Periodically I get asked whether or not it’s a sound idea to run a web server from your own home. My answer to this is always flat-out no for three primary reasons:

First, in the United States the vast majority of ISPs have it written in their TOS (Terms of Use) and/or AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) “no servers” in very plain English for consumer-grade accounts.

Second, any web site you run from your home will be slow as molasses because the connection will choke on a frequent basis.

Third, your server will be an open target.

TOS/AUP

In the early days of ISPs in the United States there were acceptable and non-acceptable uses of a running a server from your consumer based internet connection written in the TOS/AUP. But since the advent of broadband, many (if not almost all) changed the usage terms to basically state “If you run a server on a consumer-grade account, and I mean any server, bucko, your account will be terminated without warning.”

The only option available is to upgrade to a “business-class” ISP account which does allow server use. It’s usually the exact same type of connection as a consumer-grade, save for the fact you pay double to triple the cost (or more) per month just for the “privilege” of being able to run a server without having the banhammer dropped on you.

Some US-based broadband ISPs still do allow servers on consumer-grade accounts, but not many.

If you know of any, feel free to chime in with a comment or two on that as I’m sure some would be interested. Be sure to list the location of where they are if you know one or two or more.

In other countries (Canada being one of them), the ISP TOS/AUP rules are usually not as strict concerning home public web servers, but in the US they are. That is unless Canada has decided to tighten up their TOS/AUPs too.

Slow-as-molasses web server connectivity

Even if you are allowed to run a public web server from your ISP account, it will be slow to the internet public. This is because you have only one data “pipe” connecting the server to the internet with no backup connection. Web host providers (good ones, anyway) have several pro-grade data pipes with redundancy to ensure all their servers serve sites quickly – but you don’t have that, nor can you afford it. And even if you can, you could have the fastest fiber optic connection money could buy and it still wouldn’t hold a candle to pro-grade data pipes.

Your server box is an open target

Running a public web server on the internet is not Happy Fun Land. You’ll find this out in short order when you’re DoS‘d or DDoS‘d for the first time. And because you only have a single data pipe, your server box is basically dead at that point until the attack is over.

It absolutely does not matter how many times you upgrade and/or lock down your Linux or BSD server OS, because eventually someone (or a group of people) will find a way to break thru. This is a universal immutable truth.

It’s not worth it just to save a buck

Most people think they can save a buck or two by running a public web server from home and attaching their domain to it using something like No-IP. This is a bad idea.

If you can’t afford the 5 bucks a month it takes for basic virtual web hosting, running a box out of the house isn’t going to serve you any better.

Like what you read?

If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below: