Can I turn my laptop into a webserver?

Of course it's possible, but not recommended for any number of reasons, including heat dissipation. The big question here is what is your end goal?
 
Can you? Yes. Should you? No!

You can run various software on your notebook which will help with website display, but I'd strongly recommend NOT doing it. If you must, then I'd recommend formatting the computer, install CentOS, run a LAMP install, and you're up and running.

The only case where I could possibly see doing something like this would be if you're looking to setup a testing offline display to show a client who doesn't have internet access to view their website. Beyond that, I'd stay far away from notebooks for such applications. They're not designed to run 24x7 or anywhere even close!
 
You can, since a laptop can still run a LAMP stack, or depending on your specs, perhaps a cPanel or Plesk server. But you will need a good room for temperature control and a good ISP.

Some might not recommend it, but for me I would consider it. Using this method, I really do have full access to the server, since it is within reach. When something goes wrong, I can personally fix it myself without having to wait for a tech staff from a DC to do it. But I agree, the performance wouldn't be that optimal, since being in a DC means more power and security.
 
Instead of a laptop, if you've got some spare cash lying around try an Atom PC - they're a small (really small) form factor PC/Motherboard etc.

They hardly give out any noise depending on the case/fans you get, give out negligible heat and I've found they're great or running a small server on!

Or, if you've got the laptop kicking around, it'll still do the job, just not as nicely as the guys above have mentioned. I wouldn't recommend a laptop in a production server environment.
 
Its possible but not good to do. You would need to worry about quite a few things like cooling from leaving your laptop on 24/7 and what about bandwidth? You should just purchase a server and collocate it at a data center located close to you.
 
I recommend you to go with a small refurbished server instead of using a laptop, if you want to do some tests.
 
As already stated yes you can turn your laptop into a web server but.... why would you want to?

it will need to be on all the time
your connection is going to be too slow when any reasonable number of people try and access your site.
should your house loose power your site is offline
google will hurt you for being on a slow connection and any time your offline.

joe
 
A laptop is the same as any other computer, so sure, it can be done.

The biggest issue is that laptops tend to overheat, especially the ones from more recent years (larger more-powerful video cards). The weenie fans inside the notebook simply cannot keep it cooled well, and after a while, it takes a toll on the system's stability. Look up something like "HP laptop nvidia reflow" in Google, and you'll read plenty of horror stories about how a laptop can turn into a paperweight after long-term continuous use.

The GPU literally melts itself off the mainboard. :shaky:
 
It is possible. I have the same concern as kpmedia. Laptops get hot. Look at some pictures of the skin on people's legs after they sit with the laptop there all day. I suppose you could elevate it and keep an external fan running on your system but you can still have a meltdown. Also, consider that some models are more prone to overheating than others. It can be done but is it a really suitable use for your laptop? I would have to say no.
 
Absolutely yes, simply configure web server properly on your laptop. but if you're going to use it for live website purpose it's not recommended as explained above.
 
Of course it is possible, but you should NOT start any hosting company with it! I turned my old Asus EEE 900 Netbook into a server not too long ago and it does well! I monitor it's temps and surprisingly it doesn't get that hot. It has 512MB Ram, 4GB SSD, (Server is running from 180GB External), and an Intel Celeron Mobile 900Mhz. It runs Debian 6 with OpenPanel control panel. It is powerful enough but after Christmas I am getting a new desktop and will be turning my current desktop into a server.
 
Let's go with desktop before your laptop has gone. :) Remember that any personal server can be crash data. :) It happends with me one time.
 
Laptops make for ideal mobile servers if you need one on the go. Like the massive 21" 2 chip versions. Not cheap, but fun on the go servers.
 
There is no harm to configure your own laptop as webserver. Only you need to take precaution of your data. There should be backup configured for data stored on laptop.
 
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