU speed.

Why not go with a setup like this:

Hardware:
Asus A7V
Athlon Thunderbird 1ghz
512megs PC133 SDRAM

Software:

This is a tough one. How much experience do you have with Apache? There is a learning curve associated with Apache (and Linux, BSD). MS IIS, while it is free with NT 4.0 server, has lots of lovely little issues with security. But, my god - it is sooo easy to use. And with a subscription to MS Security mailing list and strict adherence to their security advice, it is pretty secure. Also, configuring multiple host headers (to host more than one web site on one IP) is a joke in IIS4/5. Virtual sites in Apache is also very easy to set up, but again - it's Apache so be prepared to do some reading and learning.

As for power, I like redundant power supplies with a UPS. Also, good cooling and ventilation are a must for a server that never turns off. Go with a good full tower if you can with lots of room to put fans and the like.


Good luck!

 

[WoundedWallet]

Purvin, first of all: How much are you paying for your 3Mbps DSL line?
Is that speed up and down or just way?

What are you going to do should really dictate what you get. Just as a database will require RAM and speed, if you do any sort of streaming video your CPU will only be moderately used and RAM barely untouched.

Also how many HDs do you have to make this 300GB? If it is a lot you will need multiple controllers and a RAID set up will help you.

With all that storage and speed you're a good candidate to be a media host. But you need to come up with a business plan first.

 

[syf3r]

jsm:
if he's going to run SQL or anything like that, that's going to take practically his whole $1400 budget right there...

for motherboard i would suggest looking at supermicro. arguably the most stable boards on the market, and built specifically for server environments were uptime is critical...

-syf3r.

 

[jtshaw]

Alright, if you want to simply make money by running a web server for people then what you should do is use Linux and something with about the same power you already have, a PII-400 wiht 256MB would be fine. You can install a server friendly distribution like Slackware 7.1, get Apache going with PHP and MySQL and you will have a server you could probably complete for half the budget you have. If you don't believe me we have a server with a pretty good amount of traffic that runs on a K6-2 350 or something like that with Slackware LInux as the OS (kernel 2.2.18 as of yesterday) and it runs SQL and everything. Only in Windows do things like SQL require super powered machines.

I am curious, what are you paying for 3mbit DSL? Is that SDSL (I am assuming that because most providers won't give you a static ip unless you get SDSL)?

 

[nexus9]

I recently put together a dual PIII-800EB system with 256mb PC133 ram, cheapo ATI 8 meg graphics card, netgear NIC, Zephyr Mid-tower ATX w/300W PS. I was using the MSI 694d motherboard, which is very stable. Cost about $1300 two months ago. The only thing it didn't have was raid and tape backup.

Running Redhat linux 6.2 - apache, php, mysql, sendmail, etc...

-Nexus9

 

[Purvin]

I am getting a good deal on the 3mbit sdsl its only $149.00 a month. Its actually 3 mbit down and 1.5mbit upload. Not sure why its SDSL but i get 2 static ip 1 i am using for personal 1 for this. I just want to help pay for college and something.

GIVE ME IDEAS ON WHAT TO RUN OR BUILD TO MAKE MONEY.

I just want a basic system now to start off with since for few months i will hardly have 1000 hits a day since i am starting from scratch.

But as soon as i get more customers i will expand more too.

I need help in choosing a good motherboard that is stable and cpu.
I want to make money with less time taking up for maintenance etc.
I have a Cyber power 720watt UPS System and i will get another UPS thing soon. I am not sure what kind of TAPE BACKUP to get any recommendations.

SO I basically need help in choossing a stable yet upgradable motehrboard with CPU that can handle the load if necessary and will be up and running 24/7. i might just setup this p2-400 with 256mb ram as backup or something.

ALSO REDUNDANT POWER SUPPLY DO ALL THESE MOTHERBAORD SUPPORT THAT OR HOW DOES THAT WORK I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THAT?

HELP...
THANKS AGAIN I have been learning a lot and i wont forget you guys. Everyone who have helped I will keep you guys in mind.

PURVIN
Email me if you got anything to SHARE

 

[Remedy]

Hey i am building a server for little bit of q3a and UT gaming, right now i have a dual BX board and p2 450s with a dsl line of sdsl256k, which OS should i use and this will be for occasional fast connections connecting to it for lil bit of matches. Anyone got any suggestions for me that i should know before i start laying the money down on this?

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Most of the suggestions I have read here are good. Just make sure you build something that is easy to upgrade and maintain. You may not get a 1000 hits a day now but I assume you plan on doing that and more so something that is expandable is a must. Also make sure you go with high quality components since it is always going to be on.

 

[K0rp5]

Yeh... all's I say.. is... YOU NEED LINUX.. cause linux R0x0rs... heheh.. get linux.. Must have linux (that way.. client(s) can have Telnet SSH HTTP FTP SQL and YOU can edit the KERNEL to do SPECIAL things.. YOURSELF!)

 

[Remedy]

Well would 256k SDSL be enough for a couple of other dsl connected guys to connect if i put up a server for gaming, or should i up my speed to about 416k?

 

[Purvin]

I went with Intel P3 1.0ghz i have a dual motherboard Microstar 694D but only 1 cpu in there now.

Any recommendtions on OS AND PROGRAMS i shoudl use.

THANKS
PURVIN

 

[jtshaw]

Ummm, how can you have 3mbit down and 1.5mbit up and have it by Symmetric DSL? That doesn't make any sense, SDSL means it is the same upload and download last time I checked (which would make sense if it really doesn't mean symmetric digital subscriber line).

Anyway, I would definitly go with linux, it supports SMP, it can be streamlined and secured easily, and it can run gaming servers as well as web/sql/mail/ftp/ssh/telnet(though you should NOT use it for security reasons)/ect. It has unmatched (at least by windows, other unix and unix-like os are pretty much the same) remote administration, you wouldn't even need a monitor on the box, you can just ssh into it unless you really break a setting. Once you get the thing running right once it never needs rebooting for any reason, unlike Windows2k which seams to gobble up resources over long periods of time and stop giving them back.

As far as software I would run Apache with PHP, MySQL server, a secure ftp server (ie NOT wu_ftp), and the rest would depend on what kinda server stuff you wanted. OpenSSL and OpenSSH are a must (OpenSSL is required for OpenSSH and you can use it for https also I believe if you want secure web). There are tons of different tools out there, really does depend alot of what exactly you want to do...oh, and the best part, if you are actually going to run a business you will pretty much have to be ligitimate and all the linux tools are free of charge... no paying for expensive MS OS's or software.