Possibly becoming a mirror

[Brian Inglis]

On 2021-04-18 12:47, Hamish McIntyre-Bhatty via Cygwin wrote:
> I'm considering hosting a mirror for Cygwin on a server I have, but it doesn't 
> currently have a domain. Is this acceptable or do I need to sort that first? I'm 
> planning to do that in the near future either way.

You need a public IP address with a public DNS entry pointing to that host in a 
domain.
Some ISPs offer static IP addresses reasonably and some require a higher priced 
business account:

	https://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband/help/what-static-ip

	Andrews & Arnold: Free static IP as standard.

	Plusnet: Available on most home and business packages. £5 setup fee for home 
packages.

	Zen: Available for free on request.

You may also be able to configure your router to establish a link from your ISP 
DHCP address to a public dynamic DNS service providing a DNS host name.
Whether the name may be from a domain you control or only from theirs depends on 
their service offerings.
Some domain registrars also offer various services including forwarding with 
registration.

Remember you will have to initially download all 163GB of mirror files 
currently, rsync download any updates at least twice daily, and upload that to 
all comers, which could have low speeds and limits (10% of download, and 
remember ratings are theoretical max in Mb/s, divide by 10 for MB/s, then do an 
ISP speedtest and another external like speedtest.net), or require a business 
account, depending on your equipment and ISP:

	https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/united-kingdom#fixed

and these numbers obviously reflect business internet services, as upload is a 
large fraction of download rather than typical 10%, so expect numbers that are a 
fraction of those listed

If may be cheaper and better to consider renting a virtual cloud server.
If you think you can do this from a server within an organization to which you 
belong, you should first talk to management, admins, and network staff.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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