I'm looking into to building my own private server. Just a small server I can access my files on the go with remote access as well as hosting a private minecraft server for me and about 7 other people. We'll say 15 to be safe. I don't think hardware will be much of an issue since I have lots of experience building computers already, but I don't have much experience with starting/hosting a network, so I'm wondering Is there a difference between the ISP's that servers use vs say comcast or century link?
Since I'm hosting a game I want the connection to be stable and have a decent upload and download speed, but at the same time I don't want it to cost very much since I would be paying for this isp in addition to my internet bill for my house. Also, (bonus question. ) is there a way to have the same isp but some how "portion" the bandwidth out so that the server has enough to host the game and not cause server-side lag but so that I could still use the internet for other things (browsing the internet, gaming, streaming, Facebook)?
Maybe there's a better way to do this? I'm new to all of this network business since connecting to the internet these days is fairly user-friendly on windows. Which brings me to another question (sorry) What operating system do you recommend, keeping my basic knowledge of computer networks in mind? I've heard Linux based OS are what most people use, but I also know you can use Windows as well. Please keep in mind this isn't going to be a large server just a small private server.