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Question

Tell Me About Servers, Please

Aug 17, 2012 4:23AM PDT

My second external Iomega 1 TB HD is arriving this afternoon, and I've been thinking about using some of it as a file server (mostly video) for family and friends all over the US, and even a couple in the UK.

Trouble is, I don't really know how a server works, but I guess I need to start with 'OS X Server' from the Mac App Store. My main concern is whether someone downloading a file to their computer is going to suck up all of my precious little internet bandwidth or not. So let me ask the question this way; if my brother in Half Moon Bay, CA is downloading a file from my server in Ann Arbor, MI, is his PC pulling the file, or is my Mac pushing it?

Since I don't want to turn this project into a career, are there any other concerns, I should look out for?

Thank you.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: downloading.
Aug 17, 2012 4:29AM PDT

If he's downloading the file, he's pulling it. For your ISP that's outgoing traffic. You didn't tell how your ISP calculates the bandwidth you use (only incoming traffic: from the internet to you) or also outgoing traffic (from you to the internet). So, lacking that formula, it's impossible to say what would happen.

Kees

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Answer
Expanding a little on your question,
Aug 17, 2012 8:37AM PDT

for a server to be effective, it should have a static IP address allocated by your ISP.
This would mean that your server would be at the same address all the time and not be subject to IP address changing by your ISP.
Currently, the normal domestic internet setup gives the end user (you) an IP address that is Dynamically applied (DHCP) and has a certain lease length. At the end of that lease length, your IP address may change to something else. It does not effect you but it will effect others trying to connect to you.
Imagine trying to use Google if their IP address changed every day!

A Static IP address, one that does not change, will cost you more each month.

An alternative is to use one of the website hosting company's out there, 1 & 1 or GoDaddy for example, and have them host your website and store your video files. Of course, the video files would have to be legit and not subject to copyright infringement. (No pirated movies)

You would still have to use bandwidth to get them up to your website but after that it can be downloaded by many people and not cause a hit on our data limit.

Just a thought

P

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Answer
There is also
Aug 17, 2012 11:45PM PDT

There is also the issue of copyrights to consider. Unless you're sharing home videos or something you know is in the public domain, you're suggesting not breaking just a federal law, but an international law. So in theory at least, you could have the US and UK fighting over which one gets to put you on trial first and imprison you. It is not out of the question that you could be extradited to England to stand trial for this.

That's not even counting all the security issues that are inherent in having a server exposed to the Internet, or the fact that most residential Internet services are nowhere near fast enough to do this sort of thing adequately, and that your system is pushing the file, his system would be pulling it. There's also usually some kind of provision in the terms of service for residential broadband setups that you can't run a server as well. So, if your ISP noticed the pattern of traffic coming from your connection, they would be within their contractual rights to terminate your service.

Basically, the long and short of this situation is that there are a lot of considerations to take into account, and most of them have implications you probably don't want to contend with.