Where can I get a server?
Leasing or buying?
I see you've posted this in the Webmaster's Lounge, so I suppose this is meant to be for web-hosting. If not, this thread should be moved to a more relevant topic.
You should provide a bit more detail here as to what you're looking to do as well as what you're requirements are. this helps us help you as well as makes sure you think out what you're doing before you spend a bunch of money on the wrong stuff (a useful skill.)
Provide answers to the following (the more the better) and we should be able to give you some feedback or at least point you in the right direction:
What is your price range? 100$/year? 500$/year? 50$/year? something else?
What operating system do you want running? Are you looking for a windows box or a linux/unix box?
What are you looking to do with this? This is a bit more than just "running a website." Is it active? Do you need a database?
What is your skill level? This is important. If you're new to admining servers, a VPS may not be your best bet. You may want a shared host that allows you to focus on the things you are doing, rather than managing an entire server in an operating system you don't know.
Other? You know more about this project than we do. Details, details, details. The more you give us, the more we can/will give back.
~samurai
You could always build a cheap computer to use as a server?
Anyways if you want a server I'd recommend GuruPlug or the older Sheevaplug.
@OP: There are thousands of these sites…
http://tinyurl.com/2j6bh is all I can say…
MoshBat wrote: And then pay the huge fee for decent bandwidth. Oh, and Electricity. Doesn't cost anything. I've even run a css, l4d and dods server at the same time from home with minimal lag on a regular BT connection. (with about 10 people total simultaneously)
and electricity? really?
home server is perfect so long as you don't need 100% uptime( router rebooting changes your ip with static ip it'd be perfect) o2 offers static ip btw.
edit: I'm switching to o2 soon probably, when i do if I can get a static ip I'll be buying the guruplug or possibly the sheevaplug.
I've got the sheevaplug 1.0 already and it's pretty sweet. the 3.0 that is out now is much cooler.
I agree that power isnt really that big of a deal. I run 8 computers constantly from my apartment ranging from the sheevaplug to an alienware tower (to give you an idea of how much power they consume) and my electric bills aren't ridiculous
Leasing or buying? Buying. What is your price range? I only want to spend around $250-$300. What operating system do you want running? Any free Linux or no OS. What are you looking to do with this? Nothing specific, maybe host a website, maybe host my files for access away from home. Mainly, I just liked setting up my laptop as a server, so I decided to get a dedicated server(or old computer or that sheevaplug thing, it looks really cool). I haven't really planned any more than that. This is a bit more than just "running a website." Is it active? Do you need a database? I can set all that up on my own. Especially since I'm going to use Ubuntu, what could be easier than apt-get install for all the crap I need. What is your skill level? I can manage. Anyways if you want a server I'd recommend GuruPlug or the older Sheevaplug. I found a review on the Plug Computer 3.0, which is the only one I've found with enough space for what I want, but I can't find anywhere.
MoshBat wrote: Electricity, really. I know your Mum pays it, but believe me, you'll start turning things off when you pay some of the bill.
it's all about your income.
Bill gates pays his bills and I bet he doesn't care if he is getting the cheapest 8meg broadband around. My point? Yes electricity is expensive.
Is it a problem for everyone? No Is it a problem for most? No Is it a problem for a significant minority? No.
MoshBat wrote: [quote]Tyler3791 wrote: … About $300 will buy you shit. I would stick with using that Laptop of yours for messing with things.[/quote]
This is were I agree. If you want to buy server hardware for that price, your best bet is to bid at ebay. Otherwise, you will be spending more than you want.
[edit] http://www.nextag.com/Storage-Devices--zzserverz300099zB6z5---html [/edit]
Link is correct, no need to change it.
You can get a nice IBM xseries on ebay for a lot less than 300 bones. Nice desktop or rack mount models, easy scalable, upgragable, and always lots available: http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Servers-/11211/i.html?_nkw=IBM+xseries&_catref=1&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
Just found these also, real fuckin' sweet units: http://computers.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=IBM+xseries+445&_sacat=11211&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_dmpt=COMP_EN_Servers&_odkw=IBM+xseries&_osacat=11211
Gonna get one of them bad boys.
