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Hi
I own and run 2 non-profit commercially hosted web sites running XOOPS and I run and maintain a small internal Intranet serving a team of 8 people where security, performance etc do not need to be worried about, also using Xoops.
I am thinking of embarking on my third 'outside facing' web site, but instead of commercially hosting it I'm considering hosting it myself - setting up the MySQL database, Apache server, PHP, configuring the firewall, port forwarding from my router, the lot.
Why? Primarily to learn - I'm curious and want to expand my knowledge. I want to learn more about web and hosting security, performance enhancement, and I like the thought of being able to access all the data I'll ever need and have the freedom to configure everything the way I want to. But, at best I'm worried I'll take a year just configuring the server before I even start on the site, and at worst I'm worried that I'll mess something up, get hacked to pieces and I'll be sat wishing I'd stuck with my commercial host.
So my question : What would people recommend? What are the experiences of those who do host their own sites on the own hardware from their bedroom? Was it worth the hassle now you're up and running? Do you wish you'd stuck with a commercial host? What other benefits are there to private hosting? And finally, does any one know of a quick "How To Configure Your Web Server Safely" resource that I could read (read the XOOPS FAQ earlier but couldn't find such a document).
Looking forward to hearing your views....
Regards
Ted