On Wed, 2005-12-14 at 00:15, Edward Dekkers wrote: > For the first time ever, with my new account I will get a static IP > address and high bandwidth (no more dial-up finally!!!). > > I've purchased a domain which is waiting to have IP addresses tied to it > (currently parked). > > The question is - is it worth pointing the IP addresses directly at my > server, and hosting my mail and http directly from this server, or would > it be considered smarter to have everything hosted at the ISP still? Is this for a business or for personal use? If for a business you need to consider disaster planning. Most ISPs have redundant Internet access, firewalls, backup schemes, UPS systems, generators, climate control, etc. It would be rare for the ISP to lose power, A/C, or Internet access. From your home you probably don't have redundant Internet or generator power available. Depending on where you are and how reliable your utilities are could mean your site might be down for several weeks a year. For a business that could be very bad. For a personal web site probably not an issue. If you do set it up you should put a separate firewall in front of your server(s). Something dedicated to the task of firewalling your site. This provides a choke point that you can monitor all traffic in and out. > > Most important question - to me it seems worth it, but is it unsafe for > someone of my experience to do? Not sure of your experience level. If it is for business you need to consider lost revenue if your site goes down. If it is a personal web site what is the worst that could happen? If the site is compromised you just need to be ready to reload the system from scratch. Just don't keep any sensitive data on the system such as your checking account info or credit card information. Setup a separate system for your web pages and use the other system for your day to day work. And read up on how to setup firewalls and web sites. There are many good articles on the web and books available. And avoid things like phpnuke and their like. They are know to have lots of holes and exploits.
