Which OS is good for hosting a website??

[rash219]

hey everyone i was just thinking of hosting a website from my PC but i am not sure which OS would be good for it. I think i would need security most imp. of all. I was also hopping of playing the latest games. Now i am not sure if i should install XP prof., Vista Ultimate or setup double boot.

p.s. is it true that windows ultimate users can allow only 10 connections at a time to his website??

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

If you're going with Windows, pick something simple, like 2000 Pro. Install Apace and then anything else you need, and a good firewall, block off as many ports as possible, especially if this is a single purpose system - hosting websites.

 

[dawks]

Both Windows XP and Vista will only allow 10 connections at a time if you run IIS. The connections will be limited only by the speed of your system if you run Apache.

Keep in mind it will be hard to get good security on a system if you also plan on playing games on the same box.

A server should be a server if you want it to run well. But for a simple site, with little traffic, a well configured apache setup should run alright. As Aga said, run a firewall (hardware preferred) and only open port 80.

 

[rash219]

What about double booting ??? If i install win 2000 pro for hosting site and XP to play, wont that work ? Technically it should be possible right? I know it would cause the site to be temporarly down when i switch to XP but thats fine with me. My concerns are security and be able to play game......talking about security when i am on XP mode should i block all ports except 80 like in win2000 or am i safe.

 

[rash219]

BUMP!!!

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: rash219
What about double booting ??? If i install win 2000 pro for hosting site and XP to play, wont that work ? Technically it should be possible right? I know it would cause the site to be temporarly down when i switch to XP but thats fine with me. My concerns are security and be able to play game......talking about security when i am on XP mode should i block all ports except 80 like in win2000 or am i safe.

What do you want to run a website thats going to be most of the time?

You might have better luck either A) buying a cheap system and installing your web server OS of choice, or B)Paying the small monthly fee for your own hosted site on someone else's servers.

Also, have you given any thought to how you're going to host this site on your own system? Most DSL and cable modems have dynamic addresses assigned to them, meaning that they change fairly regularly. Additionally, with some providers, hosting your own site on a 'residential' connection is against their EULA. EULAs vary though, so you'd have to check yours to know the details.

To answer your question though, yes, its possible to dual boot between 2k and XP and use 2k to host the page. XP Pro can host just fine with IIS as well as 2K, both have the same limitations. Or you could install Apache on either 2K or XP and have no restrictions. It sounds like your site isn't designed to generate a lot of traffic, so I doubt there'd be much performance degradation while gaming.

 

[Brazen]

If this is such a low traffic site that it wouldn't matter to take it down while you game, then I would just focus on what OS it is you want to use for normal usage and gaming, and then after you've made that decision, you can talk about whether to run it on Apache or IIS.

For security concerns though, I would go with either a linux or Windows XP or newer.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

Run a server in a virtual machine and then you can play games in Windows XP all you want. Just make sure it's a lightweight server and a low traffic site.

 

[rudder]

Is this for personal learning? If not... jsut get a cheap webhost and save a lot of headache. I pay $3.25 a month for a host that I use 5 different domains on. For a personal low traffic site you can probably get way cheaper than that.