If you've ever thought if being in the website hosting business, there are some terrific opportunities out there right now. Hosting is a high competition business, but also a high profit margin business that can be started for very little money.
The opportunity is in building a Linux hosting server with free (open source) applications, which runs on limited memory resources compared to Windows servers. You can lease accounts with sufficient resources for very little money, as low as $3/month.
So what can the average person with no Linux knowledge do with a Linux server? Having just completed a month long project of researching and testing software, I have prepared a 21-page illustrated guide on how to open your server account, how to configure your domain's DNS to a single IP address (which is all you get with an inexpensive account), and how to configure the Linux server for control panel hosting from the bottom up -- all using entirely free (open source) software.
The guide is prepared with the Linux neophyte in mind. The first order of business is to install a point-and-click graphical interface, so you get off the command line terminal as quickly as possible, at least for most of the configuration. The guide will take you setp-by-step through the installation and configuration process, which will leave you with a simple control panel that will allow you to create administrative domains, create customer accounts, and even create reseller accounts (who can create their own customer accounts).
The guide is free for the asking. PM for a download link. I'm not selling anything.
The end product will be a self-updating Linux server that is locked-down for security, leaving you with a simple graphical control panel. Here is the demo page for the control panel application.
http://demo.kloxo.com:7778/login/
The guide will also show you how to install a free (open source) graphical billing application, written specifically for use by hosting & ISP companies and the kind of recurring billing that they do. Here is a video demo of it that I found on youtube.
You will want to use a virtual private server (VPS) account for this project, since it's so much more economical than having your own dedicated server machine. A VPS is simply an account where you lease a portion of a commercial server's hard drive where a dedicated operating system runs, and includes certain memory and cpu resources that will be available to you. With a VPS you can start & stop the operating system, reinstall the operating system, and even have full root access to the system. There is a website that tracks deals for VPS accounts.
http://www.lowendbox.com/
I've discovered a virtual private server (VPS) business that had totally blowout prices on some of their products. I'm not affiliated with them, except that I'm a customer. They offer a VPS with the right specifications for a nice hosting server (512 mb memory, 20 gb disk space) for only $3/month if you pay annually. I was lucky enough to get in on a special this year for $2/month, but that special is now gone.
http://w2servers.com/config-vps.html
It's possible to do this project with 256 mb memory, but you'll give up a lot. First you won't be able to use webmin (the graphical configuration application for Linux). You will also need to use alternate smaller applications in place of Apache and BIND, which will provide your customers with an inferior product. For only $3/month I recommend that you get a 512 mb account.
Again, for the free 21-page pdf guide just PM me and I'll send you a link.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I would like feedback about both the project in general and the guide, since I may incorporate those ideas in future revisions of the guide.
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PS - If you are wondering why I'm asking that you PM me instead of just posting a link here, I'm curious how much interest there might be in a guide like this.
