I think your question is much more difficult than it seems. Or maybe we don't have enough information about what it is you want to do. Do you have physical access to the "data center"... or is the data center going to be your basement or hall closet? Can the data center staff help you? I have never configured an Internet-facing server myself, so I know I can't be of much help, but take a look at this link to get an idea of how much fun you might be in for:
http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/LinuxTutorialWebSiteConfig.html
I do, however, own several domain names and I maintain the websites on those domains. If that is your goal, it is wholly different from actually installing and maintaining your own personal server hardware. Basically I just rent server space and their people do the internet configurations. I have a control panel provided by my hosting company to set up new users, email accounts, etc.
Or maybe you want a "media server" so that you can listen to music or watch videos, within your home network, or maybe even to use while away from home.
In this day and age, I would suggest EXTREME CAUTION setting up an Internet-facing server, if that is truly your goal. If you don't know what you are doing, or if you are careless and not vigilant about maintaining the system... you may soon be another zombie in a botnet. Please take security very seriously.
So, please be more specific and let us know your ultimate goal. Hopefully someone can help. And don't forget to look around the Tutorials section on this website... there are some topics there about web servers, mail servers, etc, that might also help get you started.
Cheers!