Help me set up my own server
May 8, 2010 6:59 AM Subscribe
I'm fed up with Google and I don't trust them to protect my privacy. I (technical novice but curious and willing) want to set up my own systems. (long)
I use Gmail, Chat, Calendar, and Blogger (for a private blog). I'd like to set up my own email server, chat server (does that exist?), calendar, and blog.
I'm on a Mac. I hate to say it, but I think that Outlook might be a good solution for my email, contacts, and calendar needs. I can't believe I'm going back to Microsoft because I trust them more!
I know I can use WordPress for my blog, but have no idea how to do it (or any of this, really).
I already have a domain name, but I don't like my domain registrar (GoDaddy) and would like to switch to another. I also want to keep my whois listing private and have a bunch of sites so anyone that cheaply would be even better. (I know that I can host with one company and register the domain with another, but I don't know whom to use for what.)
My questions:
- What is a good, cheap private domain registrar?
- Who is a good host for my server?
- How do I set up an email server?
- How do I set up a chat (?) server?
- Can I host my blog in the same place?
- Is there anyone who does all of this (or some parts of this) easily for a novice like me? Other than Yahoo, Google, or the other biggies?
Help me techies!
I use Gmail, Chat, Calendar, and Blogger (for a private blog). I'd like to set up my own email server, chat server (does that exist?), calendar, and blog.
I'm on a Mac. I hate to say it, but I think that Outlook might be a good solution for my email, contacts, and calendar needs. I can't believe I'm going back to Microsoft because I trust them more!
I know I can use WordPress for my blog, but have no idea how to do it (or any of this, really).
I already have a domain name, but I don't like my domain registrar (GoDaddy) and would like to switch to another. I also want to keep my whois listing private and have a bunch of sites so anyone that cheaply would be even better. (I know that I can host with one company and register the domain with another, but I don't know whom to use for what.)
My questions:
- What is a good, cheap private domain registrar?
- Who is a good host for my server?
- How do I set up an email server?
- How do I set up a chat (?) server?
- Can I host my blog in the same place?
- Is there anyone who does all of this (or some parts of this) easily for a novice like me? Other than Yahoo, Google, or the other biggies?
Help me techies!
I cannot recommend any hosting service (I use dreamhost and don't particularly like them). Some registrars will give you the option of protecting whois info but you can also populate most of those fields with fake info.
The rest is easy. Most hosting plans come with a control panel. These panels are easy to follow even for novices. You can create as many email addresses you like and set that up using Mail or Thunderbird on your mac.
Calendars and Wordpress blogs come as one click installs. Just click, set some options (like blog name etc) and hit ok and it will all be automatically configured for you. If you know how to use gmail, then using wordpress will be easy.
posted by special-k at 7:22 AM on May 8, 2010
The rest is easy. Most hosting plans come with a control panel. These panels are easy to follow even for novices. You can create as many email addresses you like and set that up using Mail or Thunderbird on your mac.
Calendars and Wordpress blogs come as one click installs. Just click, set some options (like blog name etc) and hit ok and it will all be automatically configured for you. If you know how to use gmail, then using wordpress will be easy.
posted by special-k at 7:22 AM on May 8, 2010
To give you a sense for what control panels look like:
cPanel
Dreamhost 1, 2
posted by special-k at 7:27 AM on May 8, 2010
cPanel
Dreamhost 1, 2
posted by special-k at 7:27 AM on May 8, 2010
Hmm. This might sound anachronistic, but if you really want to "control your own destiny" on the internet, and not be dependent on anyone to hold and manage your data, you should setup your own Linux server. These days, you can get a virtual machine from Linode for just $20 a month. You can also play around on Amazon's amazing EC2 service for 8¢/hour (or less)
Or you could find an old PC and install Linux on it.
It takes more work then it should, IMO (the configuration tools could be better done) and I wish I could recommend a good book for you to read -- I learned how to do all this stuff reading tutorials online in the '90s and early 2000s. But the basic setup isn't too hard.
