VATSIM.net

just wonderin. is it possible or cost effective to just buy your own little server and use that to connect to the internet or how does all that work.

i used to have a friend in NJ that i helped build PC's with, he actually ran his own small ISP. so remembering that it got me thinking, im getting tired of all the downtime i have with the ISP's down here, why not just use my own server if it goes down, i can only blame myself

i know they sell small servers and stuff at various places like newegg and tiger, think ive even seen some at best buy. but these are usually website servers

what can one expect to pay for a decent high speed internet server?

You can use your own server to host stuff and do NAT instead of a router (like I do), but ultimately you need to connect to somebody. If you want better reliability, you can get business-class service, but you WILL pay for it.

Cheers!

Luke

You may want to see if these guys are available in your area. I had them for several years and was quite satisfied.

http://www.speakeasy.net/home/dsl/

Cheers!

Luke

ah k so basically you still have to pay to get on the internet, just instead of theyre servers its your own? is that how it works?

there goes that idea

im with comcast cable right now. normally its been fine, but lately its been driving me nutty before that i was with AT&T, lets just say im surprised i still have hair

was hoping to just throw them off to the side and do my own but if i still have to pay to get on, it can wait til some extra $$ comes my way

At some point someone has to pay the backbone provider, and those guys usually don't do penny ante.

I run my own server. You mainly need a static IP address and enough bandwidth to handle whatever traffic you expect. And you need an upstream ISP that doesn't object—some ISPs, particularly cable-based broadband providers, do not want you to run servers on their networks.

Even an extremely tiny, cheap computer will do, if you run UNIX or Linux on the machine. You have to know how to set things up, of course. Windows is easier to set up and manage, but requires vastly more hardware, and its ease-of-use can lull an administrator into not paying the proper attention to security.

And the server really needs to be a separate machine from the desktop; it's very awkward and risky to try to run services on your desktop machine. A simple modem/router can handle the mixed traffic to and from two or more machines on a home LAN.

If you can get your ISP to provide both a static IP address and reverse DNS to your domain, then you're in really good shape (and very lucky). It's not required, but it helps.

I have a downloadable guide at http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/WebSite.pdf that explains how to set up a Web site and covers some of the issues involved with running your own server, although you'll need to know more than just what's in the guide if you plan to operate your own server.

I think most ppl are missing the spirit of the OP's question. He's refering to a 'server', not because he wants to host web sites, but because he's under the impression that one is needed to have a connection to the internet.

Ernesto, the short answer is, it's not a question of buying a server. It's a question of establishing connectivity to the internet. Unless you intend to shell out large amounts of money for the connectivity, you should continue to go via an ISP that offers consumer-level pricing. If you want more reliable service, you can see if your internet provider has a 'small business' option. This usually includes static IP (which you don't need), dedicated customer support numbers, and even service level agreements.