Web Develop > Dedicated Server

A dedicated server is much more expensive to maintain, however, it'll provide you with your own domain space. One major problem, especially if you're an individual or small company trying to setup a server, is that of ensuring uptime for the server. Two approaches for setting up your own server are co-location and onsite hosting.

Co-location
Co-location involves purchasing a server, setting it up, and letting another organization monitor and maintain security for the server. The hosting center provides the connection to your network or it can provide you with a network connection to your local network or to the Internet. You can contact one of the many co-location services on the Internet to find out pricing and necessary setup information.

Onsite Hosting
Onsite hosting allows you to have your server in your office or home and involves some expense and setup. First, setup your server with a Web server software and a mail server software---this allows your server to handle Web server requests. You'll also need an SMTP mail server---and a backup server called a Secondary MX or Secondary Mail eXchanger.

Sendmail on Linux is popular. NT also has an SMTP mail server, and Qualcomm's Eudora has one for Macs and PCs. You can usually make your secondary Domain Name Server (DNS) the backup mail server, but make sure there's enough disk space to handle the mail that'll land on the secondary when the primary mail server is down for maintenance.

Next, you'll have to acquire one or more IP addresses for your servers. This IP address is the numeric address of the host and is associated with the name of the ost. You also need a moderate-speed, full-time Internet connection with static IP addressing---that is, an address or range of addresses that does not change. All of this can be obtained from an ISP. You don't need a full T-1 as a fractional T-1, ISDN, or DSL connection will work.

You'll also have to setup the domain to resolve IP addresses by setting up the Domain Name Server. This server allows you to add your host name and the host's IP address to the array of DNS's on the Internet. Another option is to have another DNS, such as an ISP, host your records. If you can't find an ISP to host your records, refer to the Public DNS .You'll also need someone to provide Secondary DNS, or you can do that yourself with a second computer---this is the backup nameserver when your main system is down.