You can download VirtualBox and try installing Unbuntu and playing around with Linux. See if you can figure out the manual Config needed to setup a web server, MySQL and wordpress yourself (Actually some of these will be really simple default installs). Once you get them working on the VM, you can try doing the same thing on a Linode or EC2. Or build your own server with cheap components or an old PC (you won't need to spend much, really!)
Even if you end up going with a hosted solution, these are really good skills to know if you want to, as I said, "control your destiny" You won't have to rely on anyone (except the open source programmers who write this stuff)
The only thing is: I wonder how much patients a normal person, who doesn't actually enjoy hacking around on a computer will have for setting all this stuff up :/
---
Also, the real challenge with doing your own email isn't setting it up, but dealing with spam.
posted by delmoi at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2010
Or you could find an old PC and install Linux on it.
It takes more work then it should, IMO (the configuration tools could be better done) and I wish I could recommend a good book for you to read -- I learned how to do all this stuff reading tutorials online in the '90s and early 2000s. But the basic setup isn't too hard.
You can download VirtualBox and try installing Unbuntu and playing around with Linux. See if you can figure out the manual Config needed to setup a web server, MySQL and wordpress yourself (Actually some of these will be really simple default installs). Once you get them working on the VM, you can try doing the same thing on a Linode or EC2. Or build your own server with cheap components or an old PC (you won't need to spend much, really!)
Even if you end up going with a hosted solution, these are really good skills to know if you want to, as I said, "control your destiny" You won't have to rely on anyone (except the open source programmers who write this stuff)
The only thing is: I wonder how much patients a normal person, who doesn't actually enjoy hacking around on a computer will have for setting all this stuff up :/
---
Also, the real challenge with doing your own email isn't setting it up, but dealing with spam.
posted by delmoi at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2010
Don't do it. I've done it and it just isn't worth the hassle, the expense and the time.
For example, email is not point-to-point. That's not how the net works. If you send email, it is guaranteed to live on at least one other server that is outside your control, probably more.
You will need to install and administer the server remotely. You will need to stay current on security issue involving your mail server, our web server, etc. You will need to acquire and install patches released in response to security threats. You will need to decide if and when you need to install ungrade versions of the software running on your server. You will need to deal with the same kind of attacks on your mail server as the big companies.
Note that letting the host that provides your hardware handle your mail is not the same as running your own mail server.
If you are paranoid about Google, switch to someone else.
Costs for renting a slice of hardware somewhere can run from around $30 per month to well over $100 per month.
You can't be a system adminstrator unless you know what you are doing. (I.e., if you spend $20 a month for some space on a shared hosting facility to run a blog, they maintain the server, handle security issues, software updates, spam, etc. You can call them if something goes wrong. If you run a remotely hosted server, you are on the hook for all that. You will be expected to do it all. You can't call them when something goes wrong because you aren't paying them to do that.)
Plus, it's just a time-consuming hassle. Life is too short.
posted by justcorbly at 7:55 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
For example, email is not point-to-point. That's not how the net works. If you send email, it is guaranteed to live on at least one other server that is outside your control, probably more.
You will need to install and administer the server remotely. You will need to stay current on security issue involving your mail server, our web server, etc. You will need to acquire and install patches released in response to security threats. You will need to decide if and when you need to install ungrade versions of the software running on your server. You will need to deal with the same kind of attacks on your mail server as the big companies.
Note that letting the host that provides your hardware handle your mail is not the same as running your own mail server.
If you are paranoid about Google, switch to someone else.
Costs for renting a slice of hardware somewhere can run from around $30 per month to well over $100 per month.
You can't be a system adminstrator unless you know what you are doing. (I.e., if you spend $20 a month for some space on a shared hosting facility to run a blog, they maintain the server, handle security issues, software updates, spam, etc. You can call them if something goes wrong. If you run a remotely hosted server, you are on the hook for all that. You will be expected to do it all. You can't call them when something goes wrong because you aren't paying them to do that.)
