Phil Donnelly

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🖥️ Hosting Your Own Web Server at Home (on a Dedicated Machine)

If you’re reading this, you’re probably curious — why would anyone want to run a web server from home on a separate computer?

Let me share the reason…

Sometimes, it’s not just about putting a website online. It’s about learning how the internet really works. It’s about having full control — no restrictions, no third-party interference. You get to test things, break things, fix them, and understand them in a way most website owners never do.

Running your own server at home means you’re not just a user anymore — you’re stepping into the world of real hosting. It could be for:

• Building and testing client sites locally
• Running your own internal tools or dashboards
• Learning how web servers, ports, security, and domains actually work
• Hosting a small blog or service that you really own

Sure, it’s more effort than using a hosting company — but that effort makes you sharper. And if you ever want to work in tech or understand what’s under the hood, it’s a fantastic place to start.

So let’s break it down — here’s what you’d need, how it works, and what to watch out for.

Before we dive into the big detail let me mention that there is a simple way. To host your own personal development environment you simply need a PC, and an application like WAMPSERVER, MAMP for Windows, LightSpeed or MS Visual Studio. Then you have a simple development environment. In addition you may also wish to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP basics. Once you have a webserver you can play to your hearts content in your own time. For WordPress you will need to download and install into the WWW directory of the server application. For example ‘/wamp64/www/sitename’ This is where all site directories are stored. To access a webserver from the web you need to read on. You can also read 🖥️ Install Your Own Web Server – A Beginner’s Roadmap for simplified version of this.

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✅ 1. The Hardware (Your Server Machine)

• A dedicated PC or mini server (not your daily-use machine)
• Ideally with:
  • Reliable CPU (Intel i5+, AMD Ryzen). Worth considering using an old/redundant machine for this purpose. CPU performance maters.
  • 8GB+ RAM minimum. More is always better.
  • SSD storage for speed. Not any old SSD, you may need to look at some reviews to decided on which SSD is good for you.
  • Good cooling and 24/7 power supply. Consider a back-up power supply, a UPS like the Eaton 3S 550B UPS.

🔸 Popular choices: Old desktop PCs, Intel NUC, Raspberry Pi 4 (for light use), or used rack servers

✅ 2. The Software (Your Stack)

Install a web stack manually or with a pre-packaged environment, pre-packaged is preferable by a long way, little steps. You may have to search the web for a deeper explanation of the following but it something I will try and cover in more depth later.

• Linux (Ubuntu Server recommended) or Windows Server. I host my sites on Windows PC’s for development and testing. Linux is based UNIX as is the Apple OS.
• Apache or Nginx web server (I use Apache but do some research if you’re hosting for WordPress). Nginx is pronounced EngineX.
• PHP and MySQL/MariaDB if using WordPress
• OpenSSH for remote admin
  • 🔐 Key Features of OpenSSH
  • SSH (Secure Shell): Secure command-line access to remote systems
  • SCP (Secure Copy): Secure file transfers between computers
  • SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol): Secure, FTP-like file management
  • SSH Key Authentication: Stronger, passwordless login using public/private key pairs
  • Port Forwarding / Tunnelling: Securely tunnel network connections (e.g., encrypt web traffic)
• Note: If you install a webserver it will provide everything you need to build and host a website. The only issue you could have is on PORT numbering, PORT 80 can be used by other applications.

📦 Optional tools:

• Certbot for Let’s Encrypt SSL. All websites have to use SSL, it’s the S in HTTPS.
• Fail2ban for brute-force protection.
  • Fail2Ban is a security tool that helps protect your server from brute-force attacks by automatically blocking suspicious IP addresses.
  • Fail2Ban is often paired with UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) or iptables for strong protection.
• Firewall (UFW, iptables)

🌐 3. What About Your Internet Address?

Here’s the thing: if you want people to reach your server from outside your home, it needs a reliable address — just like sending someone to your house. That’s where your IP address comes in. An IP address is in the form 255.255.0.0. Again this is another subject that could be covered in depth but is part of Network Management, as is using a fixed IP which you may have to discus with your internet provider who may charge you more for the service. You may also be able to do so via your home router.

Most home internet connections use something called a dynamic IP. It changes every so often — which useful when you’re trying to run a website. It’s like your house number randomly changing! A Domain name is part of DNS, where an IP is registered to a Domain name.

So, what are your options?

✅ Option 1: Get a Static IP

Ask your internet provider (ISP) if they can give you a static IP address — one that never changes. Some charge a small fee, others won’t do it at all.

✅ Option 2: Use Dynamic DNS (The Easy Fix)

If you can’t get a static IP, don’t worry. You can use a free or low-cost service like:

• No-IP
• DuckDNS
• DynDNS

These services give you a web-friendly name (like yourname.ddns.net) that automatically points to your changing IP — so people can still find your server, even if your IP changes.

It’s a clever little workaround that makes home hosting much more practical!

✅ 4. Domain Name + SSL

• Register a domain (Hostinger, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.) See my page Hosing Services for more information.
• Point it to your public IP or dynamic DNS address
• Use Let’s Encrypt with Certbot to install HTTPS SSL