Server Help :: View topic - Hey All , Need Help with Server

Server Help

Trash Talk - Hey All , Need Help with Server

Cascade - Sun Dec 24, 2006 2:59 pm
Post subject: Hey All , Need Help with Server

Hey everyone
this is my first post and im looking for help
im new to running a server and am having trouble setting it up.
I am trying to make a web server so that i can host multiple web sites each with multiple pages on the same server. i guess i should start by talking about the server
its got a 3.2 Ghz Intel CPU -- quick enough for what i need
2 GB of RAM
200 GB IDE Hard Drive
DVD-Rom Drive
It currently has Windows XP Installed but this could be changed if what im doing is wrong.

The Server is connected to the internet via a network that goes like this

Phone Line --- Netgear ADSL Modem Router DG834 ---- Netgear 5 port 10/100 Mbps Switch FS605 , Port 1 of the switch is taken by the line from the modem to the switch , port 2 has a Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 , which is directly connected to my actual PC.

Then i have port 3 of the switch connect directly to the server via a network cable oviously.
The Server has an internet connection as i would expect but all atempts to set up the server have failed beacuse no one outside my network is able to access it

I would be most greatful if someone could tell me where i am going wrong and give detailed easy to follow instructions on how to do it right , in the end all i want to do is have a server to host the websites that i produce.

Also it would be helpful to know what software i should be using on the server , as you can tell i am new to this so please take it slow and help me as ill be most greatfull for your advice and guidance

Thank you for your time
Cascade
aka John

Cyan~Fire - Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:09 pm
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Do you actually have a web server (IIS or Apache) installed already? If so, it sounds like you just need to forward port 80 (for HTTP) to your server in your router settings.

Animate Dreams - Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:10 pm
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Well, first off we'd need to have the name of the particular server you're using. By server, I'm referring to the software running on your computer that would do the actual webhosting. Most people use Apache, from what I understand, and the only other one I know about that is widely used is lighttpd, I think it's called, which is a lightweight webserver. If you want to be different, you could go with something crazy like YAWS( http://yaws.hyber.org/ ), but I would suggest Apache 2.2( http://httpd.apache.org/ ).

Anyway, onto the next step, you will also need a port opened, if I had to guess. Apache and most every other webserver as well run on port 80 by default, so you need to forward the port on your router to your computer. I won't go into the details of why this needs to happen, just check out http://www.portforward.com to learn if you'd like. The link you'll need is this one, I believe: http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Netgear/DG834/DG834index.htm . You'll be forwarding the port from the DG834 router to your server.

I'm not sure what else to tell you at this point, other than the .msi download package at Apache will be the easiest to use. If you want to go ahead and get something running, choose that one, but the Win32 Source will teach you much more. Also, your websites will be in the folder htdocs, under your Apache folder, and all your config files are in conf. If you need more, just ask(hopefully a bit more specific next time).

Animate Dreams - Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:11 pm
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Damn, Cyan beat me to it by a minute.

...My post had a lot more thought put into it. >_>

Cascade - Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:39 pm
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I was using an application called WAMP , which can be found at http://www.wampserver.com/en/index.php but i have now found out that this is just a development tool or something , and was considering moving to Apache ,but from what i here it is really hard to setup especially if you do not know much about what your doing like myself.

also i did try opening the ports on my routers setting but i fear i may have done it wrong and thats why it isnt working. i will try to open the ports again correctly a couple of days after christmas (happy Christmas all by the way)

Once the server is up and running i aim to upload files to it using a program like FileZilla or something simmilar , is this ok and good ?

Am i right to just uninstal all the server type programs and try again with Apache ? - i could use some basic instructions on how to do this , eg what setting to choose and stuff like that please
it would be greatly appreciated

finnally thank you for your quick replies i appreciate it

thanks
Cascade
aka John

Animate Dreams - Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:55 pm
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I managed to set up Apache like... two years ago or more. If you use the .msi, it's really no trouble at all. Configuring it further will be tough if you don't know what's going on, but the default configuration should be enough for basic jobs. Anyway, get the .msi, and it asks you very few questions. When it asks you where to install, you can install it wherever you like, but I prefer installing directly to your C drive, since it creates everything in a subfolder anyway. It asks you 3 questions later, and I've forgotten what they are, but I believe you can just put in your IP( http://www.whatismyip.com ) for the first 2, and your e-mail for the third. Also, make sure you check "For all users on port 80" instead of "For one user on port 8080". After that, it should work.

As for uploading with filezilla, you'll need an ftp server for that. I've never installed an ftp server on Windows, so I can't help you there.

Cascade - Mon Dec 25, 2006 3:24 am
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I have looked for this .msi file and i think i have found it - is this it ??? ---

Win32 Binary (MSI Installer): apache_2.2.3-win32-x86-no_ssl.msi

I tried to run it to see what questions it asked me and was presented with this screen
(? marks denote empty spaces)
Network Domain (eg somenet.com)
????????????????
Server Name (eg www.somenet.com)
????????????????
Administratorts Email Address (eg webmaster@somenet.com)
????????????????

then i get Install apache 2.2 programs and shortcuts for :
All user on port 80 as a service
for the current user on port 8080 when started manualy

after that it asks me for what setup type : typical or custom and that is as far as i got without installing it.

also to help aid you help me , i allready have a domain name , it is www.cascade-online.com

thank you for your time
Cascade

Smong - Mon Dec 25, 2006 7:39 am
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I've moved this to Trash Talk. General is for servers for the game Subspace / Continuum, however you are still welcome here.

