Apache Server

[newbman]

I downloaded Apache Server 2.055 so I can view php without getting my website hosted, so doesn't that mean I can convert my PC into a server that can host websites? Anyone know how?

[Diante]

The first thing you have to do is get a dedicated IP and DNS hostname from your internet provider as well as making sure your speed is as fast as you can afford. Set up your router port and all of your security measures. From there, you have to consider the OS, database or no, and designing your site. Hosting at home can be expensive, since internet providers usually charge you as a business class account for dedicated IPs and DNS. Also, you have to be very careful of security issues, especially if you are going to use a Microsoft OS with either IIS or Apache (Linux/Apache combo is much safer). Keep everything absolutely up to date.Well, thats how it starts. From there, it depends on your site requirements as to what software and hardware requirements you have.

[mpoer]

i host my work web site and my personal blog at home<ymsps!>http://www.fix-computer.tk and http://thinktank.ichyware.net:81</ymsps!>(the <ymsps!> tag is new, for yet more shameless plugs!, if you haven't already read about it )Anyway, all you need is a broadband connection, a static IP, and about $20 a year for a domain name.If you look at my signature, you'll find my perferred operating system, Server (apache), scripting language and database, with links for more info. This system is free softare and much more secure than a Microsoft setup.Important note about hosting at home: some Internet Service Providers (or ISPs) do not actually allow you to host a web site at home, and some specifically say no type of server can be run at all. While some of them just say "don't do it", some will actually block important ports like 80 and 21 to prevent you from running a web server or ftp server. The workaround: configure apache to run on another port (like 8080 or 81 and use sub.domain.com:XX, where XX is the port number :)I've been doing this for a little while so please messege or email me if you have any questions

[newbman]

I am a total newbie at this so here are a few questions:How do I get a static IP address?I have DSL, is that good enough?How do I set up my router ports?What are the security risks?Where is the cheapest place to get a domain name?Once again what are the security risks! If my ISP doesn't let me do it, shouldn't it be risky?

[boen_robot]

I would suggest that you forget about this, unless you don't think of drawing much traffic to your site. As the web building tutorial explains, server computers are more powerful then the ones we've got. Therefore, they are able to serve a lot more people than what a single home PC could. Anyway, to answer your questions.1. If you are not behind a NAT router or anything, you probably already have a static IP adress. Turn on apache and tell some friend of yours to type in your IP. If he/she sucseeds in opening the home page you have provided, then it's clear that you have a static IP.Note: if you have a domain name, it's not always necessary to have a static IP. Some domain registars offer tools that will keep track of your IP and redirect the domain to the new one. This is useful if you were using Dial-Up connections, but it won't work if you are behind a NAT router.2. DSL connection is good enough to serve you and your friends and family perhaps. It all matters on what is your upload speed. A client may have a speed of 30kb/s but if your upload speed is 10kb/s he/she will be unable to reach the limits of 30kb/s. And if there are many people, your upload speed of 10kb/s will be shared among them, making your pages load even slower.3. It all depends on the router's settings application. There is no standartized way that we can point you to. If you are behind a router, then this means you don't have a real IP, therefore it would have to be set so that http requests to it's IP would be redirected to your PC, instead of being handled by the router itself.4. If you use that PC for anything else, then this might make everything you do avaiable to other people. You must manage which folders are shared well, or otherwise you might get into situation which one password is enough for someone to completely take over your computer. Also there are viruses and trojans going through port 80 and others, so you should have a Firewall on your PC that would stealth all of your ports when there are no requests for pages. I personally use Norton Internet Security and I'm very pleased with it's Firewall and all.5. I don't know about "cheapest" but http://www.no-ip.com/ offers the tools for IP to DNS tracking for which I pointed above.6. Your provider might not let you do it, because if something happens to you, you might endanger the whole ISPs network. Good ISPs have good tools for tracking if there are infected people in their network and automatically disable their internet. It is then your responsibility to clean your computer and tell the ISP to turn on your internet again. There is also another possibility. The host might provide some kind of paid webhosting. If you were able to run a server on your PC, this makes you it's competition and the ISP wouldn't want that.

[mpoer]

There are two reasons that ISPs will block port 80:1) there was a big virus/worm that spread on port 80 at one point (forget the name, but I read about it somewhere)2) web servers can take a lot of bandwidth if they are successfull Two good reasons that home users don't need port 80 open, in the eyes of an ISP.Now, here's the thing about hosting at home, don't do it if you have a big site. You don't want to host a site with a hundred hits per day on your own private PC. BUT if your site hosts something like, your blog, and you get under a hundred hits per month, then you can do it if you want; just don't expect it to be complete professional. In this situation, it is more of a learning experiance.As far as power, if there isn't a lot of traffic, get an old laptop [gasp from the crowd] no really. Want the stats for my laptop, thinktank?IBM Thinkpad 600300mhz Pentium 2 processor96mb RAM5GB HDDthat should tell you enough about what I'm on here... but this thing runs decently if I let it alone. However, I use it regularly as well, and I'm actually on it right now. But if I had this machine dedicated to being a web server, it would run fine.Okay this may seem odd but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. If you don't know, the Microsoft XBOX gaming console can be somewhat easily converted into a linux desktop PC. Check out http://www.xbox-linux.org for more information. Well, at that point, a 'lil XBOX can run fun programs like Apache (with PHP) and a MySQL Database, as well as proftpd and sshd. Get where I'm going here? Now think, with the new XBOX 360s out, there will be a price drop in XBOXs coming soon. Check ebay and you'll see they are going for under $100. Cheaper than a new PC, and more than enough power than you'll need for a testing server

[Diante]

Newbman, Here is a good learning suggestion for you. With Apache, PHP and MySQL loaded on your machine, why not just make that a learning environment. Practice coding pages and making templates and such. You have the environment for that.If you want to host a website, I would suggest start off with a host service. There are plenty of really good ones that are anywhere from $4 - 10 a month for tons of space and bandwidth. Do that for a year and learn about the admin side as well as using your personal development environment to learn how to develop pages and templates and such.Host for a year with a provider. You will notice the learning curve smooth out a lot in that time and you will be greatly more prepared to attempt to set up your own web server by then, as well as develop everything for it yourself.I only suggest this because, as it was mentioned, your ISP could potentially shut you down if you are found out or worse, you could get a nasty virus that wipes everything out. One year to learn more is a small price to pay for long term security of a well managed website.