1
vote

I pay yearly big money for my websites' hostings, domain registrars, etc.

My IP is dynamic and provider allows HTTP port. In my local webserver, I can access to my websites like that: localhost:80 - first website, localhost:81 - second website, etc.

What I want to do is to host low traffic websites (such as company pages, etc.) from my own computer, and reduce all costs that I told above.

Questions:

  • Is it possible to host my own DNS server and multiple websites (from multiple local ports) even with dynamic IP? Or should I buy dynamic dns service like DynDNS, NO-IP?

Note: You can give solution with any OS (Linux, Windows doesn't matter, I'm ready to install)

  • Let's say I have static IP. I want to host webserver, DNS server from my own pc. And I registered domain name with some registrar like Godaddy, etc. What I need to do next?

4 Answers 4

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3
votes

This is almost certainly going to be in violation of your agreement with your ISP. You need a plan that actually allows for servers, usually a business plan, and has enough bandwidth to host a site.

If you just want a cheap setup, maybe you should look into a low-end VPS. It was hard to get stock for it, but I'm with BuyVM now and find them pretty excellent.

edit: Oh, and I should note that a lowend VPS will usually be unmanaged, which will require you to have knowledge of the server and how to administer it. Luckily, Linux administration is not too bad if you're not looking to do anything huge. At worst, all you need to do is learn how to use SSH and basic bash to setup a few config files.

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    I already told that, my provider allows http port
    – Tural Teyyuboglu
    Jan 12, 2012 at 7:44
  • 3
    Yes, but you must understand that this does not mean your AUP will cover running a website. A higher scale website would be disruptive to a consumer connection. They're cheap for a reason: you're sharing with your neighbors in some respects! So, even though it will work (it will with most respectable ISPs,) that doesn't mean you should do it for a public website. That is all.
    – John Chadwick
    Jan 12, 2012 at 7:46
  • 2
    Allowing the port is not the same thing as allowing you to run the service. Also, consumer-grade Internet access typically has very low upload bandwidth.
    – David Schwartz
    Jan 12, 2012 at 8:08
  • @JohnChadwick: Good affordable. 4$ for a decent vm. Do they allow clients in europe? How is the speed and uptime?
    – Micromega
    Jan 12, 2012 at 10:56
  • @David I have not done much big with BuyVM yet, however I do believe they allow clients in Europe (servers are US-based) and the uptime has been pretty good (only one incident in the few months I've been there.) Not really sure about bandwidth, but I certainly haven't had any issues yet. The main issue is getting stock, which can be hard - it's always in demand and rarely in supply...
    – John Chadwick
    Jan 12, 2012 at 11:41
3
votes

Its generally not a good idea to have your DNS (which in general should be run on at least two, preferably geographically seperate boxes, in case one fails) on your general use server. Most registars run their own or you can use something like zoneedit, rather than your own.

Unless you have a dynamic ip address, there's no advantage to dynamic DNS - you can just set it statically and be on your merry way.

Serverwise, what was said before holds - lock down everything you don't use, preferably both at server and network level, make sure that things like ssh have appropriate levels of security (i love fail2ban for ssh lockdowns), you don't have anything like phpmysql open to anything other than specific ips and so on

1
vote

The simplest method would be to use a service like DynDNS and configure your router to update your DynDNS account. This way you effectively have a free domain.

You can then configure your website's to run from your local IIS manager as you already have configured.

There after you can use a proxy to control local users to redirect to [YourIP]:[Port] when they attempt to access your DynDNS alias.

External users will then connect directly to your PC when browsing your websites, thus using your own immediate bandwidth and line speed.

The advantages of doing it this way is you avoid all the ISP costs, however you will need to upgrade your ISP account to have higher bandwidth limit (uncapped if possible) and a faster line (unshapped if possible) which would push your monthly costs up slightly.

The disadvantages of this is, you have to manage the security and provide a decent connection, if many users access your site simultaneously they'll experience a definite "lag" between page renders with a bad quality line.

You also open up your own personal network to hackers and internet deviants, this is relatively easily solved with correct firewall configurations and proxy layer.

-1
votes

Only trusted authorities can run a dns nameserver. You aren't allowed to run a public nameserver as a privateer nor can you rent a nameserver yourself. Imagine you can sell unlimited top level domains and suffixes? A dyndns is affordable but a virtual server solution too. Here is a smilar question How can I buy my own personalized Top Level Domain (TLD)?. The fee for a tld and unlimited domain is 185.000$. Technically spoken dns nameserver uses a patricia trie algorithm.

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    That's inaccurate. Anyone can run a nameserver and even enter into the Internet's public DNS. The other question relates to alternative root DNS servers, which create a conflicting DNS hierarchy. There's nothing inherently wrong with running your own non-root DNS server. The way DNS is designed, so long as the official DNS root is used, all requests will be progressively resolved down the zone hierarchy to always arrive at the right authoritative nameserver(s) for the domain. A domain won't ever point to a nameserver unless the registry record says so.
    – Lèse majesté
    Jan 12, 2012 at 14:26
  • @Lèsemajesté: I'm not an expert but for dns server you need a patricia trie algorithm. I just want to separate the business logic from the technical aspect.
    – Micromega
    Jan 12, 2012 at 14:35
  • @Lèsemajesté: Yes, it's dumb. Please explain your downvote.
    – Micromega
    Jan 12, 2012 at 16:21
  • I rarely downvote answers, but as I explained, your answer is incorrect. You don't need to be a "trusted authority" to run a nameserver in this context. It's only the root nameservers that need to have ICANN approval. There's no way that he would be able to sell unlimited TLDs or screw up the public DNS by running his own nameserver--for the simply fact that his NS would only become part of the public DNS as the authoritative NS for the DNS zone of his domain. In that case, he can screw up his own domain by pointing it to the wrong servers, but that's it.
    – Lèse majesté
    Jan 13, 2012 at 14:37
  • It won't be used as the caching DNS server of any ISPs, and so there's no possibility of it affecting other DNS zones. All he would be able to do is tell people where his domain and any subdomains point to. Your incoherent edit about the use of radix trees didn't fix what was wrong with your answer and really has nothing to do with the question.
    – Lèse majesté
    Jan 13, 2012 at 14:46

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