Cascade - Mon Dec 25, 2006 7:43 am
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Sorry i did not know , i thought it was for general server help

Cascade - Wed Dec 27, 2006 5:57 am
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Am i still going about thing correctly

Animate Dreams - Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:17 pm
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for Network name and Server name, just put cascade-online.com and www.cascade-online.com , and then put your e-mail address in where it asks for e-mail address. And you want to install on port 80, as a service.

Solo Ace - Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:27 am
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Are you sure you'll need to, want to, and are going to run your own webserver?
I mean, when I browse to your domain, I get:

Some Plesk control panel, doesn't this mean you have a remote hosting service already?

Cyan~Fire - Thu Dec 28, 2006 10:56 am
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Nah, he probably "parked" his domain at whatever site he purchased the name from. The registrars often do that.

Solo Ace - Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:11 pm
Post subject: Setting up Apache2 (Windows)

Ah, oh well, I never registered a domain before.

I should probably start making money by making tutorial movies showing how to do simple things like getting Apache to run.

Cascade, yes, apache_2.2.3-win32-x86-no_ssl.msi is the right choice (to just get started).

I'm assuming you already installed it.

The installation should be in "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2".

Open op this directory, I'll explain what it's all about.

-----

Directory Structure

bin - Contains binary files required by apache2.2, and the apache2.2 core, you don't have much to do with this.
cgi-bin - A directory for web applications, you won't really need this yet.
conf - The directory containing configuration files. The file you'll mostly use in here is "httpd.conf", which contains the main configuration directives for your server.
error - This directory contains the error pages of Apache2.
htdocs - In most cases this is the "webroot" or "documentroot" of your webserver. If you'd go to http://localhost/index.html, for instance, you'd actually browse to "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs\index.html".
icons - This directory contains the icon files used to display on Apache pages (like auto-indexed pages).
include - Apache2's include directory for header files, you won't really look at this.
lib - Same for this directory, contains library files for Apache2, nothing to worry about.
logs - This is the directory where Apache2.2 will keep its logfiles.
manual - Contains the Apache2.2 manual.
modules - The modules used by Apache2.2, or "plugins".
proxy - This directory might be empty, and I think it'll stay empty for you.

The configuration file: httpd.conf

The configuration file httpd.conf can be found, as stated previously, in C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\conf.

Please notice: Changing the configuration file without making sure what you're doing might break your Apache2 installation or might even create security holes!
Always read the documentation section for the directives you're about to change.

As you might have already seen many lines start with a #, this means they're "commented".
These lines won't be processed when the configurations are being parsed.
Some of the directives, like

Code: Show/Hide

#LoadModule auth_digest_module modules/mod_auth_digest.so

have a # too, this directive is now inactive, but if you remove the # the directive will be parsed by Apache2.

Most of the other commented lines are there for you as a guide for configuring the webserver.

Changing the configuration file might not be necessary at this point, but these directives might be interesting to take a look at now:

Listen - The IP address or port number(s) you want Apache2.2 to serve on.
ServerAdmin - This should obviously your e-mail address, or nothing, depending on if you want to be spammed.
ServerName - This should be obvious too, hehe.

I guess it doesn't really need explaining. You might have configured these already during installation, but if you must change them you can do it there.

After changing your configuration file Apache2.2 always has to be restarted.

(Re)starting/stopping Apache2.2

By default an Apache monitor is running on your system, which allows you to (re)start/stop the server. If not, you can always do the following:

Click the Start button on your taskbar -> Run.
Enter cmd in the textfield and click the OK button.
A black text window will pop up, this is the Command prompt (some people might remember this as "DOS", it actually isn't DOS of course, but let's not start that futile discussion).

In the command prompt you can start and stop services, by typing

Code: Show/Hide

net start <servicename>; or
net stop <servicename>

For Apache2.2 this will be:

Code: Show/Hide

net start Apache2.2 - to start the server; and
net stop Apache2.2 - to, of course, stop the server

Another method would be going to the Control panel, Administrative tools (this, assuming you're logged in with Administrative rights).

Then open the services control panel.

In the pane on the right you'll see the services available on your computer. Apache2.2 should be one of them.

Here you'll be able to start and stop your service.

Need some more help?

Just ask. If you're willing to run PHP (for dynamic pages etc.) you can get that running in no-time too.

And now I'll just hope I didn't type this all for nothing. Oh well, maybe someone else might be able to use it.

Animate Dreams - Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:40 am
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Thanks, Solo, I'm saving this. I knew most of it, but it's nice to have typed out. Just save it somewhere so you can just copy/paste it in to all the topics of people that come here looking for Apache help.