Running a Web Server using Bulldog Broadband

Hi,
I am looking at the possibility of having the following setup:

2 PCs
1 Web Server (no more than a few dozen hits a day, and no big
downloads)

all connected to a single ADSL/Modem/Router and using the Bulldog4
broadband package.

http://www.bulldogdsl.com/bulldog4/index.asp

A few questions

1. Is the Bulldog4 package suitable for this?
2. Are any other packages more suitable?
3. What is the minimum upstream speed that I would need for the Web
Server?
4. How many static IP addresses would I need to be able to make the
Web Server public?
5. Does anybody have any feedback on the reliability and actual speed
of the Bulldog4 service?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim


Scuba_Jim_2000

"Scuba_Jim_2000" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> 1. Is the Bulldog4 package suitable for this?

Yes, I can't see why not.

> 2. Are any other packages more suitable?

Apart from a leased line or colocating your server somewhere - I don't think
so.

> 3. What is the minimum upstream speed that I would need for the Web
> Server?

Well Bulldog's LLU products come with 400K upload - I don't think any ADSL
provider offers more (apart from Easynet perhaps)

> 4. How many static IP addresses would I need to be able to make the
> Web Server public?

One.

> 5. Does anybody have any feedback on the reliability and actual speed
> of the Bulldog4 service?

I don't think there will be any users on the Bulldog 4 service yet - it was
only announced yesterday.

However, Bulldog do have other customers on the LLU exchanges (which are the
ones that can get Bulldog 4 as well) in Central London - including others on
a 4MB ADSL product (but its under the name Alltime 4000)

All the feedback that I have seen from all the Bulldog users on LLU
exchanges has been extremely positive - with Bulldog maintaining their own
equipment/DSLAMs at the BT exchanges and having plenty of bandwidth to
their core network and beyond.

Those users with problems on Bulldog's service tend not to be on the LLU
exchanges!

However, it is worth saying response times for things like technical support
could be better..

Bulldog 4 is the first new product released after Cable and Wireless brought
Bulldog a few weeks ago.

Finally, if you do decide to use Bulldog would you mind quoting my referral
code when signing up - just quote "bdol 87431" when signing up online (under
"How did you hear about Bulldog?/Referred by a Friend") or by telephone - I
don't actually think I will get anything but its worth trying

Regards
Sunil

Thanks Sunil.

> > 4. How many static IP addresses would I need to be able to make the
> > Web Server public?
>
> One.

When selecting how many Static IP addresses you want during the
ordering process for Bulldog4, the following description is supplied
along with the "8 Static IP Address" option:

"The first permanent IP address identifies your network. The last
permanent IP address is used to broadcast to your network. 1 permanent
IP address identifies a router. The leftover 5 permanent IP addresses
can be used to identify different connected devices."

Initially, I had thought that I would therefore need at least 2 static
addresses (1 for the router and 1 for the Web Server) but obviously
this was wrong.

As I mentioned previously I want to set up the following:

>2 PCs
>1 Web Server (no more than a few dozen hits a day, and no big
>downloads)

>all connected to a single ADSL/Modem/Router and using the Bulldog4
>broadband package.

Could somebody please explain how the single static IP address would
be configured and how it would work in the scenario?

Finally does anybody have an opinion on the suitability of a 1Mb Home
Premier (unlimited bandwidth) for this scenario? Obviously the
download speed is slower, but what is the upload speed and does the
unlimited bandwidth cover uploads? Also, how much effect would the
different contention ratio have? And how much difference would I
really notice between a 1Mb and 4Mb download for browsing?

All feedback appreciated.

Cheers,
Jim

Sorry. I didn't clarify that I was talking about the PLUSNET 1Mb
package later in the message.


>Thanks Sunil.

> > 4. How many static IP addresses would I need to be able to make the
> > Web Server public?
>
> One.

>When selecting how many Static IP addresses you want during the
>ordering process for Bulldog4, the following description is supplied
>along with the "8 Static IP Address" option:

>"The first permanent IP address identifies your network. The last
>permanent IP address is used to broadcast to your network. 1
permanent
>IP address identifies a router. The leftover 5 permanent IP addresses
>can be used to identify different connected devices."

>Initially, I had thought that I would therefore need at least 2
static
>addresses (1 for the router and 1 for the Web Server) but obviously
>this was wrong.

>As I mentioned previously I want to set up the following:

>>2 PCs
>>1 Web Server (no more than a few dozen hits a day, and no big
>>downloads)

>>all connected to a single ADSL/Modem/Router and using the Bulldog4
>>broadband package.

>Could somebody please explain how the single static IP address would
>be configured and how it would work in the scenario?

>Finally does anybody have an opinion on the suitability of a
*PlusNet* 1Mb Home
>Premier (unlimited bandwidth) for this scenario? Obviously the
>download speed is slower, but what is the upload speed and does the
>unlimited bandwidth cover uploads? Also, how much effect would the
>different contention ratio have? And how much difference would I
>really notice between a 1Mb and 4Mb download for browsing?

>All feedback appreciated.

>Cheers,
>Jim

"Scuba_Jim_2000" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
>
> Could somebody please explain how the single static IP address would
> be configured and how it would work in the scenario?

If you only had 1 IP address, you would instruct your router to forward all
traffic requests received on a particular port (say 80 or 8080 are commonly
used I believe) to your web server.

You other two PC's would then use Network Address Translation (NAT) to
access the internet - this setup would probably also maximise the security
of your setup as well

It would also be possible to put any one of your machines into something
called a "DMZ" (i.e. full access to the internet) which is a option your
router should offer.

The way IP addresses are allocated, you can have only choose1 or 8 (or more)
IP addresses but nothing inbetween. The way it works is that if you have 8,
only 5 are really "useable" by you for PC's and web servers - as you have
discovered the other 3 are "reserved" for particular tasks like the router.

If, however you did have 8 IP addresses, you would be able to allocate each
machine a public IP address - however, you would then have to keep a much
closer eye on security and making sure you had correctly configured
firewalls etc.

> Finally does anybody have an opinion on the suitability of a 1Mb Home
> Premier (unlimited bandwidth) for this scenario? Obviously the
> download speed is slower, but what is the upload speed and does the
> unlimited bandwidth cover uploads? Also, how much effect would the
> different contention ratio have? And how much difference would I
> really notice between a 1Mb and 4Mb download for browsing?

I presume you are talking about Plusnet's product?

The higher the upload speed the better generally, especially when it comes
to serving web pages.

As with most non-Bulldog ADSL products, the upload speed on Plusnet's range
is 256K. This is set by BT and all non LLU ISP's will offer the same speed.

Bulldog's LLU exchanges have Bulldog's own equipment so they can choose
their own upload speed (400K in their case)

The unlimited bandwidth fom Plusnet would cover uploads.

Contention ratio's do not generally appear to be having much effect at the
moment but as networks get busier, it is better to have a lower ratio.

Plusnet will have a contention ratio of 50:1 or 20:1 depending on if its the
home or business range (50:1 for the home range).

I believe Bulldog are effectively offering the Bulldog 4 product at a 1:1
contention ratio - almost like a leased line.

The difference in normal web browsing would be marginal between a 1MB and a
4MB line.

Regards
Sunil