I want to host my own website but need some help.

[PoorDoggie]

I currently run Abyss web server off my computer, which is connected to my second hard drive. This means I can put all my websites etc.. on one hdd and leave the other for my computer, but I want to be able to do this with a proper Web Server and link it to my domain etc... I basically want to run my website from my bedroom! :lol:

I have run into a slight problem though. I don't know the first thing about webservers. :hehe: I have tried looking around the internet for stuff, but can't find anything.

I want to get information on:
- what hardware to get & how to set it up. eg: A server with XXXX ram and XXXX CPU etc...
- what software to get and how to set that up - I want PHP and MySql. PHP should be easy, but I have tried setting mySQL up before and it was hell.
- The best way to access it: ie: either FTP from my computer or a direct Network connection, or just use it with a monitor like a normal computer.

etc...

I am really looking for begginer sites, so I can get a feel for this subject, and start to learn about it.

Thanks a lot
Tom

PS: I would like to also find out about having a seperate mail server(s).

Disclamer: This thread is merely so that I can find out about web servers and stuff. I do want to aim for what is above someday, but for now it is just information I want.

 

[HHDomains]

First thing you need to do is contact your ISP and see if they allow you to run a web server. Most don't and some will block port 80.

Next step is to research. This would be a good starting point:
http://www.dslwebserver.com/

 

[PoorDoggie]

what will happen if you run a small tesing server on your computer, if your ISP dosen't allow it?

I am on AOL, and am not sure if they allow webservers, but it dosen't seem to block port 80.

 

[Morph]

Realisticaly, i would just use webhosting from a company, you don't have license fees to heff about with, everything is already installed and you know you always have support.

 

[seeker]

go with a host.
much easier...

 

[HHDomains]

what will happen if you run a small tesing server on your computer, if your ISP dosen't allow it?

I am on AOL, and am not sure if they allow webservers, but it dosen't seem to block port 80.

I won't speak to specifics but generally they are not concerned with someone using their computer for a small personal site. It's not until a significant amount of bandwidth is being used that they get involved.

You have nothing to lose by installing a web server, mail server and mysql for test purposes. Just remember that as soon as you go live your computer is suseptible to being used as a spam portal or various other security breaches.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Ok, i was in your position once where everone just told me to get a paid host. WHiel I still have my paid host, I run a server from my house just fine.

First:
Make sure you have good security. I have firewalls at every point in my system from my cable modem to routers to switches and hubs. Also have one on my computer. Hardware firewalls are a necesity, i recommend having at least one.

Second:
Make sure your ISP does not block port 80 and you are allowed to host.

Third:
Determine if yu have a static or dynamic DNS. I you have dynamic, rethink your webhosting idea as you will face a lot of downtime.

Fourth:
Use Xampp or somehting that is a all in one package. YOU can go back to apache and other modules later if you wish but XAMPP is a good starting point.

Fifth:
Install and follow the screens. Do not tweak too much for your first try.

Sixth:
Goto zoneedit.com (I think that's the site, it it's not let me know) and register for a new free account. Follow the directions and link up your domain to yor IP address

Seventh:
Wait about 2 days. IN the meantime you can start accessing things for test purposes by going to http://localhost/

I skipped a lot of steps in this as I wasn't planning on writing a tutorial. Let me know if there is something on one of the steps that you do not know how to do and I will walk you through how to do that step.

-Ambrose

 

[PoorDoggie]

Ok, i was in your position once where everone just told me to get a paid host. WHiel I still have my paid h...

wow... thank a lot! That is a great help. That XAMMP thing should come in useful.

Just a few questions:
- What do you mean by "hardware firewalls"?
- What is T3 and is there any point getting it?
- Where would I find out about web server hardware?

Thanks again

Tom

PS: I am going to keep my paid host at the moment, but I am just interested in how it all works, and setting up my own server. I will not run my main sites off it unless I really get into it, I am just getting interested in web servers at the moment.

 

[jmweb]

wow... thank a lot! That is a great help. That XAMMP thing should come in useful.

Just a few questions:
- What do you mean by "hardware firewalls"?
- What is T3 and is there any point getting it?
- Where would I find out about web server hardware?

Thanks again

Tom

PS: I am going to keep my paid host at the moment, but I am just interested in how it all works, and setting up my own server. I will not run my main sites off it unless I really get into it, I am just getting interested in web servers at the moment.

Hello,
I would not suggest you run your own server off your computer. From the information you have posted in this thread you do not know enough about servers and security to run a web server securely.
I would suggest you take some time and read up on Web servers (i.e. Apache) and what they do. Also read a bit of info on how to secure one and what it takes to run one. Then I would suggest you look into running your own web server. It is not easy if you have no experience doing it.
A hardware firewall is nearly the same as a software firewall however the hardware firewall is an external box (like a hub). A T3 is a type of connection (like cable, dsl, satelite) that runs at ~45 Mbps.
Your best tool is a site like google.com/linux


John

 

[PoorDoggie]

Hello,
I would not suggest you run your own server off your computer. From the information you have posted in this thread you do not know enough about servers and security to run a web server securely.

