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ISPs for the Little Guy?
jjshoe asks: "While access to the Internet varies greatly, depending on where you are in the USA, I recently went on the hunt for an ISP that provided me the ability to have a 'broadband' link to the Internet. I am looking for would be the ability to lease/rent static IP's, so I could host my own DNS/WWW/E-mail server. I was wondering what ISP fellow Slashdot readers use for themselves, as well as what they pay. I have gotten quotes for $50 a month for a single static IP on top of my monthly DSL fee. This seems slightly outrageous to me. Colocation is not an option as it generally runs $150 a month and does not provide me Internet access. I am open to any other ideas the community might have."
I apologize for patronizing you, but definitely make sure that the ISP you choose does not block ports required for hosting email, dns, or web servers.
I know I once payed Verizon ~$70/month thinking I would host my own site, only to find out they don't allow home website hosting.
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You're probably going to get a lot of this particular answer (or at least I hope), but if you live in California Omsoft is incredible. Not only do they allow you to run your own server, they encourage it. They are responsive to user requests and very knowledgable. Sure it's only a DSL connection, but my site's been happy about. Good luck!
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Hi,
I want something that's exactly like a T1, except I only want to pay $60 a month. TIA.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
Check out Speakeasy. I have never come across a single unhappy customer. They allow the customer to use their connection for pretty much anything, even WiFi hot spots. They even offer symetric DSL up to 1.5Mbit.
- Static IP is the default.
- They not only allow but encourage running servers. They're even reasonable about secondary DNS and MX pricing.
- Free reverse lookup changes.
- Encourage sharing your connection.
- Don't block ports.
- Provide NTP services on all their local POPs
- Heck they even host game servers on the local POPs
I have no affiliation with Speakeasy other than being a more than satisfied customer. Go check out dslreports.com.I have SBC/Yahoo DSL ($65/month). Used to have DirectTV DSL ($49/month). I would still have DTV DSL, but they are out of the business.
So, my SBC DSL account gets me 5 static IP's (I use just one), about 1 megabit down, 128Kbits up, and no blocked ports whatsoever. They don't care what services you run on the line.
I have my own web server (www.pdrap.org), my own e-mail server, and anything else that I want to have.
I can add domains through virtual hosting, or I could make use of the other 4 static IP addresses that I have.
The static accounts do NOT use that PPoE that their dynamic accounts use. My static account does not require a login - it's plain old ethernet coming out of the DSL modem.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Speakeasy encourages you to run your own servers on thier dsl lines, a static IP costs $3 or $5 extra a month, and they'll change your reverse dns for ya too. I have never been happier with an ISP than I was with them.
That kind of depends... If you've already got ADSL, with static IP, then the added cost of hosting is very small. If you want to host several hundred MB of MP3s or JPGs you're not going to find a cheaper commercial solution.
I've had some pretty poor experience of dedicated service providers. They go offline for a week, every day promising it will be up in 2 hours. They lose backups. They arbitrarily change hosting software and interfaces. Expensive ones may be robust, but "cheaply" and "robustly" don't seem to go together. If I host it, I control it. If my server goes up in smoke, if I care that much about reliability I'll go out & buy another one today (or swap over another old PC).
I don't recommend hosting your own site unless you already need "fancy" service (multiple static IPs, fast upstream) for other reasons.
Depends where you're coming from. I host my own web and email. I've learned a huge amount doing so. I have far better access to the server than I'm used to with commercial services. It means that MB stored data cost nothing (so all my music & all my photos are there, available from home or office, but pw protected). I can play with different languages. I can learn about virtual hosting. And yes, it opens up the possibility of home-based webcams, home automation etc.
Hosting your own can be great fun. Start with a limited-functionality webserver such as tinyweb - less to learn, less to go wrong, fewer security holes. Don't host an email server until you're certain you understand about open relays, and then test it at http://www.abuse.net/relay.html
Back to the original topic. I'm in the UK, so can't help with US providers. But I use Zen ADSL. GBP23.82 per month, single static IP. No blocked ports.
Get a cage at a colocation facility. Sell all of your stuff, get a sleeping bag and a laptop then move in.
100MB+ internet access and it's only a few $hundred a month, but since you will live there (cm'on -- you're probably on IRC 19 hours a day anyway -- right?) you can eliminate rent.
Just get a few boxes of 'wet naps' -- maybe from your local KFC and you don't need to worry about showering or whatever.
Hey -- where else is it 70 degrees all day every day? Hawaii? San Diego? Who can afford to move there? Plus you would have major geek bragging rights at the local starbucks.
Good luck!
"But actually trying to use m4 as a general-purpose langage would be deeply perverse" --ESR
Everyone wants to play amateur sysadmin these days. I have to admit, I've been tempted too. It's fun to mess with Your Very Own Server (TM). But when you do the math, it just isn't worth it.
A much better value is virtual hosting, which is getting very cheap these days. By virtual hosting I mean your very own server -- an instance of Linux, BSD or whatever running on a big box via MWare. To you it's exactly the same as running your own box at home, but better. First of all, it's much better connected -- usually with at least 2-3 T1 or better connections to a major backbone -- not some silly upload-capped 128k DSL or cable line. Second, no more hardware worries -- everything is kept running by the hosting company, and all you do is admin your own software. You can even get Microsoft-compatible stuff. Finally, the cost ($20-30/month) is often less than the extra cost of a static IP on your home DSL or cable, and that's not even considering the savings on hardware.
I don't know why anyone messes with home servers anymore, except to satisfy a gearhead fetish.