Eli the Computer Guy

Archive for the ‘network’ Category

Having moved from a shared hosting plan for my web site to a virtual server I still find the performance to be below what I need.  I looked at leasing a dedicated server, but I dislike the contracts and frankly for the amount of money hosting companies want it seems like their should be a more affordable way.

I finally found the answer in building my own server and using Comcast Business Class Internet.  By using hardware I already own I don’t have to spend money to set a Linux box up, and the new Comcast Internet plans offer an amazing amount for relatively little money.

When you get the Business Plan you can do just about anything you want with your server (that’s legal).  You can host your own web sites and email servers without having to worry about using work arounds or violating your contract.

The service plans and pricing are very good:

• 12 Down, 2 Up for approx. $60
• 16 Down, 5 Up for approx. $100
• 50 Down, 10 Up for approx. $190

There are some installation fees, and such, but you can run a very respectable server from the comfort of your own home or office.

Frankly I’ve never been a huge Comcast fan, but sadly Verizon FIOS isn’t available in Baltimore and 756Kbps up on DSL just won’t cut it.

If you’re serious about running a complicated web site  you should definitely give Comcast a thought.  At 10Mbps there’s very little you can’t do with a web server.

Check them out at http://business.comcast.com/

I am looking at getting new broadband service and was doing the standard research into what ports and services are blocked by different providers.  I ran across this on Comcast.com and was surprised to see that Comcast says it doesn’t block port 80.

They say they only block:

• 25
• 135-139
• 445
• 1080

You can take a look at their chart of blocked ports at http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?guid=d3609bda-26c4-4200-a9ba-ba991251a9f6

Do you want to host your own website or email server at home, but you don’t have a static IP address?  Dynamic DNS is a handy service that helps you do it.

There are a couple of companies that offer Dynamic DNS service.  No-IP.com and DynDNS.com are two.  Basically all you do is create an account with them, and then install a small client application on a computer in your network.  Most new routers have the application built into them.

The company then gives you a unique FQDN (Domain name), such as YOURNAME.no-ip.info.  What happens is that you point all of your web traffic to that domain name.  Then the little application on your computer, or router, tells the companies servers it’s current IP address every 10-15 minutes.

So when web traffic is directed to YOURNAME.no-ip.info it gets routed to your home server.

I have used this for email servers, web servers, and digital surveillance systems. I have never seen the service fail.

Both DynDNS and No-IP have free and paid for plans.  I’ve used both services and have been happy with each of them.

If you are trying to run a web server they also give you an option for a Port 80 Work Around.  Many ISP’s block Port 80 which is required to run a web server.  This little service gets around that.

Check them out at either

• http://www.dyndns.com/
• http://www.no-ip.com/