Internet

You will need internet access for your home server and the devices connecting to it. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the primary factor leading to the quality and stability of your server connection.

Connection

Outside of your hardware, your internet connection dictates how many people can access your server as well as their connection quality, stability and uptime.  There are many different consumer options for connecting your home to the World Wide Web.

stylus_laser_pointeR	Fiber This is oneOne of the fastest internet connections available, utilizingthis uses flashing light to rapidly transmit data over long distances.
Cable	Cable Fast and cost-effective, this form of internet thatconnection uses television infrastructure to transmit data to a localan internet provider.
satellite_alt	Satellite Available in even the mostin remote areas, this internet connection occurs through satellites in orbit around the planet.
Wifi_tethering	Wireless Broadband This allows devices to connect to a wireless network broadcast over a large area by an internet service provider.
settings_phone	DSL One of the first consumer options, this connection uses telephone infrastructure to transmit data.
Signal_cellular_alt	Mobile Broadband Quickly gaining in popularity, this internet option uses wireless cellular data infrastructure to create a local area network for your devices.

We recommend a hardwiredHardwired internet connection – such as cable or fiber – are preferred because they are more reliable.  Wireless connections – like satellite and mobile broadband – can be heavily reliant on other external factors like congestion and weather.

Your exactExact upload and download speed needsrequirements will depends on what services you're hostinghosting, andas forwell as how many people.people will be accessing them.  ForHosting a home server serving your immediate family, here is a good starting point:

Download	Download Minimum: 200Mbps Recommended: 1,000Mbps   This will be most important for downloading data from the internet – such as multimedia, metadata and updates.  Internet bandwidth will be shared between every internet-connected device in your home, so it's important to have enough to go around.
Upload	Upload Minimum: 20Mbps Recommended: 200Mbps   This will primarily be used to share multimedia and files outside of your home – like friends, family on the World Wide Web.  Residential internet connections often provide significantly lower upload bandwidth than download under the assumption that you will not be running a personal server.

Gigabit connection speeds are recommended for hosting media servers, but low-bandwidth websites that don't serve many images or videos may perform acceptably at slower speeds.

Depending on your Internet service provider and connection type, there may be restrictions on how much data can be transmitted outside your network. 

Self-Hosting

You are not breaking any laws by self-hosting a server at home.  However, not all ISPs expressly permit web hosting from residential internet connections.  While a few embrace self-hosting, many others choose not to advertise the feature.  Unfortunately, ISPs are more frequently directlyincreasingly blocking the requiredability portsto for runninghost a Web server.server from home.

Each Internet Service Provider has their own rules and regulations about server hosting on residential contracts.  Business contracts are more costly, but often explicitly allow web-hosting and comeprovide withfeatures aexplicitly stableto publicsupport IP address.it.

Your provider may have additional stipulations regarding the nature of the content.content you can host.  Self-hosting personal services may draw less attention than for-profit commercial storefronts.storefronts or public discussion forums.  Controversial content madymay be explicitly censored as a result of your Internet Service Provider.Provider contract.

Before proceeding, you must understand the terms of your agreement with your internet service provider. 

Restricted Access

If your ISP blocks web server hosting, there are still options to connect while away from home.  These vary in cost, complexity and contractual concerns:

Contract	Commercial Contract When feasible, upgrading topurchasing a business plan with your ISP may expressly permit web hosting.  This may be available at your current residence and would provide added benefits – such as a static IP address. Alternatively, configuring a
Private_connectivity	CloudFlare Tunnel This method allows your server to communicate with the CloudFlare tunnel mayservice circumventwithout needing to directly connect it to the World Wide Web.  This circumvents the block by channeling webweb-based traffic through theirthe CloudFlare remote servers first.  They explicitly forbid using this service for transferring multimedia. Finally, hosting
Vpn_lock	Virtual Private Network Hosting your own VPN server – or utilizing your routers – will allow your devices to remotely connect to your Local Area Network.  This means that remotely-connected devices can interact with computers on your network as if you were at home..

Alternatively,