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Home > Archive > alt.os.linux > December 2002 > Running your own server (http/pop3/smtp/ftp)
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Running your own server (http/pop3/smtp/ftp)
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| Muffin Man 2002-12-20, 12:25 pm |
| Hi,
I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have this
question.
Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http server,
well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me. But the mail
has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the professional people
do this, do they have multiple servers so if one fails other can take over
or do they have the same problem.
I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for hosting
my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so on....The main
thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't want people to get
errors and not being able to send me mail when my server is in trouble or my
dsl connection is down for whatever rason
Thanks in advance, Maarten
| |
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| Muffin Man wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have
> this question.
> Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http
> server, well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me.
> But the mail has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the
> professional people do this, do they have multiple servers so if one fails
> other can take over or do they have the same problem.
> I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for
> hosting my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so
> on....The main thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't want
> people to get errors and not being able to send me mail when my server is
> in trouble or my dsl connection is down for whatever rason
>
> Thanks in advance, Maarten
First question should be :
Will my (specify type and speed) connection quickly and reliably handle a
server?
--
Microsoft is not the answer, it is the question. The answer is NO!!!
| |
| whytewlf@mu.lvcm.com 2002-12-20, 1:25 pm |
| In article <atvms5$bn1$1@ncc1701.cistron.net>, Muffin Man wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have this
> question.
> Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http server,
> well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me. But the mail
> has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the professional people
> do this, do they have multiple servers so if one fails other can take over
> or do they have the same problem.
> I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for hosting
> my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so on....The main
> thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't want people to get
> errors and not being able to send me mail when my server is in trouble or my
> dsl connection is down for whatever rason
>
> Thanks in advance, Maarten
>
>
most professionals have a secondary MX system that pours the
email collected during the downtime into the main server once
it's back up {very very very basic explination}
you could always use dig -t mx <host>
sometime to find out what others are doing when it comes to
mail servers
as for the reliablity ... well there will be downtime it's
all a matter of whats done to shorten that downtime as much
as possable. and make it seem to the user like there is no
downtime ...
--
Linux mu.lvcm.com 3.0.0 i686 AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux
| |
|
| fast wrote:
>Muffin Man wrote:
>
>
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have
>>this question.
>>Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http
>>server, well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me.
>>But the mail has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the
>>professional people do this, do they have multiple servers so if one fails
>>other can take over or do they have the same problem.
>>I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for
>>hosting my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so
>>on....The main thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't want
>>people to get errors and not being able to send me mail when my server is
>>in trouble or my dsl connection is down for whatever rason
>>
>>Thanks in advance, Maarten
>>
>>
>First question should be :
>Will my (specify type and speed) connection quickly and reliably handle a
>server?
>
>
Sound like an interesting project! Your next question might be : Does
my connection provide at least 1 (preferrably 2) static IP address(es)?
FYI - if your server does go 'temorary offline', all email will be
'held' by an upstream server for the TTL (Time To Live) defined in your
DNS zone file. Often this is set to several days. Do lots of reading
and go for it!
Kind regards,
dj
| |
| Matthias Wulkow 2002-12-20, 3:25 pm |
| Dana <danaxx@zdana.net> wrote in news:3E0375B2.103@zdana.net:
> Sound like an interesting project! Your next question might be : Does
> my connection provide at least 1 (preferrably 2) static IP
> address(es)?
>
Well you don't need a static IP to host a web server or a mail server. You
just have to know how to deal with a dynamic IP address...
I'm running my own mail server, and it's working perfectly well at this
time (for a year now - postfix), aswell a ftp-server...
It's true, that if I would be running a business I would have to work more
on it, to be sure there are no troubles about DNS entries...
So long,
M W.
--
Don't smoke Linux - it's no shit!
| |
| Joe Fredrickson 2002-12-20, 6:25 pm |
| Sat, 21 Dec 2002 06:55 am will from hence forward be known as the day Dana
blabbered:
> FYI - if your server does go 'temorary offline', all email will be
> 'held' by an upstream server for the TTL (Time To Live) defined in your
> DNS zone file. Often this is set to several days. Do lots of reading
> and go for it!
The only other thing that should be considered is that the OP will be
running his server on a P200 which is fine in as much for a LAN, but it
should be noted that most heavily visited sites used something > 1.3Ghz
OP you may find that you will only get slow service in busy times.