Plus, it's just a time-consuming hassle. Life is too short.
posted by justcorbly at 7:55 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm on a Mac. I hate to say it, but I think that Outlook might be a good solution for my email, contacts, and calendar needs. I can't believe I'm going back to Microsoft because I trust them more!
Why? Your mac has Mail, Address Book, and iCal. An advantage of using those programs is future portability. Trying to transfer from Outlook's database- pst files- to other programs can be a pain in the future. Hell, the Outlook database doesn't even transfer directly to Microsoft's Mac e-mail program (Entourage). Also, Outlook is just a desktop e-mail client. If you're looking for a Windows e-mail server, you're thinking of Exchange.
But if you want to set up e-mail, some open source (free) sources would be sendmail as your server and squirrelmail is your webmail interface. All installable on Ubuntu.
Another option is to get Mac Server which has built in e-mail, calendaring (iCal), and blog support. The Apple website has ok documentation on setting up each service, though they tend to be lacking on anything advanced or troubleshooting.
In regards to actually hosting a server, you can do it on site. However, most IPSs forbid it in the TOS if you don't have a business account and will be unhappy if you do so. Also note that hosting your desired services with a dynamic IP address is less than ideal, hence the suggestions to purchase rack space.
Lastly, part of my job is maintaining an in-house e-mail server. I hate hate hate it. Between spam, trying to figure out why the occasional e-mail disappears, and maintaining uptime, it is the bane of my existence. I'm actually switching over my organization to Google Apps next year because of the incredible ease of operation as compared to in-house solutions for the price.
posted by jmd82 at 8:20 AM on May 8, 2010
Why? Your mac has Mail, Address Book, and iCal. An advantage of using those programs is future portability. Trying to transfer from Outlook's database- pst files- to other programs can be a pain in the future. Hell, the Outlook database doesn't even transfer directly to Microsoft's Mac e-mail program (Entourage). Also, Outlook is just a desktop e-mail client. If you're looking for a Windows e-mail server, you're thinking of Exchange.
But if you want to set up e-mail, some open source (free) sources would be sendmail as your server and squirrelmail is your webmail interface. All installable on Ubuntu.
Another option is to get Mac Server which has built in e-mail, calendaring (iCal), and blog support. The Apple website has ok documentation on setting up each service, though they tend to be lacking on anything advanced or troubleshooting.
In regards to actually hosting a server, you can do it on site. However, most IPSs forbid it in the TOS if you don't have a business account and will be unhappy if you do so. Also note that hosting your desired services with a dynamic IP address is less than ideal, hence the suggestions to purchase rack space.
Lastly, part of my job is maintaining an in-house e-mail server. I hate hate hate it. Between spam, trying to figure out why the occasional e-mail disappears, and maintaining uptime, it is the bane of my existence. I'm actually switching over my organization to Google Apps next year because of the incredible ease of operation as compared to in-house solutions for the price.
posted by jmd82 at 8:20 AM on May 8, 2010
And if you want to use an anonymous search engine: turn to Ixquick.
posted by ijsbrand at 8:41 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by ijsbrand at 8:41 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
For chat and Gmail, instead of hosting yourself, why not encrypt? There are several chat clients that support OTR (off-the-record) encryption, which is the simplest and least fussy encryption system I think there is.
For email, you have GPG (or its commercial equivalent, PGP) as well as another standard who's name escapes me now - S/MIME I think?
The problem with encryption of course is that your friends have to use it too. OTR is nice in that you can set it to automatically kick in when your friends have it. It's opportunistic.
For Mac, I'd recommend the Adium client, as it works well with OTR.
posted by zippy at 8:43 AM on May 8, 2010
For email, you have GPG (or its commercial equivalent, PGP) as well as another standard who's name escapes me now - S/MIME I think?
The problem with encryption of course is that your friends have to use it too. OTR is nice in that you can set it to automatically kick in when your friends have it. It's opportunistic.
