OK. I know almost nothing on this topic. I want to know what I would have to do to host my own website and vBulletin (and maybe friends websites).

Would I HAVE to have a seperate comp?

Could I use a seperate hard drive on my comp?

What else would i need?

I need to know.

For your own webserver you would probably need a seperate computer. I guess you could host them on the same computer but that's a really bad idea. You'd also need to install Linux or Windows 2000/NT Server on your computer.

You also need a very high speed internet connection, DNS servers, etc.

yeah
something like 1Mbps up

OK, so how much do you think it would cost to buy the computer and all of the stuff needed to set it up.

I don't think I know what a DNS server is. I know I've heard it before but I don't remember.

If your just starting a website; dont host it yourself, You need a decent server (1 grand) and a connection that would cost you $350+/month for when you first start out (1mbps sdsl) then upgrade to something nicer like a few t1s ($1000+ in my area/each). I looked in to all that; and unless you have a fairly large site it's hard to beat a lot of hosting companies..

damn. damn. damn. I already have a site, but I don't like having it hosted somewhere else. It is so annoying.

For the right environment to host a site in, as well as connections and servers you're talking at least $1-2k per month, if not a lot more.

There's no real reason to host the site yourself though. Why would you want to do this? There are plenty of very reliable and trustworthy hosting companies around.

So I can have total control and stuff.

you have total control over your site, but you are sharing a server with others: you cannot control the system settings,etc

You can do everything you pay for// everything you need to run a website..

Needed for vbulletin:
itleast 1 mysql database
php support
50mb to start with
3-5gb to start with

I use webdefinity.com

If you either rent a dedicated server, or buy a dedicated server and colocate it at a datacenter, you have complete control without the overheads of running your own NOC.

What happens if, while you're out, it crashes and your site goes down? In a proper NOC that would be sorted out very quickly. But if you're hosting at home and you're not always around to fix it, then it could take hours or even days to notice and correct the problem.