Question Host a DNS/custom domain name on personal hardware?

[Ironarmygeneral]

Hi guys. I've got a small local business that manages websites for local business in my area. I typically go through another provider for hosting and domain names, however that's starting to get to a point where it's difficult for our team to manage and would rather do everything on our own hardware.

We'd like to be able to host our clients' sites with their custom domains on our own hardware, as well as have them live--basically doing the same function that a regular hosting provider would achieve.

We mainly use an Apache/XAMPP package, and find it has pretty much everything that ourselves and our clients need to manage these sites. The problem is, our current solution is to port forward an IP address, and then mask it--this isn't a very good way to do it and backend website functions often break. I'd like to do it properly. I have a lot of hardware/servers already setup, but the question is, what software do I need? What would it take to get this going properly? Down the road we'd actually like to start offering web hosting as an actual service as well, rather than as something like right now where it comes as part of a client/business ordering a website through us. If anyone could help, or give advice, that'd be great. I've heard you can use NGINX but there doesn't seem to be much documentation regarding the application we want to use it for. Thank you.

 

[USAFRet]

What would it take to get this going properly? Down the road we'd actually like to start offering web hosting as an actual service as well

What do your small scale local competitors do?
Do it better and/or cheaper than they do.

But there's a reason outfits like yours are working with AWS/Azure to host their clients.

 

[Ironarmygeneral]

What do your small scale local competitors do?
Do it better and/or cheaper than they do.

But there's a reason outfits like yours are working with AWS/Azure to host their clients.

Well for one, there really isn't any competitors in my area, yet there is demand for it, so it would be a good thing for my business to get in to. Second, that's what we currently do--go through a 2nd party for hosting--which as I said, is becoming a headache and I'd REALLY like to manage everything in-house. Not to mention, business wise, I hate outsourcing services like that. I get that we'd still have to use a different party to register domains, but I'd like to be the company hosting said domains and also the sites themselves

 

[USAFRet]

Well for one, there really isn't any competitors in my area, yet there is demand for it, so it would be a good thing for my business to get in to. Second, that's what we currently do--go through a 2nd party for hosting--which as I said, is becoming a headache and I'd REALLY like to manage everything in-house. Not to mention, business wise, I hate outsourcing services like that. I get that we'd still have to use a different party to register domains, but I'd like to be the company hosting said domains and also the sites themselves

So all the similar clients that you might entice...where are they going through now?
Where is their stuff hosted?

AWS/Azure may seem like a hassle, but they can do a LOT of stuff you don't need to do.
DDoS mitigation, etc.

 

[Ironarmygeneral]

Most of the clients in my area host one of three different ways, typically:

1. They go through something like Wix for example and just take a few minutes to make something themselves. This type of client I rarely get unless they really want something custom, as these people are usually individuals and not businesses who just need something out there for their blog or side business.
2. They go through something like my company, that will make them their sites and host them. However, to be honest, I'm really the only company in the area that does it as a business--the rest are really just freelancers who build a site, setup the hosting/domain for the business and hand the business the information once all of it is setup and nothing ever gets managed. This almost ALWAYS leads to unmanaged and un-updated websites that sit for years and get outdated, because the businesses have no idea how to manage cPanel/PHPMYADMIN/etc let alone how to code. So typically they spend a lot more money in the long run getting either a new website that is updated, and also finding another person (again, usually freelance because by the time their sites need updated the person who built their site originally doesn't do it anymore, or has moved on, or can't be contacted) to rebuild it, who will again charge them hundreds to thousands for a new site. I get a vast majority of these clients, since I do web development on a business scale and these businesses know I won't dip on them like the freelancers will.
3. They are already big enough to host their own sites anyway and have their own IT/tech staff that works in house for them and don't need any of these services anyway.

I also get the fact that Azure/Amazon web can handle things in that aspect, however that is something my team and I can also handle ourselves as well as the fact that most of these clients are small local businesses anyway and their sites typically don't have anything worth stealing, DDoS'ing. etc.

Plus, from a business standpoint, it'd be better for us--it can increase profit margins, since I can set my own prices for hosting to be more competitive with online providers, which would also make advertisement easier and more effective since most people/businesses in the area would be more inclined to go through us rather than an online company they can't meet or speak to in person, or visit their location. Not to mention, again from a business standpoint, I also would deter customers from using our services regardless if I had to go through another company, since I actually have to not only charge them for THEIR hosting costs, but there would be no point in me managing it for them without adding my own fee monthly on top of that.

In a technical sense, it would make things much more manageable, and to be quite honest--most of these sites are not very resource intensive--I can run numerous on a single machine--with little to no bandwidth loss, lag, etc. I think the biggest site I have hosted is a couple of gigs in file size.

But I guess let me ask... regardless if you think it's a good idea or not... what would be the best way to go about it? I've heared LAMP on the Linux kernel has DNS management, and I can manage the hosting/"getting online" aspect. Honestly that's the only thing stopping me is DNS management--if I can figure that out, I can easily go to a domain name provider/registrar, buy what I need and port it over when a customer orders a site.

 

[USAFRet]

The main question is....what hard drive and server does their data live on?

On a box in your building and ISP connection, or a box at AWS/Azure?

Either way, YOU will be doing the management, and getting paid for that.
From your desktop system, you will be remoting into it either way.

 

[Ironarmygeneral]

Their data would live on my servers which are constantly checked and backed up, and live connected to high end UPS's in a fire retardant room. Yes, I already have servers, for other things, installing a couple more wouldn't change much to what we already manage anyway, so I guess I'm just confused as to why my question can't just be answered straight up, no offense.

 

[Ironarmygeneral]

Please just delete this thread for me.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

We don't delete threads with answers. I will, however, close it to further answers.