Windows Small Business Server Question

Hi Everyone, I am a web designer and I have a question pertaining to Intra office servers V's say 1&1 Hosting company...the thing is I need to explain to a client why they cannot host a web site that I have designed for them on their "Windows 2003 Small Business Server" that is already designated to the domain that they want for their web site that I have created….and why it would be more practical to host it on such a hosting company as 1&1, (and that they need to use a different domain name, because the intra office server is already using the one they want) I understand that an intra office server may not be able to handle the high traffic load that a web host can, but to explain all of the differences to my customer ….well….I am a designer so hosting and servers are fairly new to me. Any advice on this one would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a bunch everyone!

 

for starters , it leaves their server open to the outside as port 80 (HTTP) must be open. If for some reason their server became compromised through a vulnerability in their web server, then they are in for some unwelcomed downtime and some really pissed off customers. Of course, that's worst case scenario but a VERY feasable one at that.

It's ALWAYS a good idea to separate front end business layers like web sites from actual working business layers like domain/file servers. Exposing a Server to the outside world like that is an accident waiting to happen.

It sounds as though this company really needs to hire a networking consultant, or maybe you could start to do the same as an additional service to your clientelle.

 

Hey Kodo, you're always there to answer all my stupid questions LOL thanks a bunch! I guess you have a great point; networking should definitely be under my belt! I took an A+ class a couple years back...I guess that's a good starting point....time to move up in the world!

...Ok So lets see if I get this..., if Port 80 (for http) is open for their web site then that leaves room for hackers to gain un-wanted access to their files on their small business server right?
How would this render down time? Do you mean in terms of viruses?

So a "front end business web site" should be hosted on the www with a dedicated server? Is it called that? (Dedicated?) Like 1&1.com hosting for instance? Or is that a t1? And... Domain file server is on an "intra office" server. Right?
Thanks again!

 

If networking isn't your bag, then hire a consultant and make some money on him/her.

IF an attacker gained access to your system and obliterated it (for lack of a better term), then I'd say backups-r-us will be a common theme in that facility along with a really unhappy users, mgmt and clients. Viruses could also be part of the payload..so it's pretty much all inclusive.

Any website that is to be publicly consumed should NOT be on the intranet side of any network. A dedicated host is an example of this but not the only solution. Your client could have thier own server in house (set up properly) and not have to worry about hosting at all. Ideally, the webserver should run the website/webapp, the database that drives the site should be on another server behind a firewall and your business servers should be on a completely separate network from your website.

I know that's a pretty cursory overview but I hope that it points you in the right direction.

 

Makes a lot more sense now, thank you very much!