My Own Webserver

[catacon]

I want to make my own webserver. Sanity be damned! I'm gonna do it. With, of course, help from the kndly people at PC Mech. I know there are security risks, but if other people can do it, why can't I? I will use Apache, PHP, and MySQL. All of those I know how to setup. I just need to know what hardware and how to make it secure.

Hardware

I have three options.

1) Use an old Gateway with P3 450Mhz, 256MB RAM
2) buy a new Opteron 2.0Ghz, 1GB RAM
3) use my current Linux desktop with Athlon 1.6, 512MB RAM

Also, what router type stuff do I need?

How do I go about making Apache more secure? If I use the desktop, how do I protect my files?

Thanks!

[mairving]

Check with your ISP and see if they allow you to run a webserver first.

[catacon]

What do you mean? I didn't know they cared. We have dial-up now, which I know won't work, but we will be switching to some high-speed (Charter probably). Will their site tell me, or will I have to contact them by other means?

Also, what about the hardware stuff?, you know, just in case they will let me.

Thanks!

[Statica]

Originally Posted by catacon What do you mean? I didn't know they cared. We have dial-up now, which I know won't work, but we will be switching to some high-speed (Charter probably). Will their site tell me, or will I have to contact them by other means? Also, what about the hardware stuff?, you know, just in case they will let me. Thanks!

Yes ISP's invariably care if you use a residential high speed connection to host a server. For example, from Charter's support site: http://support2.charter.com/support/...1-80035f79208b
Beyond that, certain ISPs will also block incoming ports to standard servers (like webservers) to prevent their users from doing just that. You will likely need to subscribe to a commercial accnt.

[Tech Guy]

Here is a great tutorial, that will help you on your way once you get past the hardware part.

http://www.pcmech.com/show/network/690/

I used this tutorial myself, and it's really easy to setup. Hope that everything goes well. For my ISP I use a 10 MBit cable connection, that seems to do the job.

[catacon]

What ISP do you use?

[kstatefan40]

A note on the linked tutorial (I wrote it ):

I will probably be working on updates for this soon - as things start to slow down around here. Mostly, it will be introducing things a bit better, going a bit more in depth in a few areas, and especially router setup.

Appserv is awesome - I use it on all three of my test machines here. If you have any questions, feel free to post back!

Also, I would like to make sure you play by your ISP's rules. We wouldn't want your service terminated because of something like this.

Edit: Hardware wise, I ran Apache on a PII 300 MHz with 256mb ram. Hardware requirements really only depend on your need, your budget, and the amount of hardcore traffic you will get. If you get *tons* of traffic, an opetron might be necessary, but I highly doubt you will get that much. A simple PII can handle some load pretty well. Text processing and such isn't exactly taxing.

[Godrock37]

as far as other hardware and such needed for your network, you may need an external modem (most times u will, with the exception of dial up) that your isp may or may not provide. if they do they may charge you for it. If u decide to buy a new pc you may need a router/switch/hub if u dont already have one, i advise against using the first option for a pc but its ur call, it would probably be to slow but i could easily be wrong

[catacon]

Appserv is nice, however, I would probably be running Linux, so that would be unnecessary. Do you know of any ISP that DO allow webservers?

[kstatefan40]

Usually, that is handled on a case by case basis by the ISP for residential accounts. You *may* have to buy a commercial account - which would cost more than its worth for web hosting.

My setup, I have three local test machines, then I have a paid web host, which is $5/mo for a bunch of space - best place I've found: http://www.surpasshosting.com

[catacon]

OK, I have a local testing machine setup, that's easy. I was talking about running my own public webserver. Though I do see how it would cost more, so it's kind of pointless. Well, just out of curiosity, how would I go about setting up PUBLIC webserver. Would it be the same as a private one, but with more security? Just curious.

[Tech Guy]

My ISP is a cable provider called Eastlink, I have my telephone, internet, and cable bundled with them, that's why I go with them. Great tutorial by the way . I just use Appserv as a way to test my pages before I put them live. I work for a Web Hosting company, so I have more free webspace than I know what to do with.