well, to set up a web server, you need several things. Mainly an O/S. I am familiar with Windows Server 2003, but most people would probably reccomend linux. Then you need a web server application, which "serves" the web-pages. I prefer to use the add-in for Server 2003, IIS 6.0, but if you use linux, you will probably go with apache. Then it's simply a matter of configuration, security restrictions etc... What types of pages are you hosting? If it's just your web-site, and it's just a static web-site(no server-side language: ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, JSP), then it's relatively simple. If you decide to go with IIS 6.0 and Server 2003, I can help you more, but if you decide to go with linux/apache, I can't be much help. Also, you will need to purchase a Domain Name. When you purchase a Domain Name, you have to have the DNS server(Your domain name registrar has this) point to your I.P. address. This is referred to as "resolving" the address. That means that If I type in abc.com, it actually forwards me to an ip address(192.168.0.1) which is the address of a computer who has the files to view. Because of this, you'll need to purchase a Static I.P. address(which isn't the cheapest thing to do on a limited budget). Most internet providers simply give out I.P. addresses based on availablity. Let's say that one day your public I.P. address is 203.52.191.28(just an example I picked), and thats what you register your domain name with. Well, if you I.P. address changes, people who type in
www.yourwebsite.com will still go to that I.P. address, even if yours changed. You also need to make sure that your internet service provider allots you enough bandwidth to handle the amount of traffic that will be coming into your site. If there is anything I left out, or if I didn't answer your question, let me know.
