What are Web Servers?
Web Servers are actually computers that have some kind of server software installed. All Web servers have IP addresses and possibly domain names.
For example, if you enter the URL http://narutofever.com in your browser, this sends a request to the server whose domain name is narutofever.com. The web server then fetches the page named "index.html" and sends it to your browser.
Having said all that, all computers can be turned into Web Servers simply by installing relevent software and connecting the machine to the Internet.
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Web Servers at Home
Well, I just said that turning your home computer into a web server can be done but it doesn't mean that it should. If you have the time, if it might be a good idea to learn how to just for the sake of learning but it should end there.
First of all, you computer must be powerful. Unless you own xeon servers or the new powerpc from apple, your home computer will just not cut it.
Secondly, web servers needs to run 24/7. It means that your computer needs to be switched on for people to see your website. Even if you can turn your home computer all the time and you have the money to connect it to the internet all the time, it must not break down whether it is due to wear and tear or viruses. It is extremely difficult for an amateur to maintain a web server at home. Then, there’s the internet connection. Cable or DSL are definitely too slow to host anything, let alone for dial up modems. You need T1 or T3 lines. However, these are expensive; the subscription alone will cost you up to a few thousand dollars a month.
Free Web Servers
Web sites like yahoo.com (formerly geocities.com), xoom.com, tripod.com, etc. do offer a free web server space for a limited space of a few MB or more. In exchange, your web site would be flooded with banners of their sponsors.
These free services offered by the companies so not make good web servers for Naruta websites. I have already mentioned the ugly pop-ups and advertisements, our fans will not like that. Furthermore, their web servers are usually very slow and they do not offer any mail or ftp service.
Worse, some free web server services are only available for a few months and if you decide to sign on after that, they charge exorbitant prices. Put your foot down and deciding not to give in to them, you will only lost your data. For Profit Web Servers
If you are building a Naruto.website and expecting a lot of traffics, this would be the best option. The prices to pay for a shared web server is pretty low and usually the space that comes along with it is more than enough.
Paying for good web servers are extremely important if you decide to host media files, and NarutoFever.com uses two different web servers for our purposes. Thats why we need the donations.
In my next article, I’ll write more about choosing good or suitable web servers.
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