Mac mini server for Discussion forum hosting.

The mini should have enough horsepower to handle your serving needs, but of course that can't be verified for sure unless the server is stress-tested.

However, you have a few other considerations that may not even involve the server...

- Is your home broadband "fast" enough to accommodate the service? (ie. what is your upload/download speed and capacity.)

- Do your terms of service for the home broadband allow for running a commercial website?
(In US, at least in my region, the TOS require one to purchase the "Business" tier service.)

- Does your broadband retain the same IP address, or is the IP subject to change?

- Security, this does touch on your box... are you well enough versed into the software modules and OS to keep them secure and administered properly?

- And of course backups and business continuity, do you have a plan to handle those?

The home/business that I mentioned is not related to your server, but rather to the type of Internet Service you are provided with.

Commonly, a home network connection gets a new IP address on a predetermined amount of time, or after you reboot your modem. If you are running such a setup your users would not be able to reach your server.
(I assume you are familiar with how DNS and IP addresses are related.)

Message was edited by: tibor.moldovan