is hosting a site from my desktop possible?

[Chris_H]

Hello everyone.

I'm working on getting a business up and running, and integrating paypal's pro payment system. The
unique thing about integrating another servers functionality is that the communication between the servers
becomes a fundamental part of the program. So it's best to develop the program while you have a
constant connection to the internet and you can fine tune the interaction between paypal and your program.

I find that the main computer that my family uses is connected to the internet is usually in use, so I develop
on a offline computer, then transfer the site by usb key to the online computer, then transfer by ftp to the
shared host. This is very obstructive to having a site that can communicate successfully between paypal
and my server program because it's developed offline.

So two thoughts have been swashing around in my head, and those two thoughts are:

#1 I don't like shared hosting for a business.

#2 I don't like developing on a offline computer.

So I thought a solution to both of these would be to have a computer in my house, connected
by a router to the internet and I host my site from there for testing my scripts and finally
upload to a real dedicated server by a real hosting company.

The reason I don't just have ftp and transfer the files to the real hosting company immediately
for my testing is that the real dedicated hosting is expensive, and I want to save that until I
actually have my business functioning on my computer.

So my question is how hard is it to host from my own computer running apache? And can I
some how give it a domain name so I can locate it on the internet from a seperate online
computer?

If you've read this, thank you for your baring with me. And I'd really apprechiate some advice
if you could help me!  :D

[steviewdr]

[quote]So my question is how hard is it to host from my own computer running apache? And can I
some how give it a domain name so I can locate it on the internet from a seperate online
computer?[/quote]
Down to the chase - yes it can be done. There are problems however with regards to DNS. As your isp at home will more than likely be constantly changing your ip address - (to prevent you hosting sites etc) you will need to look into getting a "Dynamic DNS" service which basically means that www.yoursite.com will be updated however often your ip address at home changes. Google dynamic dns and you will get the idea.

-steve

[projectshifter]

[quote author=steviewdr link=topic=116617.msg475344#msg475344 date=1164750824]
[quote]So my question is how hard is it to host from my own computer running apache? And can I
some how give it a domain name so I can locate it on the internet from a seperate online
computer?[/quote]
Down to the chase - yes it can be done. There are problems however with regards to DNS. As your isp at home will more than likely be constantly changing your ip address - (to prevent you hosting sites etc) you will need to look into getting a "Dynamic DNS" service which basically means that www.yoursite.com will be updated however often your ip address at home changes. Google dynamic dns and you will get the idea.

-steve
[/quote]

I'm going to have to disagree with that statement.  Yes, it can be done, and your DNS is not going to be an issue, dynamicdns and stuff are easy enough to setup, but most IPs remain constant with a cable modem.  It's not a bad idea though to just get a domain ($9 at godaddy.com) and then do a hosting package through like prolinkhosting.com for $10 a year unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage.  Saves you a lot of headache in the long run :)

[jsladek]

WHAT THE!?!?!?!!

$10 a year unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage

That is awesome!  Is there some gotcha in there somewhere?  Like could I actually Run my own youtube type site there for $10 bucks a year?

-I may have to get a site for the hell of it

-John

[steviewdr]

[quote]I'm going to have to disagree with that statement.[/quote]
He asked if it was possible - I said yes and said how. I didnt say if it was the best way to go!

[quote]do a hosting package through like prolinkhosting.com for $10 a year unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage.  Saves you a lot of headache in the long run[/quote]
Yes - it sure does save a *lot* of headache - agreed.

[quote]$10 a year unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage
That is awesome![/quote]
Calm down there buddy. Its not that awesome. The upload/download speeds could be [b]crap[/b] depending on where *you* or your *CUSTOMERS* are located, and might not even be viable!

[quote]Like could I actually Run my own youtube type site [/quote]
NO - if you read their website ->
[quote]Technically speaking, there is no such thing as "unlimited bandwidth", however, our co-located servers in our data center are on an unmetered 10mbps connection to the net.[/quote]
10mbps - WOW - max total download = 1 megabyte a second. How many other people are on that server!!?? 1mb a second might sound good to you - but its CRAP to me.

[quote]It is the clients responsibility to do all backups of their site. If, in the unfortunate event, something happens to your files, it is your responsibility to have a local copy of your files. We are NOT held liable in any way for any files, money, time, effort, etc... lost due to this unfortunate event. Furthermore, if your files are lost, we will attempt to restore them as a gesture of good faith, but make no promises what so ever about whether the files will be brought back successfully or not. Again, back ups are the client's responsibility. [/quote]
Also - if anything goes tits up - THEY ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY!!! If *their* server hard disks die = they accept NO responsibility!!!!!!!!!! - Not really great now...is it?? How long would it take to get a site uploaded and back working??? - Meanwhile your loosing business.

</rant>
-steve