Edit: Url tags won't work copy and paste them.
It is really dependent on what you are looking to get out of the server.
Yes, you can get a cheap server. If you are looking to just make it a file server with apache or iis on it, why spend all the money to buy a server?
Why not go out, buy a cheap P4 computer with SATA slots, and RAID together a few 5400RPM HDDs? http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Internal-Desktop-/56083/i.html?_nkw=5400RPM+SATA+Hard+Drive&_catref=1&_fln=1&_npmv=3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
even if you get the 1.5TB SATA Drive, you are laughing. $125. That leaves you with $175 to get a box.
You can pick up a HP Desktop cheap on Ebay as well. http://cgi.ebay.com/Fast-HP-DC7600-Computer-pc-P4-3-2-ghz-80G-DVD-CDRW-XP_W0QQitemZ140383817301QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDesktop_PCs?hash=item20af870e55
That hits your budget, gives you 1GB RAM, 1.5TB HDD and a 3.2GHz P4 CPU. Nothing to shake a stick at.
Let me know what you think of that line of thought.
AldarHawk wrote: Let me know what you think of that line of thought.
You came to the same solution I did. I'm not sure I'll need/get the 1.5TB HDD. I ordered this("http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5311073&CatId=119" ) last night. 3.0GHz P4, 1.0GB DDR, 40GB HDD
I might wait a few weeks to set it up the way I plan to keep it. Since I'm going to wait a while to get it working completely, and I don't mind someone screwing with it, how would I go about setting up a competition to let people attempt to "hack" it?(assuming I decide to do that) Of course I'll block all outgoing SMTP, ssh, and Telnet, I don't want my IP associated with spam or other unscrupulous activities.
Tyler3791 wrote: how would I go about setting up a competition to let people attempt to "hack" it?(assuming I decide to do that)
I did that once. On most home internet connections your through-put is not high enough to allow people to hack you. I remember when I had Cheese and Bouncer hack my box. They went at it for an hour and it took my connection to a near halt. Most North American ISPs have huge download speeds, however their upload is nothing to be admired. I would look a little deeper into this before you attempt anything.
What Operating System are you looking at putting on the machine? Are you using this as a testing box? Are you planning on just hosting a page on it? What are your full intentions for this box?
**AldarHawk wrote:**What Operating System are you looking at putting on the machine? Are you using this as a testing box? Are you planning on just hosting a page on it? What are your full intentions for this box? Ubuntu, I like Linux, but I'm no Slackware user.
Basically, all it's going to be, is a $119 toy. I will probably host a website of some kind, I'm just not sure what yet(probably something to do with asm, I love asm). I'm also going to use it to access my files from anywhere. I got really pissed when my flash drive fucked up and I lost the small amount of work I'd done on my OS. Since a computer is a little less likely to stop working all of a sudden(unlike my piece of shit flash drive), I can just dl the source, work on it, and upload it back(with authentication, of course). I'm either going to use an ftp server or make my own page to do the uploading/downloading. The latter, if I can ever find the time to make the page.
[edit] Did the succeed? If so, to what extent? [/edit]
Okay…I am going to give it to you straight. Ubuntu is not Linux. True it is based off a linux system, however, it teaches VERY bad habits in the system. If you are wanting something like Ubuntu, install its origins, Debian.
If you want a simple system that you can use quite easily, try CentOS. If you want a robust system that you are going to learn a lot on, install any OS you want and put VirtualBox on it. From here you can then run ANYTHING. I would recommend having a system that runs a few different ones.
If you are avid on learning, install (via VirtualBox) Debian, Slackware, BSD, Damn Vulnerable Linux(all the installs you want). For fun try some off shots, MINIX3 is a good fun toy. Toy with OSX, OpenSolaris and anything else you can think of. The fun of the Virtual Boxes, is you cannot actually harm anything, because you just delete the VirtualBox and it is gone. Also it is held totally separate from the original installation.
Let me know your thoughts on this wavelength.