Anyone run their own server for business?

[Aloicious]

So does anyone run their own server for business purposes? I have a collection of business sites that I run (not all photography related, but some are), and I've been using VPN hosting from Hostgator which has been pretty good for the past several years with the exception of the last 6 months or so (had multiple datacenter/network failures causing significant outages for my server, including being down for most of this morning)...and it's got me thinking of building and running my own server, or possibly switching hosting services.

Building it and running the apache server wouldn't be an issue for me from a technical standpoint (I actually like building systems and running stuff like that, I've got a background in EE and CE/CS so for me its kind of fun). however all my business is based on the web, and I don't have a physical commercial location so I'd be running the server out of my home, which makes me wonder about the obvious failures that could occur (power outages, etc.), so I'm aware that the 'uptime' issues won't disappear, but at least with any server/network/datacenter problems its something *I* would be in control of...it frustrates me to no end to have major outages and just have to sit and wait for other people to work on it along with thousands of other people's servers when *my* server is likely way down on the list of things to repair, and with running my own server, at least that is something I'd be in control of.

So this is my thoughts right now on running my own server..

pros:
+ able to build a better system than what is offered by major hosting services
+ in control of any issues or problems myself
+ I like stuff like this
+ most likely better performance for my sites
+ not being hassled by the man
+ better ISP speeds and service for both business and home usage from upgrading to a business ISP account.

cons:
- possible worse 'uptime' due to issues like power outages
- not really any cost savings due to likely needing to upgrade my residential ISP service to business (and equipment costs for the server build)
- being in control of issues myself (I.e. if I'm out of town or something when an outage occurs I have no one to fall back on to fix the issues until I return, which is the potential for MAJOR downtime)

I'm really just kind of thinking 'out loud' here and bouncing ideas around, I'm not really set on any specific direction right now. However, I would be interested to hear any of your experiences or anything regarding running your own server, pros/cons, or even just a better hosting company to look into if you have any suggestions (I require a VPN or dedicated server though)

 

[bratkinson]

While having your own server might sound like a great idea, unless you want to do that as a full time job, don't even think about it.

In my estimation, the risks far outweigh the potential benefits. The biggest risk is from hackers. Never mind all the 'bots' out there probing for every concievable back door/under door/side door/whatever door weakness in the server software. And that worry changes every day as the hackers get wiser and wiser. Are you ready to 'stay on top of' every new threat that comes along more often than one per day? Do you have at least TWO complete backups of everything? How about an uninteruptable power supply...and not just some cheapo $500 device. And an auto power up generator to handle perhaps 48 hours or more without electricity due to a storm? And off-site backups on a very regular basis (daily, if needed) just in case a tornado/hurricane/tsunami/fire takes out your house? Oh, and you can't be sick, or take a vacation, either. If it stops working when you can't be available, WHO is able to get it going in your absence? I think of dairy farmers when I was living in Wisconsin 30 years ago. A major ice storm cut out the electricity for more than a week. The cows needed milking twice a day. Generators couldn't be bought for any price within 500 miles. Fortunately, neighbors all pitched in and took turns sharing the few generators they had to run the milking machines...and refridgeration units...

No, I'm not all doom and gloom. But wouldn't you rather be taking pictures and making money than having an even bigger work load thrust upon your shoulders?

 

[Aloicious]

I'm pretty familiar with the equipment needs and costs of such, its expensive, but I knew and expected that at the beginning, so it doesn't worry me much, and really neither do hackers for the most part, but downtime and the possibility of significant downtime is a major concern. So I do see your point and I'm tending to agree with you the more I look into it, its funny you mention the farmers I grew up around the farms in Idaho, so I know exactly what you mean.

I will probably end up staying where I'm at for the time being, perhaps the last couple months have just been a fluke, I haven't had these problems over the last few years, but I'm still interested in any good dedicated/VPS hosting suggestions out there too.

on a similar note, I did build a little NAS server for me to store, archive, and remotely access my images and files and everything and I've been having some fun setting that up and getting it running, so it satiates the 'it'll be fun' aspect without jeopardizing anything. hah