March 08, 2025 • By KWD

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How to run your own Linux based web server?

First things first, we got a goal to accomplish.

Run our own personal web server, which is secured and does the job!

We will not get into why you would need a web server in this series. For more information on that, you might want to check the references at the bottom of each post.

The logical thing to do now is to make a list of things we might need.

Hardware
1. A physical server
2. A physical firewall (optional)
3. Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
Software
1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Developer subscription will also do)
2. Apache
3. MySQL
4. PHP
5. PHPMyAdmin
6. DNS Server
7. FTP Server
8. Email Server
9. SSH Server
10. Firewall
11. Virus and Spam Filtering SW
Services
1. High bandwidth Internet
2. Static IPs
3. Hosting Control Panel (optional)

In this post, we will discuss the first part of our list, the hardware.

1. Hardware

1.1 Physical Server

This requirement is mandatory. We need to acquire a physical server.

Next thought is what could be the specifications to run a decent web server.

Decent servers which can be used for web hosting range from USD 450 onwards. More information on where to get reasonably priced servers in Kuwait is listed in the references below.

There are two forms of server. Tower Servers and Rack Mounted Servers.

The tower servers look like your standard PC Tower Case. The Rack Mounted Servers on the other hand mount onto a rack which you might have to invest in.

If you are planning to run more servers later, or have rack mounted hardware, it is a good thought to invest in a rack. We would highly recommend getting a server rack, because once you get hooked onto successfully running one server, it wouldn't take long to have a second one pretty soon.

Let's say we have decided to go with a rack mounted server. The immediate pertinent question is, what kind of specifications do I need to consider while acquiring a web server.

Server Specifications:

Intel/AMD/Ampere processor(s)
Min 8GB RAM
NAS Harddrives
Network card with dual port
450W power supply at least

Depending on your budget you might want to consider the specifications of the server.

If you are looking for a reasonably good performance based server, we would recommend Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650. Pretty sturdy one and runs cool.

You might also want to consider dual power supply, dual processors, additional network ports and good amount of RAM to meet your high performance requirements.

Once you acquire the machine, we are all set to go.

1.2. Physical Firewall (Optional)

Physical firewall helps protect the network along with the public facing web server. It is not mandatory to have this hardware.

We would highly recommend you get one and learn to configure it for security reasons. It's worth your time. Don't delegate the job of configuring it, if you want to run and manage the servers.

Fortigate 60E is a great contender. You save quite a bit if subscribe for the 3 year service.

1.3 Uninterrupted Power Supply

Now this is a must if you want to run your server without any downtime. Usually and most of the time, power cut is the number 1 reason for server downtime apart from DDoS attacks

You can get affordable UPS ranging from KD 80 to KD 200. The specifications you might be looking at depends on the power utilization by your server. If you have dual power supply bays with 750W each, you might want to consider a UPS which will atleast has the capacity to serve 750W for about 10 to 20mins.

Tip: Always consult the UPS sales to let them know your requirements, as they will be able to calculate and suggest appropriate UPS systems which will cater to your needs.

Wrapping up this post

You have now acquired a physical server, a firewall (if you had decided to) and a UPS. And we are now ready to connect them all up and see how we can start configuring the whole array of things to work in cohesion, in the upcoming post number 2.

If you have any questions, post it in the comments below!

References:

Why do you need a web server?

https://www.digiayemedia.co.uk/2017/01/24/benefits-web-server/
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-reasons-server/
https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/trends/Why-You-Should-Consider-Hosting-Your-Own-Website

Servers