Considering Starting a Network?

Marion_Oaks_2 · none Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Posts: 8

so no matter what it costs money.

PingBad · Posted: Jul 20, 2006 8:08pm Post subject:

you can host a server off your own home connection (albeit this is usually discouraged in favor of more capable internet connections that datacenters and shell hosts provide) for only the cost of your internet connection. This is usually the option that the curious partake in due to the relatively low costs involved.

TheKing · none Joined: 31 Oct 2008 Posts: 10

I used to see networks link servers from home, and have them constantly peer or timeout. Or simply, port forwarding just *SEXUAL INTERCOURSE* itself.

For me, yes, I have UnrealIRCd/Nefarious/Charybdis/ircu testnet's running from my home server, linking them is out of the question in my opinion. But, yeah.

Regards.

TheKing.

[Removed innapropriate language, replaced with appropriate terms for same thing. -PB]

ElLupo · none Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Posts: 16

There are already a lot of good suggestions here, I'll just add a couple from my experience :

- Realize well before you start that you will need to be a at least a technical person or you should have technical people in your staff. If not, you should be willing to spend a considerable amount of time on getting to grips with the technical aspects of running a network. Having people with past IRCop experiences helps a great deal. However, being fluent with ircop commands is only part of the work involved. Starting your own network adds a whole new level in configuring, maintaining and tweaking your configuration and adjusting it to your needs and the needs of your users. Being a programmer or having access to someone with programming skills can be a real boon because in some cases you will be on your own to provide the functionality you are looking for. Maintaining IRC software is mostly a volunteer effort and the people involved might not have the time or resources available to implement your requests.

- Spend enough time to decide on what software flavor you want to run. Doing this before you start can save you a lot of headaches while migrating later. Wikipedia has a couple of excellent articles about the various software available :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_IRC_daemons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Internet_Relay_Chat_services

Be prepared to make trade-offs in functionality while choosing the software. Sadly, there is no holy grail of irc software and services. Each flavor has its own set of strong points and drawbacks. Keep the activity of the project in mind as well : Running a network is no different than running other servers available to the public; if the project is dead and doesn't receive updates, then critical flaws won't get patched, new features will not be implemented and you're stuck with aged product in the coming years.

- Growing your network initially requires a great deal of patience and can be quite tedious. As such, it requires a lot of persistence. Be aware that running a successful network is a long term project which can easily consume your time in years to come. Consider joining an existing network instead for your IRC needs if you do not have the time available to dedicate it to your setup.

- Keep in mind that setting up and maintaining the network is only a small part of the work involved. A considerable amount of time is spent by supporting users and learning them how to use your services. Its pointless having a polished setup if your users don't know how to use it. User friendliness is a key feature that can mean a difference between your network and the bigger players. People will leave if they have a problem and there's nobody there to help them out. This is a common problem with a lot of the smaller networks.

- Stability is a key factor in your endeavor. People running a channel know that it takes time to build a successful channel, and all that hard work can be undone in a blip when your systems fail. Netsplits greatly annoy your users. Unavailability of services will most likely get you in trouble with the channel operators who rely on them. Consider them as your prime customers and try to handle issues as quickly as possible. Choose your hosts wisely. You might have a capable internet connection at home, but its rendered useless when your electricity dies, your pc crashes, your router breaks or your ISP is down. Users expect your service to be there at all times. Choose a good host which can offer you this stability. Yes they cost money, but better spend money on something that yields results rather than to be a cheapskate and end up with wasted time and effort.

- Be aware that there is a wide range of networks already available. Nobody is obliged to use your network. If users are unhappy with your service, they will most probably not think long before moving on to another network. Handle problems in a consistent manner and realize that what may appear as a mundane problem for you, can mean a lot to the user.

Hope this helps,

Lupo