Pros and cons of using my PC as a server?

[gpcii]

I tried checking out the thread about using your PC as a server. But All I got was this...

The board field does not accept / in the query string

So... I am posting a new topic on the same subject. Sorry, but if these questions were answered I was not able to see.


My Questions:

What are the pros and cons of using my PC as a server?

How would I go about using my PC as a server?

Thank you,

George

[Nitro]

Probably the biggest con is the amount of RAM your pc can store unless its got 3gb or something.

[Blackberry]

The Pros, well cheaper then hired hosting
The coni, cheaper, well on a long termine, you wil need a pc that is 24/7 online, and likely a good (read: expensive) one too...

[Rob Pomeroy]

Erm... perhaps we should first establish what the OP means by "server"?

Do you mean a web server?

File and print server?

Application server?

Terminal (thin client) server?

Time server?

Database server?

Parallellism server?

FTP server?

Tennis server?

Or what?

[Blackberry]

I think it's web server, because he posts it in WEBdesign, but actuallly, now you say it, it is quite unclear

[Rob Pomeroy]

Assuming it's a web server, then expense is not necessarily an issue.  An old Pentium-100 can do the job; the more memory and hard drive space the better.  Install a bare, efficient Linux distribution with no desktop etc, and add Appache.  Hey presto, one competent fast world-class web server.

I was running an old Linux server on something like an AMD K2-450 for years until the fan failed and a hard drive died.  That provided web, file and print, time and database service effortlessly.