Running Your Own Server – “Ready-to-Run” Options

Running Your Own Server – “Ready-to-Run” Options
At the beginning of this chapter, we considered the basic question of whether to run your own server or to hire someone else to run a server for you. Assuming you do wish to run your own server, you still have choices to make: Your choices include:
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“Server appliances” or “thin servers”
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“Turnkey” or ready-to-run servers
So-called “servers appliances” or “thin servers” are an alternative to installing a general-purpose server. With a server appliance, you purchase a server that’s ready to run with a minimal amount of setup. Typically, you need only tell the server its new IP address and host name, along with a minimal amount of additional information. Then you plug the server box into your local network, hook up a link to your ISP, and you are ready to serve pages. All that’s left is preparing HTML documents and placing them on the server.
Configuration of the server appliance is usually performed via inputs on a keypad on the server box itself, and/or use of a Web browser. There is no editing of configuration files nor is there any downloading of software or compiling of utility programs. Setting up a server appliance, in theory is no more difficult than installing a Web browser or other simple end-user application program.
Server appliances are a relatively new concept. The goal of server appliances is to create a server box that has had all of the administration and installation work done for you, with setup work kept to the absolute minimum. Server appliances tend to be based on processors that are somewhat less powerful than the most current general-purpose servers, but vendors tune the operating system and Web server software for the best performance possible. In any event, serving static HTML pages does not require a huge amount of processing horsepower.
Server appliances usually are designed to have a level of robustness not always found in general purpose servers. In the event of a power outage, for instance, some server appliances are able to quiesce all activity, shut down the server, and restart automatically when power is restored.
Some ISPs are working with vendors of server appliances to offer simple package purchase arrangements. You order the server with the assistance of the ISP, which has prepared special documentation and procedures to allow the simplest installation possible. In some cases, such servers can be installed in as little as 15 minutes.
If you are new to network and server administration, but you do wish to run your own server, think carefully about a server appliance as your first solution. Even if you expect to “graduate” to a general-purpose server at a later date, your server appliance can free you to concentrate on content as you begin your project. If you eventually acquire a general-purpose server, you can always reuse the server appliance for other projects after your new, fancy general-purpose box is in production.
Server appliances may be based on proprietary hardware and software, or they may use commodity hardware and freely-available software such as the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server. In theory, you will not even be aware of what is running under the covers; those details are hidden from you.
Prices for server appliances range from under $1000 to $3000 or so.
Vendors of server appliances include:
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Cobalt Networks, www.cobaltnet.com
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Encanto Networks, www.encanto.com
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Technauts, www.technauts.com
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Whistle, www.whistle.com
General-purpose servers are increasingly being offered with ready-to-run configurations. Vendors will pre-install your operating system of choice. Such “turnkey” servers may offer many of the advantages of server appliances. For instance, Compaq markets the Prosignia Neoserver, an entry-level server for sites that “have a network but not a network department.” Most vendors of proprietary Unix systems also offer ready-to-run Web server packages. Over time, vendors will increasingly deliver systems ready to run and to serve Web pages out of the box.
Paradoxically, some people argue that the first thing you should do with a brand new server is to format the hard disk and reinstall the operating system from starter CD-ROMs. The argument here is that if you rely on the vendor’s pre-installed software, you won’t understand how to do an installation from scratch – and when your disk fails, you’ll be unable to recover. This could lead to an outage lasting days instead of hours. If you use a pre-installed server, at least be sure you do complete backups.
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