Good web server build or product?

[berderder]

Hi everyone,

 

I'd like to build or buy a web server to host my business website (5 pages). I know GoDaddy and things like that aren't that expensive, but I thought it would still be cool to do.

 

I've never messed with building a web server before. Any good tips or resources you recommend? I imagine some sort of small form factor (and quiet build) that I can let run 24/7 in my basement. I am also probably going to use the free version of Cloudflare to provide a cached version of my website to users if the server ever goes down.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks. Also, it would be a dedicated web server. Nothing else on it. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

I would just have someone else host it.

 

If your hosting it your self, now your just getting subject to ddos attachs, security holes(bots scrub the web for known security flaws and there a good chance yours will have some).

 

Otherwise, you can run this on almost anything. A pi will work just fine for a basic web server.

[berderder]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I would just have someone else host it.

 

If your hosting it your self, now your just getting subject to ddos attachs, security holes(bots scrub the web for known security flaws and there a good chance yours will have some).

 

Otherwise, you can run this on almost anything. A pi will work just fine for a basic web server.

The nice thing about free Cloudflare is that it protects against DDoS attacks and stuff like that. You mean a raspberry pi?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, berderder said:

The nice thing about free Cloudflare is that it protects against DDoS attacks and stuff like that. You mean a raspberry pi?

yep, that will work just fine. Clouldflare won't help you from security exploits. Id really just get someone else to host it. Just get a ec2 container. Its free for a year and you still get full ssh access.

[berderder]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

yep, that will work just fine. Clouldflare won't help you from security exploits. Id really just get someone else to host it. Just get a ec2 container. Its free for a year and you still get full ssh access.

Part of it is the practice and learning experience for me

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, berderder said:

Part of it is the practice and learning experience for me

rent a vps and use that. Its the same thing as doing it yourself, except your don't have the hardware. Your not learning much setting up hardware.

[berderder]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

rent a vps and use that. Its the same thing as doing it yourself, except your don't have the hardware. Your not learning much setting up hardware.

Yeah, not a bad idea. Is that where the ec2 container comes in? I've never messed with AWS before...

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, berderder said:

Yeah, not a bad idea. Is that where the ec2 container comes in? I've never messed with AWS before...

ec2 is the name of amazon's vps container.

 

You can also get them from digital ocean, google cloud, microsoft azure and others.

[CptCarbonat]

12 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You can also get them from digital ocean, google cloud, microsoft azure and others.

I guess for a begginer DigitalOcean would have the best learning curve, it has a simple interface and is easier to use than the other ones you metioned. So my recomendation for a begginer/learner would sure be DO if you don't need the features of AWS.

[HeroicDeath]

I'd really refrain from hosting your own server from the basement. With hosting from your basement you don't have a SLA with your ISP, meaning if your net goes down your website goes down, along with any service you provide.

 

I recommend hosting it on a lightweight VPS, assuming content is static you can do it for $15 a year. A combination of LetsEncrypt and NGINX to serve your content would be pretty swell.

 

https://buyvm.net/openvz-vps/

 

^ This is my suggestion. I've been with them for several years now.

[SpaceNugget]

Here are some picks, I fully support the idea of doing it on your own hardware just for the sake of learning so I will answer the question as asked.

 

That said, don't expect good reliability or security.

 

Step 1.

 

Register a domain name if you haven't already. I would pick namecheap.com because of their super awesome dynamic DNS (you don't need to pay your internet an arm and a leg for a static IP address)

 

Step 2.

 

Get an unused computer or Raspberry Pi I doubt your 5 page static site will get enough traffic to overwhelm even the meekest desktop build from any time in recent years. Pi's have the advantage of low power draw so factor that in as well.

 

Step 3.

 

Iinstall your favourite flavour of Linux. I prefer  CentOS but whatever floats your boat.

 

Step 4.

 

Pick a webserver. Here are some options and a few points about each one.

 

• Apache
  • O'le faithful.
  • Pros
    • A million and one resources online for help.
  • Cons
    • Archaic and confusing configuration
• NGINX
  • Pros
    • Less Archaic and confusing configuration
  • Cons
    • Free version not fully featured. (Nitpicky but I don't really like them as a company)
• Caddy
  • Pros
    • Built in markdown translation
    • Automatic SSL certificate
  • Cons
    • Not O'le faithful, its newness means you won't find many stack overflow links or tutorials outside of official documentation.

There are more options available but those are what I would check out to start.