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Is it good to host my own server?
nameserver
Member
I have been renting different servers for a long time now, mostly for personal use such as backup files or hosting my website, etc. I was wondering if it would be easier to buy my own server and host it in UK, maybe in a data centre so I get good network? How much would it cost me to host it?
Comments
On a small scale (ie you aren't straight renting a lot of space for way more than a single server) and you aren't doing it because of exotic or very high end hardware requirements its probably not going to be economically favorable. If you get a really good deal 1-2U rackspace are going to cost you at least about what you'd be paying renting mid range server while putting very strict power limits on your hardware. 1U also really isn't a whole lot so you'd need to see what you can even fit in there first.
Hello @liutony ,
It might cost you more if you're not making any money out of it.
Be aware that when you buy your own server and host it in a DC, you're responsible for all hardware failures/ upgrades and sometimes software updates as well as the security of your machine.
Much more is involved when co-locating. And again, it may end up being more expensive than sticking with renting a server outright where power, bandwidth, DDos protection etc... is more often than not, all included.
Kind Regards
Good point. I forgot about that. With colocation there's no ticketing in "Hey, my box won't come up. Please check and replace whatever makes it fail to operate. Thanks.". It's all up to the user and failing hardware might very well mean a trip to the DC or a lot of money on costly remote hands.
Pretty much this. If you can use any budget-ish standardized server spec from a big dedicated provider you're going to save money going with them instead of colo.
If you need tons of drives or higher end gear, you're gonna save money long term by eating hardware costs up front and saving on the monthly.
Yeah that’s true, I did some research and 1U is around 80£ to 150£ per month.
Hardware failure is something that I forgot to think about. Thanks for the advice
Hi @liutony,
If you are looking for your own hardware, and are happy with a server in The Netherlands, check out our deal!
You will OWN the following server!
Dell PowerEdge R630 8SFF
Dual Intel Xeon E5-2640v4 (20c/40t)
128 GB DDR4 RAM (32GB 2Rx4 PC4-2133P)
1x 960 GB SSD
Dell Perc H330 12Gbps SAS Mini Mono Raid Card
10 Gbit port (Intel 2x 10GbE X520-DA2 SFP+)
€250 one-time excl. VAT (hardware purchase fee). IT'S YOURS!!
1U AMS Colocation
Traffic: 100 TB Bandwidth
5 IPv4 Address
Power: 1.5A 252 kWh
A+B Feed
Free best-effort Remote Hands
€70/month excl. VAT
Which would already rent quite a nice box without having to scratch one's head if the power consumption will fit the stingy 150W allocation or whatever comes with the space. Still there's been some (US) deals lately at like $35 for 1U (or was it even 1-2U? i can't really remember) with 2A @120V (aka 240W). Something like that might somewhat work out but like @RHCHosting said being 100% responsible can also easily become a headache/expensive and i also don't think that i've ever seen a comparable offer in Europe to begin with.
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Seems like the best option is to keep renting servers rather host my own. I might think about hosting at home but broadband and electricity is quite expensive in the UK atm.
Also your line as fat as it might be likely won't have any DDoS protection, which means you might have to get (costly) external solutions to deal with it and your house simply isn't a DC as in there's no backup power or anything. Many people ponder the idea but in the end renting servers is just the most practical solution for 99% of everyone.
Even if you can solve the DDoS with Cloudflare Tunnels, the power and internet are harder.
Budget solution would probably be getting another data sim and a 4g router/modem, setting up Cloudflare, and using the fiber connection as the primary source of internet and the mobile data as a backup.
Above could probably work for some.
Most expensive part to cover though I’d bet is the question of power failure. That stuff ain’t chep no matter what…
@totally_not_banned I saved this picture for when it’s time to build emgh-dc
Nice, i like 4G connections! But where is the cable to runs to the old nuclear submarine, which got towed in the garden for backup power?
It was too complicated. I’m now building a smaller DIY nuclear reactor in my oven.
1U or mini box hosting in the US is probably only worth it for hobby reasons beyond any kind security/privacy/legal requirements. I have looked into it a lot.
get those microwaves revving.
An ITX build might fit. I think we’re onto something.
If I just put the computer inside the microwave and press start…
nah microwaves are how you build a demo home made fission reactor - use the transformers from microwaves to create a 40-60K volt arc in a low atmosphere(0.1 or lower) chamber to super heat the air.
I see, reliable power and the possibility of crisp uranium grilled chicken in one single appliance. That's what i call pragmatic thinking!
I’ll have to test this out. Especially if I could sell the excess energy I can really see this working out.
Side business: sell the uranium to the highest bidder
hopefully you are less than a 5 minute drive to the nearest major trauma center if you do attempt that
I figure once we done that we'll throw in the powered uranium, right? Should be easy but where to put the wires?
Can’t hear you over the sound of my nucleus splitting
wtf, those ain't my home made diy nuclear reactors
Funny thing is if i remember correctly there's at least 1-2 people that actually unironically did something like this. Not exactly to generate backup power for a DC but it's still pretty bonkers
Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn
Will have to look that up.
It must take a crazy combination of dumb & genius to get far enough into that..
my i m want server from emgh-dc if you usage big residential asn
emgh-dc usage as1257
you like ?
Regards
I have a colo for personal use and the only reason I went colo instead of renting is due to the specs of the machine since there's limited availability of high spec'd machines for rent in my area.
If I lived somewhere like Europe or the US I would not bother and simply rent so for the OP it probably makes more sense to do just that.
If you do choose to colo, don't cheap out on the hardware as remote hands costs a small fortune and it may not be possible for you to physically access your server due to the security policies a lot of DCs have. I would suggest getting used enterprise gear, e.g. a Dell server.