THE SMALL WEBSITE S SERVER SPECIFICATIONS

THE SMALL WEBSITE’S SERVER SPECIFICATIONS

For many small entrepreneurs and brick-and-mortar businesses, the main barrier to building their own website is the cost. The good news is that the hardware necessary for hosting your own website is no longer expensive or difficult to set up.

NOTE
Before you can understand the interrelations of the components needed to build a website, you must understand the basic terms and workings of a computer. The capabilities of your CPU, bus systems, power supplies, hardware and software are all part of the foundation upon which the website is built. If you are well versed in this technology read on. However, if you feel you need a refresher course on the inner workings of a computer, go to Appendix A: Computer Basics, where you can find a brief explanation of the various components that make up a computer.

Server Needs

The first step in determining your server needs is to determine your hardware requirements. In this section we discuss the bare-bones server specifications for a website that will be hosted on premises by a business with a limited budget. However, it is recommended that you build a web server with components that are in excess of the bare-bones recommendations.

A normal server, whether a web server or otherwise, consists of a computer (the hardware), an operating system (usually some flavor of Unix or Windows), and one or more pieces of software (the applications). The software can be web server software, email server software, commerce server software, etc.

For security reasons, your web server should be exclusive, i.e., stand-alone. If the web server is tied to your business’ internal network, install another computer to house a firewall; position it between your internal network and your web server.

Memory is important. While as little as 64 MB of RAM is sufficient for a small static web server that does not house a database, always install as much memory as your budget will allow. Also if you anticipate more than moderate traffic from the get-go, expect to use a database to drive your site while means you must load your server with as much memory as it can hold. The same holds true for websites that plan to use a lot of graphics and/or sound.

Consider how much hard drive space your software and web pages will need. Again, if your website is a static brochureware site, you will most likely only be running an operating system, web server software, and traffic analysis software on your server, thus a 1 GB hard drive will be sufficient. For other website layouts, it is suggested that you install the largest drive your budget will allow.

When it comes to processors, the general rule of thumb is to go for the fastest processor your budget will allow. However, if you have a limited budget, a web server running older technology, such as a 233 MHz Pentium with MMX, should work just fine for a static website. (Don’t use anything slower — doing so will limit the number of simultaneous connections your web server can handle, and it will take a longer time to load each page.) To handle more than moderate traffic, or more processor intensive web design (e.g. numerous graphics, database, interactive content), choose a later Pentium model and load it with as much memory as possible.

All web servers should also be equipped with an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) and some kind of backup, which can be as simple as floppy disks, a Zip drive (an inexpensive external drive), or a read/write CD drive.

To sum it up, it is possible to design a static brochureware website with a computer running a 233 MHz Pentium CPU with MMX, 64 MB of RAM and a 1 GB EIDE drive, if that is all your budget will allow. However, to grow, your website will eventually need a computer on “steroids.” So, while working within the constraints of your budget, go for the fastest processor, the most memory the computer can take, the largest SCSI drive with a RAID set-up, backup protection such as a read/write CD or tape backup system, and attach everything to a robust UPS system.



The Complete E-Commerce Book. Design, Build & Maintain a Successful Web-based Business
The Complete E-Commerce Book, Second Edition: Design, Build & Maintain a Successful Web-based Business
ISBN: B001KVZJWC
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 159

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