PLDT, SmartBro, and a Web Server

I just got confirmation from PLDT regarding my DSL. I'll be getting my 1Mbps line in 3 weeks time.



I already have the Plan 888 which is around 88Kbps for testing purposes to see for myself if the rumors are true that PLDT DSL is unreliable. In my case, my PLDT has never suffered downtime for 3 straight months. This is the first reason why I'm switching providers and dumping SmartBro which has been kicking me off for a few hours every morning this past month.

I also need a web server, my second reason, because SmartBro just won't allow IP Passthrough or Port Forwarding. Well, actually, I already have a web server (my laptop and my PC - but my laptop's the only one accessible from the outside world) but I'm still looking for a _quiet_ server that I can leave on 24/7. It has to be efficient, not powerful, since I don't want a power hog eating up my wallet.

I have 2 more spare PC's at home, a Compaq 200Mhz with 64MB of RAM and 2 GB of HDD and a generic P3 733MHz with 384MB and 20GB HDD. But they're not quiet, and they're definitely not "power-saving". I've been using my P3 for testing purposes (mostly when testing out Ubuntu's Alpha/Beta releases) and I guess it'll remain that way. My Compaq, however, is too underpowered... Maybe if I could upgrade it's RAM but I can't locate a shop selling SIMMS. Oh well, back to the closet for you Compaq!

This piece of hardware caught my attention. It's from Mini-ITX.com and seems to fit my needs. It's silent (no fans), low-powered (can consume less than 20W of electricity), small (ITX = very small footprint), and it's powerful enough (800MHz/523MB/60GB SATA). And I get a little bit of extra, a WinTV PVR-150 TV Card. All of this for (more or less) PhP 11,000.00. Ok, I'm getting obsessed with this. It'll be my 24/7 server that'll host my Moodle, Drupal, Igobot, and a POP3-SMTP Mail server. And for my friends, an IRC server - if they want, that is. Hell, I could also use this as a Jabber server.

Damn, too many ideas... and I'm starting to get a headache!

But first things first... gotta go get a router in preparation for my DSL line! SmartBro... goodbye!

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