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Can I Host My Own Website & Email? |
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Problem: |
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If you don't know what email hosting or web hosting is, how it differs from
Internet access, or why you need it or why you pay for it, then this article is
for you! Hopefully this article will de-mystify this new phenomena
that has spread across the world in such a short time, and give you a
good
idea of why it is best to pay someone a small monthly fee to provide this
service! |
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Internet Access: |
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Let's take a few seconds to review what Internet access really is.
Internet access is nothing more than someone providing you with a gateway to
the Internet. This gateway doesn't give you an email address or a web
site. The company providing Internet access to you is considered your
Internet Service Provider (ISP). This service allows you to surf the
Internet and interact with websites. The ISP that you use might
include a complimentary email address or addresses for you with your
service. This email address or web site will contain their domain
name. They own it and allow you to borrow it. You can get Internet access by
dial-up modems, Cable modems, DSL modems, or business class T1 services.
Each having different pricing structures and speed options. |
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Domain Name Registration: |
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Now that you are paying someone for Internet access, you decide that you
want your own domain name, like
www.compdevsys.com. First you need to register that domain
name. When you 'register' the domain, you don't actually own it, but
you pay an annual fee to rent it. When you hear someone say that they
own a domain name, that isn't entirely correct. They too are
are renting it. When you register a domain name, you get just that...
the domain name, no email or website come with it. Depending on the length of time you register
the name for, the cost can be anywhere from $9/year up to $45/year.
Registering a domain name is similar to registering a vehicle with your
state. You don't get a vehicle with your registration, you get a
license plate with a unique phrase on it. You still have to pay
someone to make the car for you and you need to drive the car, or what is
the point of owning one? |
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Hosting the Domain Name: |
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So, you have
Internet access, and you registered your own domain name
that you rent annually. You now need a company that will HOST your
domain name by managing your DNS information, and setup a website and email
server. Whoa... What is DNS?
Look at it this way... The Internet is
a huge tangled web of servers, computers, and routers. Hence the name, world
wide web. Computers are run by you, the individuals surfing the
Internet. The traffic goes through the routers (cute little name) that
route the information to the correct destinations. The destinations
are the servers that contain the email, websites, or files that you will be
downloading or using. Each computer, server, and router on the
Internet has at least one Internet Protocol (IP) Address assigned to it.
These numbers are long, and not very nice to memorize. DNS is a method
that computers use to translate human readable names, like
www.compdevsys.com, into an IP
Address. The computers can then locate the destination by the IP
Address. (The actual destination goes one step below IP Address, NIC
Address, but it isn't necessary for us to review that.)
You need to run a DNS server and properly register your domain name with
the given IP address assigned to your name (check the note below for more
info on IP Addreses). Using DNS, you then point
this name to a specific IP address. The IP address you point to will
be the server that has your email and website services are setup on.
Now that your DNS and servers are setup, you are officially 'Hosting' a
domain. Guess what? This still doesn't mean you have a website or
email.
Note: IP addresses are assigned by ARIN (www.arin.net), which is the organization
responsible for controlling the Internet Address Spaces. There are
one-time AND annual fees associated with registering IP addresses.
These services
start at $500, and requires a minimum of two T1 Internet connections at your
facility. Ouch! Very pricey! |
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Hardware & Software
Requirements: |
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A server must be running special software to 'serve' data to users.
This server software can be very expensive, depending on the manufacturer
and version purchased. The servers must be running 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week to serve information to users around the world and must have very
fast business class Internet access to serve many people at once. In
addition, these servers must be updated regularly to avoid security risks
and virus attacks. Often, you get what you pay for when you purchase
server software. The more expensive server software is usually updated
more regularly, and therefore is more secure. Microsoft Windows 2003
Server, Web Server Edition, starts at $400. Server software also isn't
very easy to configure, and one slipup can compromise the server and all the
data on it. It isn't nice when someone hijacks your server and locks
you out of it.
You should also
keep in mind that the equipment required to host reliable websites and email
services isn't cheap. It normally costs thousands of dollars by the
time you get the the server software, antivirus, backup solution, and server
hardware purchased. Often, monthly expenses for 1 server, 1 block of
IP Addresses, and 2 T1 Internet connections will run approximately $1200.00
per month. |
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Website & Email Setup: |
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Now that you have the software and the hardware configured properly, you
need to setup the email and website software that will run your website.
There are different manufacturers and different versions, so it requires
someone with a lot of free time to do research, or someone that already has
the experience. We suggest the latter. These individuals have
already learned from their mistakes.
After thorough testing and
configuration changes, you can begin developing the website and fill it with
content and post it on your new web server...
What? You thought all of this was going to be easy? |
| Summary: |
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So you ask, 'Why can't I host my own website, instead of
paying someone else?' Well you can, but you may want to read the
entire article again before you decide to do it on your own.
We
brought you down a path that was really, really long and complicated.
That was our point. It isn't as easy as it sounds to host a website.
There are a lot of technical procedures that must take place, a lot of
expensive software, hardware, setup/registration fees, and Internet
connections that are necessary to complete this task. Isn't it just
easier to pick up the phone or send an email to your IT consultant and say;
"Please register www.compdevsys.com
for me and set it up?" and then pay them a small monthly fee of around
$20.00? And then all you have to worry about is what data you want in
your website!
Computer Development Systems, LLC can register your domain name, setup
your email accounts, and post a "coming soon" website that all becomes
affective in less than 12hrs. Initial one-time setup costs start at
$95, with a hosting fee starting as low as $20/month. |
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Visit
www.compdevsys.com! |
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Phone: (717) 932-5395
Phone: (717) 932-5395