Questions on setting up a HTTP,FTP,etc. server to host a small buisness site

I've been looking over all of the hosting options and had some reservations about paying for web hosting. When the buisness expands i will pay more and then more until i am required to purchase my own server.

So, if i go ahead and purchase a server now, will it be cost effective?, and what all is involved in setting up HTTP, FTP, subdomains, pop3 email, etc.

Also, will i be able to use the same server to connect all of the computers/workstations together or will that require another computer?

If anyone knows of a web site or tutorial to explain all of these elements, any help would be great.

Are you sure you want to run your own server? Don't get me wrong, but I think from where you stand right now it'll be much easier to spend $5/month for hosting rather then going through and setting up your own dedicated box for that. Don't forget that you will also need pretty wide connection to the 'net to run your server too.

I may or may not be ready for such a setup. But from what i know about servers and the likes thus far, makes this project seem possible. Would a 725k DSL connection be enough to host an HTTP/FTP server and be used for internet use, or would something like T1 be in order? Also any answers or thoughts on the previous post would be greatly appreciated.

725 dsl, or twice as fast T1, is enough to host small size servers, so if you're expecting to have more then ~50 simultaneous users connected you'll need something faster.

Go set up http/ftp/mail servers the first thing you will need is some sort of unix flavored OS, since you don't want to run them on windows based os. Why? For several reasons including speed, reliability and security.

>>Also, will i be able to use the same server to connect all of the computers/workstations together or will that require another computer?
Elaborate on that - what do you want that computer to do for the rest of your lan?

Lets do the math: initial box will cost about $600, T1 setup is what like $300 nowadays? Then T1 runs ~$600/mo. So you're looking at $1k down payment and then $600/mo. And that is not counting amout of time you will spend trying to get everything to work together. Why would you do that? Now instead, you could spend less then $10/mo for shared hosting like netacore provides, or $99/mo for dedicated box from rackshack guys.

I really fail to see why would you want to run your own servers on your own line here.