internal webhosting...

[mossj]

o/

 

I've been charged with the task of looking into hosting the schools website internally...... oh dear

 

Now the reason behind this is the hosting fees where silly (£hundreds) and the host unrelible, i've done the short term thing and moved onto a cheaper & more relable host...... but I can't think how to get started hosting it internally.

 

Has anyone else done something simular? can you suggest steps i need to make or terms i should google?

 

P.S the school has a line going to the webmail server (setup by a previous tech, and something the NM knows nothing about), would it be a case of playing with these?

 

P.S.S I assume at the same time i should be considering remote access to user areas (ftps) and/or webdev folders.

[kmount]

Hi,

 

Small steps first; investigate, gather information of why they wish to host internally, consider the options, etc.

 

For example,

 

You could host your school site for as little as £30 per annum with CSNewMedia depending upon your needs.

 

Consider the bandwidth implications of hosting your site internally; would your school be prepared to accept that unless you take a risk and look into using the dedicated line for the mail server that you could use bandwidth otherwise being used elsewhere (children's education for example)?

 

Providing remote access to user areas etc could be achieved through SSL Explorer but would require you to do some jiggery pokery with your internet connection, firewall port forwarding etc.

 

I'd suggest the first step is investigate the line to the webmail server; see who it's provided by; the speeds involved, and whether you could piggyback on it if you're determined to host internally (in fairness, if the site is low traffic/low drama you could host it on the webmail box given it'll already be running some kind of HTTP server).

 

HTH.

[kesomir]

You need a line with a static IP - doesn't matter what other than the higher the upload, the better.

 

Set the DNS on your domain to point to the static external ip.

 

Use the router to forward traffic on port 80 (poss 443 as well for ssl) to the IP of the box in your demiliterised zone.

 

Make sure that the box is secure and secured from the rest of your network otherwise it will probasbly be compromised and can then be used as a staging ground to attack the rest of your network.

[dhicks]

Has anyone else done something simular? can you suggest steps i need to make or terms i should google?

 

You can run your webserver off of a standard ADSL connection, although check what bandwidth/upload limit your provider allows you. You don't have to have a static IP, you case use a dynamic DNS service to get around that (although a static IP is better, and easy enough to get hold of). I'm currently in the middle of sorting out our web server - I've now got the server running as a virtual machine, mirrored between two machines with separate Internet connections. If one machine/connection goes down we can switch over to the other one in a few seconds.

 

--

David Hicks

[mossj]

we have static ip and the server that it points to is running IIS 6.0 or 7.0 (the latest one for server 2003) if thats what you mean by http tech, and a dedicated line... i'll have to check that one.

 

The site is fairly low bandwidth... 30,000 non unique hits a month but i should think most of that is coming from the kids/staff (1600 kids) having it as a fixed homepage, so just pointing there hp so it wouldn't go out and back in would cut most of it.

 

 

*edit*

 

What does it take to get a dedicated line, is it just a case of phoning a company and saying *little briton voice* I want that one?

Edited January 5, 2009 by mossj

[GrumbleDook]

Chat with your existing service provider and see what you can get with regards to external IPs.

 

Even for RBCs having an internally hosted webserver is pretty standard and relatively easy to set up the various firewall rules (presuming you are with EMBC it is just a case of making a support call and it can be there for you in a few days ... just make sure you also get the DNS done at the DNS done at the same time!)

 

I would recommend that you harden your server or, if possible, put it into a DMZ.

[mossj]

I would recommend that you harden your server or, if possible, put it into a DMZ.

 

? ? huh, never mind google searched twigged it.

Edited January 5, 2009 by mossj
google!

[mossj]

hmmm thanks for the info guys, i think i've decided on my plan of attack.

 

1. contact previous tech, that sorted out webmail. ask about line, isp, etc.

 

2. Meet with head of it, to discuss site and other webby things (to keep me from leaving, they gave me a role that lets me go over NM head in regards to web stuff)

 

3. Setup a test server, and have a play with some cms's for the site, iis, ftps, webdev etc. whilst i wait for decissions to be made and info to come through.

 

4. put it all together.... and hopefully it will pull itself together.

 

any gapping holes, I should know about?

 

also cms wise care to recommend a few? (i played with typo3 for a bit)

[FN-GM]

I know someone (also a forum member) who uses this - CMS Made Simple - Welcome to CMS Made Simple

 

If you have a dynamic IP you can use this to get round that - DynDNS.com: DNS Hosting, E-mail Delivery, VPS Hosting and Other Services

 

Also make sure you dont put the server in the same network as the other machines.

 

Hope this helps

[somabc]

You could still use a VPS such as slicehost/linode or Amazon Web Services to host the site. They should be fairly cheap and you have full control over how you setup the server.

 

Hacker News | Ask HN: AWS or dedicated server?

Edited January 6, 2009 by somabc