Self-hosting can seem appealing to tech-savvy individuals, but is it practical in today’s fast-paced digital landscape? What are the real risks and rewards of managing your own server?
Hey Greenhost.cloud,
I am actually self-hosting, so I'll tell you some pro's and cons that I personally face:
Pros:
- You are at no risk of getting shutdown by the AWS platform or the Google Cloud platform.
- A lot of flexibility because you manage the network and the hardware
- Unless you buy expensive servers in the cloud, your own servers can be either more secure or more faster, depending on how you set them up.
- Owning the entire infrastructure yourself can enhance your credibility in the web hosting industry, especially if most of your clients are gained through meetings (face to face, video call, etc). Not only does it make you seem more reliable but more professional, rather than relying on other companies to maintain the servers for you.
Cons:
- Yes, it can be to tech-savvy, with the networking, IP blocking, rDNS, etcetera to make sure everything works as intended. A lot could go wrong if you don't set everything up correctly. A good way around this is to write a list of "instructions" when setting servers up, so that you know what to configure and what not to configure, if that makes sense.
- It can be more expensive, especially if your building the servers yourself. To get higher speeds, that involves purchasing higher RAM, CPU, SSD's, the list goes on. Don't forget about getting a fast network - those costs can really add up.
- Maintaining extremely good uptime and speeds is no easy task. That too, involves a lot of money getting thrown in to the business.
- If something goes wrong outside of your business hours, you will eventually need staff to handle any hardware issues or security issues. The AWS Cloud takes care of this for you.