Direct internet no provider

rossiboy001 · 15 Jul 2011 at 15:39

Forgive me I expect this has been asked before , but please enlighten me as googling this subject seems to create more questions than answers on this subject .
Why cant I create my own server and make my own direct connection without using the infrastructure of sky or VM for example . Perhaps a small satellite dish connected to a proxy server . We use proxys all around the world for free all the time . Just an idea of many for example at this initial thought stage .
paying £35 a month when you think about it sounds a lot for really what in my mind is just a cable to a junction box and a server somewhere .
some of you out there might spend the hardware cost of this anyway on your next major upgrade , motherboard CPU and ram for example .
Even if some of the initial costs daunt an individual pocket , many people could share the same server resource ? and share the cost . Without swelling profits of fat corporations .

dekez · 15 Jul 2011 at 15:51

You would need an IP address, and I think all of these have already been purchased by large providers and let out to smaller providers like ISPs and large businesses. So I don't think it's just about the hardware.

rossiboy001 · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:06

Hmm but is that not going down the route of being tied to a provider of a kind .
Im no expert obviously but im trying to understand this . To me the IP address is just a series of numbers . Would not your server software create its own unique address .
Since numbers a theoretically infinite all the corporations couldnt possibly own every combination .
Also since the idea is non commercial not for profit legal licensing is a question , would that be necessary .

Scougar · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:11

Well.. the easiest way would be to set yourself up as an ISP.

But frankly, it really isn't worth the hassle IMO, unless you plan on managing a business.

moss · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:23

rossiboy001 said:
To me the IP address is just a series of numbers . Would not your server software create its own unique address .

The numbers are not created by your server, they are assigned by http://www.iana.org/numbers/

rossiboy001 · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:45

cheers , That makes very interesting reading . Something for me to get me teeth into tonight .
from a quick overview although they may be reluctant and difficult , but is a possible as there are allocated blocks of IP"s for private internet use . something to study .
It just seems that I think we all pay other the odds for a service what is just essentially a port to a free web , and to me it deserves further investigation although somewhat a lot of work as suggested , but more fullfilling than idling the time away lol .

PhillyDee · 15 Jul 2011 at 16:56

Numbers are infinite, but IP addresses are not. There are reserved blocks for a start.

254.254.254.254 is the maximum on IPv4. IPv6 is a different kettle of fish.

ahar · 17 Jul 2011 at 08:23

rossiboy001 said:
It just seems that I think we all pay other the odds for a service what is just essentially a port to a free web , and to me it deserves further investigation although somewhat a lot of work as suggested , but more fullfilling than idling the time away lol .

Its a complex subject but here goes. What you are paying for is transit of data from different networks. Lets take BT as an example. When you want information from a web page (lets say Hotmail), your router sends a request across BTs network. It's BT's kit that they have installed in the ground and exchanges that takes the request and works out where to send it next. If you go to the command line (type cmd in the search box in windows 7) and then type:

tracert 157.55.0.141

you will see this happening in real time as the packets go bouncing from one network to another, from your home broadband connection to the Hotmail servers (that 157 one is their IP address).

Now, Hotmail is not on BT's network, so at some point BT is going to have to route packets out from their network into another person's network. Generally this will happen at one of the two Tier 1 transit hubs in the UK (London and Manchester). BT will have an agreement with the other companies there to share data across networks within a payment structure. That other provider then routes the packets to the servers on their network, or even across to other networks that they are connected to but BT isn't.

So what are you paying for? All the infrastructure inbetween your router and the server somewhere in the US (or wherever).

How would you become your own ISP? Well, at the simplest level, you'd need to buy an IP address range, you'd need to get your packets to and from one of the tier one interchange points (that's not free - you'll need to pay to use someone's cables or build your own), you'll need to set up a connection at the interchange point and then pay the other networks to carry your traffic. Of course, the other networks would pay you to access your network but you'd be using much more of their network than they would have yours.

All your satellite example does is to exchange cables in the ground for a radio signal bouncing off a satellite. Apart from needing to pay the satellite provider to carry your traffic from your house to their ground station, all the things I mentioned before still apply.

Hope that helps - there's some good stuff on wikipedia that gives an overview of the construction of the internet.

As to whether the price of broadband is too high - well apart from a discussion on the merits of alternative economic models to capitalism, we do have some of the lowest broadband prices in Europe!