Really intro level hosting question

[scottprive at earthlink.net (Scott Prive)]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Duane Morin" <dmorin at lear.morinfamily.com>
To: "Scott Prive" <scottprive at earthlink.net>
Cc: <discuss at blu.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 6:24 AM
Subject: Re: Really intro level hosting question


> On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Scott Prive wrote:
> > But there's another option... consider hosting your own server. A TZO
> > dynamic DNS account could bind your domain name to your broadband
> > connection's non-fixed IP address. Second-tier domains (like duane.com)
are
> > cheap, and third-tier (like duane.tzo.com) are still cheaper.
>
> Isnt that against the typical consumer terms of agreement, though?

This is all my personal interpretation, but I'll go on a limb and say most
folks agree. If there are any ISP admin here who want to offer a contrary
opinion please step in. I'd be interested in knowing if there are additional
issues.

It "depends"and YMMV. Some ISP's might have "strict" interpretations of
their TOS and this would be a violation, as anything that is a "server" is a
violation. Given an agressive reading, other violations include exposed
CIFS/SMB, instant messaging, "Internet connection sharing", and even running
a non-Windows client.

I might guess that many ISP's that do discourage "servers" do so for these
reasons:
1) security
2) support issues
3) To not cannibalize their "business" hosting.

Issues #1 and #2 are defused if you are a good net citizen and keep a low
profile. #3 is not likely because an ISP already shapes your inbound web
traffic so you can't compete with their hosting services.

"Blocked ports" became popular especially after the Code Red worm. I use
Earthlink DSL, and they temporarily blocked ports during that whole mess. I
used an external TZO port relay which made TZO the web middleman..
redirecting web connections to my port 81. Earthlink DSL has unblocked port
80 since, so now my web connection is more direct.

You might already know all this... I see you're a TZO customer :-)

> If I'm
> gonna charge a business for the service of getting this setup I'd like to
> make sure that it's all on the up and up.

You have two stages here... "prototype" and "business". For prototype, I
wouldn't hesitate on my suggestion.

I suspect part of your motivation here is to have an environment where you
can learn and manage a Jakarta application as it's a very useful skill. The
big question for you and your clients is: can you find the app-serving
technology you prefer (Jakarta) and at a price your customer wants? If
either of these are no then what compromises can be made?

For "business", yes I would plan things differently. Go with pro hosting and
save yourself the headaches. You won't need to set low-service expectations
for your clients, but it may price some smaller clients out of the game.


>That's the primary reason I
> don't just put them on my own (tzo-assisted) server in my basement.
>
> Duane
>