Also when someone browses your page it will be considered upload traffic
if you have a traffic limit then you may want to watch this so that you
do not exceed it.
--
Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas.
Registered Linux User 282072
<www.volutin.net -- everything irrelevant>
| |
| Michael Heiming 2002-12-20, 6:25 pm |
| Joe Fredrickson wrote:
> The only other thing that should be considered is that the OP will be
> running his server on a P200 which is fine in as much for a LAN, but
> it should be noted that most heavily visited sites used something >
> 1.3Ghz
What kind of traffic do you expect, how much bandwith. One of the
reasons for CPU's >1.3 GHz, you simply don't get new servers with
slower ones...
Michael Heiming
--
Remove +SIGNS and www. if you expect an answer, sorry for inconvenience,
but I get tons of SPAM
| |
| wesley 2002-12-20, 8:24 pm |
| On Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:17:21 +0000, Muffin Man wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have
> this question.
> Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http
> server, well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me.
> But the mail has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the
> professional people do this, do they have multiple servers so if one
> fails other can take over or do they have the same problem.
> I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for
> hosting my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so
> on....The main thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't
> want people to get errors and not being able to send me mail when my
> server is in trouble or my dsl connection is down for whatever rason
>
> Thanks in advance, Maarten
No problem to host your own mail server, but there are a couple of issues
to consider. First will be the reliability of your DSL connection. Mine is
pretty stable with very little downtime. Other people have quite
unreliable service.
Second issue is your local power supply. A simple UPS (uninterruptible
power supply) will take care of short power outages. However, if your
local electric utility is unreliable, you'll probably want to rent hosting
elsewhere.
Third is the machine. Obviously you want a reliable box. Multiple cooling
fans would be a good idea in case one fails. From a software standpoint,
you want an email server to be fairly simply configured and not doing a
lot of other things.
| |
| Muffin Man 2002-12-21, 6:25 am |
| I've got a DSL connection 512/256, I know it's not that fast but as I said
it's just for a personal website and mail, so I don't think much is needed
for my purposes....
"fast" <spam@127.0.0.1> schreef in bericht
news:v06pkmjm7lam38@corp.supernews.com...
> Muffin Man wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have
> > this question.
> > Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http
> > server, well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me.
> > But the mail has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the
> > professional people do this, do they have multiple servers so if one
fails
> > other can take over or do they have the same problem.
> > I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for
> > hosting my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so
> > on....The main thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't
want
> > people to get errors and not being able to send me mail when my server
is
> > in trouble or my dsl connection is down for whatever rason
> >
> > Thanks in advance, Maarten
> First question should be :
> Will my (specify type and speed) connection quickly and reliably handle a
> server?
> --
> Microsoft is not the answer, it is the question. The answer is NO!!!
| |
| Mark Taylor 2002-12-21, 8:24 am |
| "wesley" <wesley@chefdianadot.com> wrote in
news an.2002.12.21.01.38.08.339172@chefdianadot.com:
> On Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:17:21 +0000, Muffin Man wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I
>> have this question.
>> Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http
>> server, well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for
>> me. But the mail has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do
>> the professional people do this, do they have multiple servers so if
>> one fails other can take over or do they have the same problem.
>> I want to have a pentium 200MHz as server. I just want to use it for
>> hosting my own personal website and for dealing with my mail and so
>> on....The main thing is, it has got to be relaible for mail, I don't
>> want people to get errors and not being able to send me mail when my
>> server is in trouble or my dsl connection is down for whatever rason
>>
>> Thanks in advance, Maarten
>
> No problem to host your own mail server, but there are a couple of
> issues to consider. First will be the reliability of your DSL
> connection. Mine is pretty stable with very little downtime. Other
> people have quite unreliable service.
>
> Second issue is your local power supply. A simple UPS (uninterruptible
> power supply) will take care of short power outages. However, if your
> local electric utility is unreliable, you'll probably want to rent
> hosting elsewhere.
>
> Third is the machine. Obviously you want a reliable box. Multiple
> cooling fans would be a good idea in case one fails. From a software
> standpoint, you want an email server to be fairly simply configured
> and not doing a lot of other things.
>
And fourth the Terms of Service from your provider. Do they allow running
servers?
Fifth, do you have a static IP or dynamic IP? Did he already mention that?