For Mac, I'd recommend the Adium client, as it works well with OTR.
posted by zippy at 8:43 AM on May 8, 2010
Cheap and hassle-free domains at 007names; free and good DNS hosting with FreeDNS.
I agree with previous comments that maintaining one's own e-mail server is a hassle. I personally pay FastMail to deliver this service for me (~$40/y for own domain). Their quality of service and support is outstanding. They have a superb web interface, fast IMAP servers and a good understanding of security.
For your own XMPP server (chat), you can have a look at OpenFire. It is painless to setup and administrate, and support for protocol extensions is decent. You can then couple this with Py-MSNt for transparent MSN connectivity. You can install at home (over a permanent connection, e.g. DSL) or any host that support java/python applications.
Hosting a blog is a no-brainer nowadays, opportunities abound -- just pick your favorite.
posted by knz at 9:56 AM on May 8, 2010
I agree with previous comments that maintaining one's own e-mail server is a hassle. I personally pay FastMail to deliver this service for me (~$40/y for own domain). Their quality of service and support is outstanding. They have a superb web interface, fast IMAP servers and a good understanding of security.
For your own XMPP server (chat), you can have a look at OpenFire. It is painless to setup and administrate, and support for protocol extensions is decent. You can then couple this with Py-MSNt for transparent MSN connectivity. You can install at home (over a permanent connection, e.g. DSL) or any host that support java/python applications.
Hosting a blog is a no-brainer nowadays, opportunities abound -- just pick your favorite.
posted by knz at 9:56 AM on May 8, 2010
So, the list...
Don't use Dreamhost - what you want to set up is very important and their availability is not great. EC2 is way too expensive for this. Set up a SliceHost account.
Chat: ejabberd or OpenFire. Both support federating with Google Chat.
Domain registrar: gandi.net is the only one I don't hate. Their contract is actually very nice, and they're reasonable businesspeople.
Email: postfix.
You can do better than outlook. Apple Mail, Postbox, Thunderbird are all good alternatives, and the last is open source.
posted by tmcw at 9:57 AM on May 8, 2010
Don't use Dreamhost - what you want to set up is very important and their availability is not great. EC2 is way too expensive for this. Set up a SliceHost account.
Chat: ejabberd or OpenFire. Both support federating with Google Chat.
Domain registrar: gandi.net is the only one I don't hate. Their contract is actually very nice, and they're reasonable businesspeople.
Email: postfix.
You can do better than outlook. Apple Mail, Postbox, Thunderbird are all good alternatives, and the last is open source.
posted by tmcw at 9:57 AM on May 8, 2010
The more I think about it, I'm not sure what problem you are trying to solve. You say you do not trust Google. Why? Because your data lives on their servers and you aren't sure what they might do with it someday? Well, if you start running a remotely-adminstered server, your data will still live on someone's physicial server and you will still worry about trusting them. They probably have better things to do than nose around in your data. So does Google. And, while Google may decide to sell your data to the highest bidder, there's nothing stopping Big Eddie's Cheapo Server Farm from doing the same thing.
Adminstering servers is not my idea of fun. It requires a non-trivial skill level. It requires staying current with security issues and how to adress them. Do you how to find out if an effective new Apache/Sendmail/Postfix/whatever attack is circulating today? Do you know what to do if no one has released a patch to thwart the attack? Do you know how to find out if a patch is available? Do you know where to get and how to install such a patch?
What, for example, would you do if your spam-fighting techniques were inadequate and your mail server was blacklisted?
Do you, for example, know what an MX record is and what it does?
