Ok help me out here, my step by step to implementation... OS X server 10.5

[esquire360]

Ok I have a merchant consultant business, we want to give free websites to businesses who sign and do Credit Card processing with us . small sites not high traffic, also host our ical server basic stuff.

This is my plan, any thoughts...?

1. call verizon get my fios upped to 15dl/2up static ip for 99 month.
2. get leopard 10 client version (we have 6 agents)
3. Have a mac mini intel 2gb 80gb, and 750gb external usb.
4. go to linda and drop 25 buck and learn the standered server setup
5. Learn to spell better
6. Regester my domain name with the ip from verizon??


I have a mac pro,but its my everyday compy, the mac mini should work yes?

Thoughts... steps to add?

My though is that i can have many sites right? just different folders... then i can have different domain names point to them? how does this work any input?

http://www.diywebserver.com/domainnames.php

I could just give them free godaddy accounts it only 40+ per a year....

 

[subgenius]

Ok I have a merchant consultant business, we want to give free websites to businesses who sign and do Credit Card processing with us . small sites not high traffic, also host our ical server basic stuff.

This is my plan, any thoughts...?

1. call verizon get my fios upped to 15dl/2up static ip for 99 month.
2. get leopard 10 client version (we have 6 agents)
3. Have a mac mini intel 2gb 80gb, and 750gb external usb.
4. go to linda and drop 25 buck and learn the standered server setup
5. Learn to spell better
6. Regester my domain name with the ip from verizon??


I have a mac pro,but its my everyday compy, the mac mini should work yes?

Thoughts... steps to add?

My though is that i can have many sites right? just different folders... then i can have different domain names point to them? how does this work any input?

http://www.diywebserver.com/domainnames.php

I could just give them free godaddy accounts it only 40+ per a year....

Yes it will work for you, that said here are my thoughts on the mac mini as your server. ( I use mac mini's as servers at home and for some of my clients). My one concern is your web hosting. There is a threshold at which this will become a issue based on the number of sites.

That said here is some more free advice :

1. Getting VPN & Nat to work with Airport is a nightmare, so invest in a second ethernet port via usb (i use linksys Usb200m, kernel extension / drive found here )

2. Make sure that the USB Ethernet port is connected to your Fios device. Usb ethernet devices tend to be slow, and having it facing your internal network will make file transfers slow.

3. Turn off the airport on the mini and get a cheap WAP. There is no reason to slow the mini down with extra routing and a much more complex setup. A good cheap Access point / Bridge will do. Just make sure it will allow DHCP pass through (if you are using DHCP). (I used a refurbished airport base express for this. Then I can also pipe music to my telephone systems hold queue, using a 8$ RCA to mini jack connector.)


4. Find a good UPS cheap UPS. This is your server, and if there is a sudden loss of power while writing to the external drive, you may end up crying in front of your co-workers. the APC BE350R will give you about 3 minutes for a Intel Mac Mini (at 110 Watts) and the average External WD / Seagate HDD

5. Once your enterprise hits about 10-20 users, time to shell out the bucks and buy yourself a new MacPro, and then upgrade your server. I normal do the "Down Hill Upgrade" at a time like this. If I have the fastest MacPro, and Bob the second fastest. When the new machine comes in, Bob gets mine, and Bob's old machine goes down hill. This way the slowest MacPro or G5 DP / Quad becomes your server.