www.vix.com/personalcolo -> www.vix.com/personalcolo/
Thanks to BSD and Linux, many thousands of power-users have the knowledge and talents necessary to operate their own servers for e-mail, web, and so on. The traditional models for providing these services are "shared hosting" where a power-user has an "account" on a provider's server, and "dedicated hosting" where a power-user has full administrative control over some "host computer". Power-users with CableTV or DSL based internet access to their homes often try to operate "dedicated hosting" using personal computers in their garage or attic, but this can be a frustrating experience. CableTV and DSL providers often prohibit "servers" from being connected through their access networks, for business or technical reasons. Lack of uninterruptible power systems, lack of remote-hands when the family is on vacation, and the need to keep personal records in an offsite location are all additional reasons why connecting a "dedicating hosting" server via a CableTV or DSL access network can be less than optimal. You won't be able to occupy this niche unless you are an experienced BSD or Linux system administrator. Windows and MacOS don't have good serial console support and are thus very difficult to reliably install and repair without being able to put your own hands on your hardware. The best way to prepare for this endeavour is to "stage" your system at your own office. Get the software installed and configured, make sure you can access it by SSH (or equivilent) over the network, make sure your serial console is working. Renumber it several times to make sure you know where all the bones are buried. Then ask your personal co-location provider to tell you the IP address, netmask, gateway, recursive DNS addresses you'll need, configure them into your system, then shut it down and ship it out. That's right -- in most situations FedEx is cheaper than an airline ticket and your server will make the trip without you. This is a little bit like building a ship in a bottle, and it's expensive for you to have to have a box shipped back home if you don't get it right the first time. If you're an Internet user in a bad neighborhood -- as evidenced by your mail not getting through to a lot of people, who then tell you that they're blocking all mail from your ISP since there's effectively no abuse desk -- but you're unable/uninterested in operating your own secure computer in some remote facility, then you'll need to locate a provider who can offer you a suite of services like e-mail and web hosting, who does not also offer those services to spammers and script kiddies. The services you probably need are SMTP AUTH (for outbound e-mail), IMAPS and/or POPS (for inbound e-mail), and WebDAV and/or FTP (for web publishing). In this model, you'll use your local cable or DSL spam-haven as an access path toward a real, professionally operated ISP that might be on the other side of the world. Think of your cable or DSL company as "like a modem" and plan on using them only as a way to surf the web and to reach a better neighborhood where your real "network identity" can live and thrive. It's worth pointing out that a "better neighborhood" might also have as its customers people whose content is objectionable to you, for example, it might also host a lot of web sites offering politics, or pornography, or alternative lifestyles, or alternative energy, or who knows what-all. Some of the neighborhoods on the Internet whose reputations are strongest, are the ones with the most diverse customer bases. The point is, don't let your local cable or DSL spam-haven offer you an e-mail account, or web publishing services, or anything else that they can't afford to support. As a rule of thumb, $40 per month is not enough money to pay for an abuse desk; and without a strong, well trained abuse desk, the neighborhood will be "bad". I am now actively seeking providers for SMTP AUTH, IMAPS/POPS, WebDAV/FTP, and related services. When I learn how to qualify and quantify them, this web site will include a second registry of such providers. You should not have to buy a computer and ship it somewhere just to benefit from the effects of a better Internet neighborhood. Alternatives and Details Some providers offer a suite of services which is intentionally equivilent to what many power-users want from their offsite personal servers. This can include MX (with and without spam filtering), SMTP AUTH for outbound e-mail relay, shell access, personal web hosting, DNS hosting (either static or by dynamic update), and other things if you ask them and have a good reason. Some providers offer "virtual PC" services where you can have complete administrative control of an operating system (BSD or Linux, usually) but the "computer" you're using is fictitious, a figment of the imagination of a much larger computer.
Disclosure of related interests Your humble narrator is an investor in several hardware and software companies whose products are frequently used for personal co-location.
MFN-Abovenet, either of whom could be the home of your next personal co-location provider. Chances are good that I am friends with or have been a supplier to many of the personal co-location providers on this list. About the registry The information presented below was provided by outside parties, and while some effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, no guaranty is offered. Most of the entries in this registry have no restriction on business use, but all of them have a "transfer" limitation, expressed as gigabytes per month or megabits per second (with average and burst limits). Most of these companies can sell you larger blocks of space or bandwidth -- as they'll tell you if you contact them.
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