Looking for a dedicated

[MRGTB]

Well I suppose it depends who your ISP is, for example I can get a 10Mbit cable connection now with my ISP for £35 month un-capped (all there connections speeds are uncapped). So maybe it depends on each persons ISP. The only downside is the Upload rate which is only 348kbps for a 10Mbit conenction. Not sure if thats fast enough for a busy forum to be honest from that connection, due to the pretty slow upload stream compared to the very fast download stream.

Which you can see here: http://www.telewest.co.uk/websales/product.do?id=3246

But if it is fast enough, paying £35 month to host your own server on that connection speed uncapped, and be in total control of it from a second computer only used to host a forum. I would have though is cheaper and better than paying for a dedicated server for me personally. Seeing as online dedicated servers are much more expensive per month for me.

I know Zack knows a lot about this, I would like his thoughts on what I posted here that I could do. Would he see this as a good option?

[Joshs]

Well I suppose it depends who your ISP is, for example I can get a 10Mbit cable connection now with my ISP for £35 month un-capped (all there connections speeds are uncapped). So maybe it depends on each persons ISP. The only downside is the Upload rate which is only 348kbps for a 10Mbit conenction. Not sure if thats fast enough for a busy forum to be honest from that connection, due to the pretty slow upload stream compared to the very fast download stream.

Which you can see here: http://www.telewest.co.uk/websales/product.do?id=3246

But if it is fast enough, paying £35 month to host your own server on that connection speed uncapped, and be in total control of it from a second computer only used to host a forum. I would have though is cheaper and better than paying for a dedicated server for me personally. Seeing as online dedicated servers are much more expensive per month for me.

I know Zack knows a lot about this, I would like his thoughts on what I posted here that I could do. Would he see this as a good option?

There are a ton of downsides from hosting in your home. I have listed some of these downsides below:
-HVAC
-Cooling
-UPS
-Backup power
-Connectivity (one connection -- if it goes down you are SOL)
-(D)DoS will render your line useless
-384kbps is not a lot at all! you can't burst so that will significantly effect speed
-SLA
-etc

[Reeve of Shinra]

Aside from the other reasons that Josh listed, 384k up is just not enough for a decent sized forum.

Some other things I found of interest regarding the blue yonder service (which telewest is offering) is that:

You cannot use any services (including, but not limited to, phone services) for commercial or business purposes.

IP address will change. (LOL DNS Updates for the win!)

[Joshs]

Aside from the other reasons that Josh listed, 384k up is just not enough for a decent sized forum.

Some other things I found of interest regarding the blue yonder service (which telewest is offering) is that:

You cannot use any services (including, but not limited to, phone services) for commercial or business purposes.

IP address will change. (LOL DNS Updates for the win!)

Yeah, I agree, another good point is dynamic IP versus static. I actually have my cable company to thank for starting my company. I had been hosting a site with them many years ago and they told me it had to go. So we co-located the server and started a web hosting company which is doing pretty well, now we are up to ten dedicated servers and may move back to colo.

[MRGTB]

Aside from the other reasons that Josh listed, 384k up is just not enough for a decent sized forum.

Some other things I found of interest regarding the blue yonder service (which telewest is offering) is that:

You cannot use any services (including, but not limited to, phone services) for commercial or business purposes.

IP address will change. (LOL DNS Updates for the win!)

Yes that true, I have webspace with them that you get with your connection that's unlimited bandwidth, but they don't allow you to use Google Adds on there webspace, which is a really pity

[KingSpade]

Generally speaking, unless you are housing your own data center in a area designated for server hosting, then dedicated or colocation is your best option.

Hosting a server from your host may be ideal for testing, development and the like, however, hosting a server for the purpose of actual, live traffic may very well violate your ISP's TOS and as above, place you in a bind when someone hits a pole and knocks the connection out.

Lastly, even if your connection allowed you 1mb upstream and 10mb downstream, that still simply would not be enough. While some ISP's may not cap your limits drastically, all ISP's do cap them. It's all in the marketing. Just as with some dedicated server offers. Some businesses offer 2-4TB's of bandwidth, but it's simply because they know 100% of the people are not going to use it.