Should I go for shared hosting or spend heaps on my own server

I'm getting close to launching my site now and after my problems after my PHP upgrade I'm now concerned about shared hosting. When you share a host does the host normally let you know that they are about to upgrade versions before they do it?

I can't really afford my own server but I'm concerned that it'll all go pear shaped if I share my host and they upgrade php and my code doesn't cope.

What is the standard here?

Also if I do end up using my own server - how difficult are they to administer? Are there hosts that will administer the server for you but only upgrade php on your request?

Thanks

A web server is really nothing more than a computer running a special programs that listen to it's internet connection for page requests.

I have a cable modem connection that is "always on," so I run my own server on an old desktop computer. I installed a Linux operating system, an Apache HTTP server program, PHP (of course) and a ProFTP server. I use the port forwarding options on my router for increased security.

They aren't really too difficult to set up and maintain once you get the hang of it. But do expect to do a lot of reading as you learn how everything works.

I advise against the O'Reilly Definitive Guide to Apache book; I found the documentation at Apache's website much more helpful.

ProFTP's documentation leaves much to be desired, you may want to look around for others.

Best of luck,

Tim

Virtual hosting, that depends on how much control you want over your server. I myself can't live without root but root also gives you the ability to really screw things up.

If you do want you own server, you could host it yourself as Tim suggested if you don't expect alot of traffic. If you are expecting alot of traffic a co-lo is best. This gives you battery backup and usally redundant backbones to limit your downtime

What? You don't just plug in the laptop and forward port 80 requests to it while you're upgrading the server? lol...

But you do make a good point, Postal.

I do try to keep my network traffic to a minimum so as my ISP won't begin charging me a commercial rate!

And if the power goes out, my site is inaccessable. I use the server essentially for my personal web ventures, ftp transfer of large files with friends and just experimenting and learning about server maintenance. It's not a big deal if the up-time isn't 100%.

If the up-time is "mission-critical," then you have to start thinking about backups, archiving and power-management.

... (one more thing) You'll need access to a DNS Server if you plan on using a domain name to point to your server. You could set up a DNS server program on the machine, also, or you could take advantage of some free ervices available. I manage my DNS through xname.org

-Tim

Great answer guys - I hadn't considered hosting it myself and I'd love to do it - I can taste the power. However given the amount of power problems I have here (thanks Energex!) I'll have to go the shared option.

why not just buy a UPS? check this out:

specs & pricing at newegg.com