Spec me a web server

badcompany · 4 May 2011 at 21:35

I need a VERY cheap web server unit just for my own developing and to run some IP cameras off it.

do I need to to build pc or can I get hard disc with web server built in?

paradigm · 4 May 2011 at 21:37

If it's for your own dev you'll likely want a web server that you can change what extensions and mappings and other advanced settings you can control.

I'd build a low powered (atom dual core based perhaps?) machine, but with a decent (4GB+) amount of RAM. Should be able to make something mITX and silent pretty cheaply.

Obviously you can get basic web server functionality on some (such as the synology boxes) external HDDs, but you'll have no control over installing say PHP, or .net, or mysql/sqlexpress, host headder values, multiple sites etc

Buchanan0204 · 4 May 2011 at 21:48

For the price of hosting these days with a reputable company that will provide support. There's really no advantage to hosting it yourself unless you're hosting 20+ sites.

paradigm · 4 May 2011 at 21:54

Buchanan0204 said:
For the price of hosting these days with a reputable company that will provide support. There's really no advantage to hosting it yourself unless you're hosting 20+ sites.

Buying hosting for internal dev? Pointless.

Buying hosting to run internal IP cameras? Doubly pointless.

badcompany · 4 May 2011 at 21:56

I was thinking along the lines of an atom based system

I have a a couple 2.5 and 3.5 drives kicking about and a gb of so-dimm ram out of an old netbook.

Cycrow · 5 May 2011 at 00:20

Buchanan0204 said:
For the price of hosting these days with a reputable company that will provide support. There's really no advantage to hosting it yourself unless you're hosting 20+ sites.

theres plenty of advantage
if all you want to do is have your own website hosted somewhere, then sure, that might be a good option

for example, if you want a webserver to test out your website while creating it, and u have crappy upload speeds, then having one internal would make it a lot easier, no waiting for the site to be uploaded all the time

or if u want to create one to learn how web servers work, etc

also if u want to be able to test it out before putting it live

Buchanan0204 · 5 May 2011 at 00:56

Cycrow said:
theres plenty of advantage
if all you want to do is have your own website hosted somewhere, then sure, that might be a good option

for example, if you want a webserver to test out your website while creating it, and u have crappy upload speeds, then having one internal would make it a lot easier, no waiting for the site to be uploaded all the time

or if u want to create one to learn how web servers work, etc

also if u want to be able to test it out before putting it live

Ahh ok, fair enough. I stand corrected. When you take those factors into play then I see your valid points.

With regards to the IP cams... I wasn't taking them into consideration with my post.

jonny512379 · 5 May 2011 at 03:36

I agree, there are lots of advantages of having full control over a server, that you would not get from a low cost hosting option. There are database connections that you only get limited control over with low cost hosting, read/write and execute permissions are also much easier if you have full server access (dependent on OS system), + installing software is much simpler if the server is next to you. (these are just a few reasons and im sure there are also a 100 and one other good reasons to have your own local test server, not to mention speed).

This said, it all depends on what you are to use the server for, if this is for your "first" web site and you have little to no coding experience, low cost hosting would probably be perfect. However if you are an advanced coder (or learning to be, or a wannabe server technician) a local test server may be useful.

Power wise, i don't feel this is important if you are only using it for Dev work, you would be fine with the minimum OS requirements and possibly a little more RAM.
If you are to also use this server to work on and run your development applications, how powerful it is depends on how fast you like your PCs to perform for you.
If you are simply going to transfer your code to this server to test it, as i say i don't think power is an issue.

Servers only need to be powerful if you are expecting 1000's (or many, many more) people to connect to it at any one time. Or if you plan to use very large databases / large and complex coding. Typically the average website does not tax most modern servers. I have seen people buy dedicated machines, but only use a very small %age of their total power.

If i were you i would save your money and buy lower cost older components or dig out an old machine and test install an OS to it. (from what you have wrote i would say anything over a P4 with 2 GB of ram would do the job, unless you have money to burn).

Hope this helps.
Jon

EDIT / P.S if you are using it for IP cams, RAM and a largish HDD would help (and maybe a little more power than a P4 if you want to run more than a couple of cam feeds at a time)

Xelene · 5 May 2011 at 11:13

I just use an old laptop. Specs are 1GB RAM, some old Single Core CPU, and 30GB disk. Stick Linux on it, plug a network cable in, close the lid and hide it in a corner somewhere.