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Why am I paying the fee for 1&1 to host my domain names when I have a perfectly fine machine that I am using as a backup server sitting right beside me? I know the domain name system is powered by the world's DNS servers... so why not host your own and enable yourself to host an unlimited number!??

-Ian

It's not the placement on a physical server you pay for - you're free to have your own server
I don't know exactly how it's organized but see it like you pay a license fee

Well who are we paying and why are we paying it then?

You can host your own domain name. You just have to set you domain to go to your IP address. Which you will want to make static. Also you will need the apache web server with port 80 forwarded. Not to sound rude but 1and1 rates somewhere between dirt and satan with me..if your gonna pay for a webserver try http://www.hostmonster.com
Only downside to hosting your own domain will be if you get a lot of traffic it will slow your internet down.

Something like this

1-First thing is first, you need your own domain name.

2-You need to sign up with a "custom dns "service like http://www.dyndns.org or http://www.no-ip.org (I think that's their name) Follow their instructions, and they provide domain registration also if you want to roll those two processes together.

3-Point your registrar's system to the DNS services' "domain name servers" or "DNS servers" and that if done correctly will propagate in about 48 hours max (be diseminated through the Internet.)

It's not quite straightforward. You pay to buy the domain and this goes in the end to your countries main registrar and then to ICANN
Your money pays for the DNS infrastructure
I'm not an expert in this but I have some experience in DNS problems

Sounds like some CEO is making a truckload of cash to me.

Short answer:
Of course you can host your own domain. You just cannot be your own domain registrar.

Longer answer:
It depends on what you mean by "host". If you are talking about moving from a fee-for-service hosting company that provides server services, you absolutely can provide the physical server host for your domain that provides the domain site content.

If you mean being able to register your own domain names without going through a domain registrar service, (like DirectNic, et.al.), well - technically - you can. However be warned that becoming a domain registrar is both a royal pain in the a$$ and quite expensive. It like either building your own Boeing 777 to fly to Miami, or using a "pre-built" commercially avalible airline. Though airlines are a pain in the tush, it's a lot cheaper than trying to build your own jet.

One additional note on the topic of providing your own servers:

Providing your own servers instead of using a hosting company makes sense only if the following is true:

• You have so much web traffic that the bandwidth costs of the hosted services are excessive, or the host cannot deliver the performace you need.
• You have a LOT OF EXPERIENCE as a web server administrator.
• You have a LOT OF EXPERIENCE with security best-practices, security tools and monitoring, and locking down a web server to prevent it being hacked. (Trust me, you REALLY don't want your home page to suddenly turn into a <violates forum rules> flick, pictures of nekkid wimmen, or your server suddenly starts serving malware along with your own content. )
• You are right on a high-speed backbone, or you have a provider that's right on a high-speed backbone.
• Your provider won't kill you, throttle your bandwidth to virtually nothing, or cancel your service once you start getting a fair number of hits per day.

If you don't fall into all - or most - of these categories, especially the administrator and security categories, it's really a good idea to outsource the physical hosting as it will be much cheaper in the long run.

What say ye?

Jim (JR)

Locking this topic, as it is over 4 years old.