How to host your own web server

Windows Hosting

There is virtually no one who has a business of some kind who does not have a website of their own. Most of them may have the website designed by a professional designer. Web hosting services may be provided by a vendor. It may be a shared hosting or if the company is a big one, it could be dedicated hosting.

With most internet applications being linked to the windows system, if you didn’t want compatibility issues, it is better to stick to windows hosting. Cheaper hosting is provided by Linux hosting but this is rarer and there could be regular problems cropping up with regard to compatibility unless you are proficient in software.

 Hosting services are a little like taking a part of a house on rent. There could be several problems cropping up like bandwidth, speed, security etc. For those who do all their work through the computer these glitches are so major, they may think of hosting their own website.

The first investment you have to make will come in the form of a dedicated computer, for the purpose of hosting. This computer will not be available for any other use and will have to be up and running round the clock. If the computer shuts down for some reason, the site will go off line.

Since you will have to give up the use of your computer, make sure you remove everything stored in it of use or value to you. For the purpose of hosting, a laptop is not compatible as it cannot be kept running all the time.

Once that is done you will have to install a web server application like Apache for example. You will at this stage have to complete the web server application. The contents of your website along with the images will have to be copied in the website files folder. This has to be done at the time of the server application installation. The next step is routing the server for which you will have to configure the port 80. As the last step the IP address will need to go into the browser that is close to a URL and your site will come up.

There are several pros and cons to be considered in hosting your own web server. You have to realize that you are responsible for all that goes right and those that go wrong too. There are no monthly fees to be paid nor is there any possibility of any incompetence too. Since this is a dedicated server, there is no need to share it with anyone. When it comes to content, websites, storage, content and bandwidth, there is no limit.

Waiting for someone to troubleshoot and solve problems is a thing of the past. You have complete control over your server. On the flip-side, the whole process of setting up your own server and running it can ne exhausting job as there is no end to it. If faced with software or hardware problems, there is no support team and when the server goes off, the website will disappear from the face of the web.