ISPs for the Little Guy?

jjshoe asks: "While access to the Internet varies greatly, depending on where you are in the USA, I recently went on the hunt for an ISP that provided me the ability to have a 'broadband' link to the Internet. I am looking for would be the ability to lease/rent static IP's, so I could host my own DNS/WWW/E-mail server. I was wondering what ISP fellow Slashdot readers use for themselves, as well as what they pay. I have gotten quotes for $50 a month for a single static IP on top of my monthly DSL fee. This seems slightly outrageous to me. Colocation is not an option as it generally runs $150 a month and does not provide me Internet access. I am open to any other ideas the community might have."

Ask Slashdot

[GigsVT]

Hi,

I want something that's exactly like a T1, except I only want to pay $60 a month. TIA.

Colo cage

[smoon]

Get a cage at a colocation facility. Sell all of your stuff, get a sleeping bag and a laptop then move in.

100MB+ internet access and it's only a few $hundred a month, but since you will live there (cm'on -- you're probably on IRC 19 hours a day anyway -- right?) you can eliminate rent.

Just get a few boxes of 'wet naps' -- maybe from your local KFC and you don't need to worry about showering or whatever.

Hey -- where else is it 70 degrees all day every day? Hawaii? San Diego? Who can afford to move there? Plus you would have major geek bragging rights at the local starbucks.

Good luck!

Don't get sucked into playing amateur sysadmin!

[aquarian]

Everyone wants to play amateur sysadmin these days. I have to admit, I've been tempted too. It's fun to mess with Your Very Own Server (TM). But when you do the math, it just isn't worth it.

A much better value is virtual hosting, which is getting very cheap these days. By virtual hosting I mean your very own server -- an instance of Linux, BSD or whatever running on a big box via MWare. To you it's exactly the same as running your own box at home, but better. First of all, it's much better connected -- usually with at least 2-3 T1 or better connections to a major backbone -- not some silly upload-capped 128k DSL or cable line. Second, no more hardware worries -- everything is kept running by the hosting company, and all you do is admin your own software. You can even get Microsoft-compatible stuff. Finally, the cost ($20-30/month) is often less than the extra cost of a static IP on your home DSL or cable, and that's not even considering the savings on hardware.

I don't know why anyone messes with home servers anymore, except to satisfy a gearhead fetish.