Can I Run My Own Servers

[hawk]

On a BT business account?

Is it feasible to use my own website servers with a BT connection. I was going to offer hosting to others but was informed that the connection wouldnt be able to handle more than a couple of users.

Theres no chance of me affording a leased line or T1 line so what would a BT connection be able to handle?

How many visitors would i receive before the connection got clogged up? Thanks, hawk.

[Sogo7]

The general rule of thumb for running a home server is that ISP's dislike the idea for much the same reasons most webhosting providers don't want Porn or Pirated material on thier servers or in this case network as in the event of any legal problem occuring then they could be charged with facilitating the process of delivering the content.

It's certainly do-able even with very modest equipment. In the past have used ancient iMac G3 desktops and Pentium III towers to act as web site and security cam servers. Provided you are not streaming vdeo then vthe number of visitors such a system can cope with is very high.

[dave]

BT won't care that you are running your own server so you won't run into problems there.

However what you will want to consider is how much traffic you are expecting. Bear in mind that the upload capacity on a typical ADSL line is nowhere near as much as the download, so any more than the occasional visitor and you could find your site running pretty slowly, especially if you are using the line for general web use at the same time.

Also things like file downloads will be a lot slower than if they were hosted on a proper web server so bear this in mind if you are offering files for download.

If you are considering it for a non critical hobby/personal site, I would say go for it, as it can be a good learning experience. However, I wouldn't consider it for a commercial website where uptime is important - spend the money on a proper web hosting package instead.

[Sogo7]

You may want to explore the possability of becoming a web hosting reseller. Several of the larger providers offer this facility, the downside of course is that YOU have to resolve all support requests from your clients.

You could offer hosting for sites that traditionally see low traffic such as local small business, hobbies and clubs with a forum attached etc without much in the way of problems but anything involving video or other large downloads will devour your monthly bandwidth allowence pretty quickly.