Sixth, you need someone to host DNS entries. Yes, you could do it yourself.
Seventh, possibly a backup mail server. No, it's not absolutely necessary.
Cheers,
Mark
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| |
| Sybren Stuvel 2002-12-21, 9:24 am |
| Mark Taylor enlightened us with:
> Sixth, you need someone to host DNS entries. Yes, you could do it yourself.
If you register at register.com, they'll host your DNS. Just thought you
might like to know.
Sybren
-- [colo
r=darkred]
>>> RUNNING A MICROSOFT GAME USING WINE <<<[/color]
sybren@sybren:Mechwarrior Mercenaries$ wine MW4Mercs.exe
INSTR_IDT_Emulate Evil attempt to exploit win9x system security flaws detected
INSTR_IDT_Emulate UNIX system security is too strong, can't emulate properly
| |
| Tim Wunder 2002-12-21, 9:24 am |
| On Saturday 21 December 2002 09:24 am, someone claiming to be Sybren Stuvel
wrote:
> Mark Taylor enlightened us with:
>> Sixth, you need someone to host DNS entries. Yes, you could do it
>> yourself.
>
> If you register at register.com, they'll host your DNS. Just thought you
> might like to know.
>
> Sybren
FWIW, I use dyndns.org and www.godaddy.com
Regards,
Tim
| |
| Rod Smith 2002-12-21, 10:25 am |
| In article <atvms5$bn1$1@ncc1701.cistron.net>,
"Muffin Man" <the@executioner.tmfweb.nl> writes:
> Hi,
>
> I'm thinking of registering my own domain and run it myself. Now I have this
> question.
> Is it a wise to run this yourself. If the server crashes with a http server,
> well the webpage will be temporary offline, no big deal for me. But the mail
> has to be available 24/7, it has to relaible. How do the professional people
> do this, do they have multiple servers so if one fails other can take over
> or do they have the same problem.
Mail is somewhat resistant to such problems. Suppose John Q. Symmes sends
you e-mail. Typically, John sends his e-mail from his local computer to
his network's mail server. (John may also run his own mail server
locally.) The mail server then queues the message for immediate delivery
to the destination system. This is currently your ISP's mail server, but
would be your own system in your scenario. If the connection can't be made
because your broadband connection is weak, your system's down, or there's
a problem anywhere in-between the two systems, John's mail server will
most likely hold onto the message and try again later. Mail servers are
usually configured to keep trying to deliver a message for several days (a
week seems common), so unless the system is down continuously for a very
long time or is up and down a lot with bad luck in terms of connection
attempt times, the mail will be delayed, but not lost.
That said, ISPs use a number of techniques to minimize downtime. These
include using high-reliability components, having backup components on
hand for immediate swaps when necessary, having backup systems running and
ready to go, using multiple Internet connections, and having sysadmins
always on duty. Of course, how far an ISP goes depends on its size and
diligence, and how successful they are depends in large part upon their
competence. I've used one or two ISPs that must have been using computers
pulled from the local junkyard, judging by their servers' reliability.
Others have been excellent.
In terms of running your own mail server, you'll probably be fine for a
personal-use server if your ISP delivers a reasonably reliable 24/7
Internet connection. It'd also help to have at least two computers; that
way, you can configure one as the mail server when you want to do major
work on the other -- say, upgrade its Linux distribution or swap its
motherboard for a new one. I'd be more concerned about the ISP's policies
(in the US, most broadband ISPs forbid running servers and may even block
the mail server port, 25) and about security. Running a mail server will
open you up to the potential for abuse, ranging from server bugs that
could give others access to your computer to a host of spam-related
issues. Most importantly, you don't want your system to become an open
relay so that spammers can steal your bandwidth and get you in hot water.
Spam aside, bandwidth isn't an issue, since if you don't run your own
mail server, you'll presumably be getting the same mail via POP or IMAP.
FWIW, I cover running a mail server from the perspective of a broadband
user in my book, _Broadband Internet Connections_
(http://www.rodsbooks.com/broadband/), including discussions of issues
like DNS servers, which is another important prerequisite. Unfortunately,
since writing that book, the security ante's been upped, with the release
of Code Red and similar worms. Most of these don't affect mail servers
directly, but they've promoted a general security clampdown by ISPs.
--
Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux, networking, & multi-OS configuration
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