Don't get me wrong. Setting up and running your own servers can be a challenging and rewarding experience, if you are so inclined. However, it is not a "set it and forget it" thing. You need to check ad maintain your servers every day. It's not cheap, either. So, before you dive in, think about the problem you are really trying to solve. Maybe there are better approaches. Maybe you are trying to do something that can't be done.
posted by justcorbly at 3:02 PM on May 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Adminstering servers is not my idea of fun. It requires a non-trivial skill level. It requires staying current with security issues and how to adress them. Do you how to find out if an effective new Apache/Sendmail/Postfix/whatever attack is circulating today? Do you know what to do if no one has released a patch to thwart the attack? Do you know how to find out if a patch is available? Do you know where to get and how to install such a patch?
What, for example, would you do if your spam-fighting techniques were inadequate and your mail server was blacklisted?
Do you, for example, know what an MX record is and what it does?
Don't get me wrong. Setting up and running your own servers can be a challenging and rewarding experience, if you are so inclined. However, it is not a "set it and forget it" thing. You need to check ad maintain your servers every day. It's not cheap, either. So, before you dive in, think about the problem you are really trying to solve. Maybe there are better approaches. Maybe you are trying to do something that can't be done.
posted by justcorbly at 3:02 PM on May 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I use Gmail, Chat, Calendar, and Blogger (for a private blog). I'd like to set up my own email server, chat server (does that exist?), calendar, and blog.
As you've probably determined, you're in for a lot of complicated work to set all this up. Some of the functions of google services can be replicated with Zoho.
You don't have to use gmail; you probably have an email account from your ISP, and you can use Mail or Entourage (outlook for Mac) for that. If you're so inclined you can set up an email address with your hosting service for your domain, which would result in the same set up with Mail or Entourage. You have an internal calendar with a iCal, but if you want an online one, you can use Zoho calendar rather than working out how to set up and install Zimbra or something.
You can install and use a Jabber server for chat. The downside is that all your friends will have to create and add a new account to their existing chat software, which will be a pain in the ass not just for you but for all your friends. If your friends are using gchat exclusively, this will probably be a pretty big challenge.
You can set up install wordpress and use it for a blog, though I'm not sure what you mean by "private" blog. Are you the only one who sees it? Is there a benefit to it being online?
posted by Hildegarde at 5:20 AM on May 9, 2010
As you've probably determined, you're in for a lot of complicated work to set all this up. Some of the functions of google services can be replicated with Zoho.
You don't have to use gmail; you probably have an email account from your ISP, and you can use Mail or Entourage (outlook for Mac) for that. If you're so inclined you can set up an email address with your hosting service for your domain, which would result in the same set up with Mail or Entourage. You have an internal calendar with a iCal, but if you want an online one, you can use Zoho calendar rather than working out how to set up and install Zimbra or something.
You can install and use a Jabber server for chat. The downside is that all your friends will have to create and add a new account to their existing chat software, which will be a pain in the ass not just for you but for all your friends. If your friends are using gchat exclusively, this will probably be a pretty big challenge.
You can set up install wordpress and use it for a blog, though I'm not sure what you mean by "private" blog. Are you the only one who sees it? Is there a benefit to it being online?
posted by Hildegarde at 5:20 AM on May 9, 2010
Can you expand a bit on why you're fed up with Google, and how you think they might not protect your privacy? Your specific complaints and concerns matter when you're looking at alternatives, since you may easily be trading one small problem for a larger one.
posted by dws at 8:42 AM on May 9, 2010
posted by dws at 8:42 AM on May 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can just use iCal on your mac if you want to keep your calendar private.
(Also, I use Mail and Address on my Mac. Why would you use Outlook over them?)
That said:
- I use Dreamhost to register my domain.
- Not sure.
- I use Dreamhost's email servers to manage my email. They let you use IMAP which is also nice.
- They let you set up your own jabber servers, but I don't use them.
- I host my own TextPattern blog on my web hosting on Dreamhost.
- No idea.
So yeah, you can move from Google to Dreamhost. That means you need to trust Dreamhost.
If you want to set up your own server box and have it collocated in some server farm that's a much bigger problem, and probably not something a person with no tech expertise could do. And I don't really know of people who set these sorts of things up for people.
posted by chunking express at 7:20 AM on May 8, 2010