This thread was really for me to get some informative websites so that I could get start to get this information I just can't seem to find any information anywhere. I just thought if I put up what I want to achieve sometime then I would get more specific help. Thanks

I would suggest you take some time and read up on Web servers (i.e. Apache) and what they do. Also read a bit of info on how to secure one and what it takes to run one. Then I would suggest you look into running your own web server. It is not easy if you have no experience doing it.
A hardware firewall is nearly the same as a software firewall however the hardware firewall is an external box (like a hub). A T3 is a type of connection (like cable, dsl, satelite) that runs at ~45 Mbps.
Your best tool is a site like google.com/linux

Thanks.

With that XAMMP thing, I changed the apache httpd.conf file so that it pointed to "F:/" (my second drive) yet I get this message:

Access forbidden!
You don't have permission to access the requested directory. There is either no index document or the directory is read-protected.

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.

Error 403
localhost
01/15/06 16:46:26
Apache/2.2.0 (Win32) DAV/2 mod_ssl/2.2.0 OpenSSL/0.9.8a mod_autoindex_color PHP/5.1.1

Now there is an F:/ drive and there is an "index.php" file in it. I also tried it with a directory on the C:/ drive, and it still dosen't work.

my httpd file (excerpt):

#
# DocumentRoot: The directory out of which you will serve your
# documents. By default, all requests are taken from this directory, but
# symbolic links and aliases may be used to point to other locations.
#
DocumentRoot "F:/"

#
# This should be changed to whatever you set DocumentRoot to.
#
<Directory "F:/">

Can anyone help me and tell me what is wrong?

 

[HHDomains]

Rename index.php to index.html and try again.
You need to set up apache to recognize extenstions other than html I believe.

 

[PoorDoggie]

its already set up to accept PHP files. The XAMMP thing uses PHP and it works perfectly. I just don't know why this one dosen't.

Argh :lol:

 

[WebmasterTalk.us]

You should score an old server from a web hosting company and just use it at your home. Would save you a lot of trouble..

 

[andrewc]

Posting or attach ALL of your httpd.conf will help



Try adding this under the second part of the options directive...


Options -Indexes
and rename any old html page you have to index.html

then put this in your web directory....also put a phpinfo.php file in there and then from your browser test it...this will show a lot of useful information and tell you if php is working

just type http://localhost/phpinfo.php

when you have created it and post back...also find the webserver logs directory on your local drive and post up any and all relevant log errors you have...

This IS the BEST way to find and solve problems for even beginners.


To create phpinfo.php just open notepad and paste the following in to the empty document

<?php

// Show all information, defaults to INFO_ALL
phpinfo();

// Show just the module information.
// phpinfo(8) yields identical results.
phpinfo(INFO_MODULES);

?>


then save it as phpinfo.php (make sure you have hide file extensions turned off in windows..... go to my computer > tools> folder options > view tab (and also enable hidden files while your there)

once you have phpinfo.php just upload it to your root www directory and try it and post back :hehe:

 

[seeker]

I would also check .htaccess to see that php is enabled from your setup, and look at which is the default (.html?) and which is the other extensions it looks at at which order.

 

[weblord]

http://www.resellerspanel.com is free try it

 

[barefoottech]

http://www.resellerspanel.com is free try it

UPBIN ,WebLord
No it is not,$40 annually for a 1 domain Hosting PACK is not free ,Plus PoorDoggie is asking about Hosting on his OWN PC as a Server.

 

[inviz]

Get a old AMD XP machine or something, with 512 Ram+.

Install College Linux. It's ready configurated with PHP, MySql, ftp, ssh2 Webmin, etc.

 

[HHDomains]

inviz, did you read the thread?
He's way beyond that point already.

 

[inviz]

nah. to lazy to read all :P sorry

 

[weblord]

UPBIN ,WebLord
No it is not,$40 annually for a 1 domain Hosting PACK is not free ,Plus PoorDoggie is asking about Hosting on his OWN PC as a Server.

sorry for confusing post, i mean the affiliate program/resellership is free but you have to pay for hosting of course.

thanks for correcting me, rep added.

 

[PoorDoggie]

Hey, I got that httpd.conf thing to work (no thanks to you miserable lot :lol: ). I had to log in, using ftp and chmod the directory it is in. The problem is, I cannot do this using my HDD (f as a base directory for my webserver. I now have all my websites located at f:\htdocs which is really annoying. Is there anyway I can "chmod" my f: drive?

Hey, inviz, thanks, it could be a good idea. I just want to run a small webserver, and that might be a good starting point. That linux is a good idea as well, if it already comes with php etc installed! I am really looking for information on webservers, and this thread is still open to help, and advice on that front, but I will look into your idea inviz, thanks!

sorry for confusing post, i mean the affiliate program/resellership is free but you have to pay for hosting of course.

thanks for correcting me, rep added.

I see where you are coming from. Thanks - I don't want to offer hosting, I am too selfish for that, although that is a plan as I want to offer hosting on another of my sites. I am too selfish to share my computer with anyone! :lol: