hosting from home PC

[MATIRIX] · 01-30-2004, 12:17 AM

Hello.

I've been looking for how to set up an HTTP server on my home PC which has XP pro on it, and make the web pages on that server accessible to the public. I realize the security risks of this and am willing to take them. I have Apache HTTP server version 2.00 and I would prefer to stick with that if possible. I've heard that Linux is a good thing to do this with, but I really would like to stay with Windows for now...there must be some way to do it. By the way I have Apache set up on my computer right now along with PHP and MySQL running fine, which is a big reason why I want to do this (to keep my own database and have support for PHP), but I can only view the pages from this computer (it just goes to the localhost in my browser). My processor is an AMD Athlon XP 2600 with 512 MB of RAM and an 80 GB HD and I also have a small HD of about 4GB or so seperately that could be used if necessary. I figured you would probably want to know the specs, so there they are. If you have any more questions about it, please reply and I will be happy to answer you.

Have a great day and thanks in advance,

[MATIRIX]

nenn · 01-30-2004, 03:12 PM

depends on your isp, if your behind a firewall, if your behind a router if your pc is set to "listen" to port 80 requests, alot of factors that all can cause that to not work. try from another pc to connect directly to your ip on port 80, for example

66.122.1.90:80

if you know your isp doesnt block port 80, (most broadband companies do to stop ppl from killing the bandwidth) try starting http on a different port such as 81, check to make sure your router has portfowarding to the port, check to see if you have a firewall that its not just blocking everything. i hope this helps as you didnt really ask a question.

ef · 01-30-2004, 10:26 PM

Hi nenn, the question is what do I have to do to be able to host my own site at home and broadcast my ip. or do you know of any link where I can get this info. Thanks

ekÆsine · 01-30-2004, 10:45 PM

one thing you will need is a adress that remains the same. with cable and DSL you would normally have a dynamic IP, an address that always changes. dyndns.org is a free DNS service you can use.

you give your users something like www.terrasite.dyndns.org. when they put that in their browser it requests it from dyndns.org which returns the actual address like 154.37.65.46 back to the browser. you likely have only 1 external IP which is valid on the internet. whatismyip.cm will tell you this address or your router configshould have this info.

you also need a IP updater program on the server. the server checks its own IP every few minutes and if it changes it reports this to dyndns.org. you provide your account details and it logs into the account.

now back to the software. winXP pro has a HTTP server called IIS internet information services. you have to install this feature in control panel> windows setup. i have no clue how it is set up, but you will probably have to set up ports like he said. if you want apache there is a windows version of it available at download.com.

ef · 01-30-2004, 11:16 PM

thanks EK. Let's say I have a domain name: abc.com, I was looking to set un my dns line ns.abc.com207.200.10.5 and ns1.abc....assuming i have a static address can that be done or i still have to go through a dns service provider?

ekÆsine · 01-31-2004, 12:44 AM

if you have a static IP address than no, you do not need a DNS service or IP updater since your IP will not change.

un655 · 01-31-2004, 09:35 AM

You might want to check with your isp before going on with this. For example, my provider (Charter) specifically said I was not allowed to host any websites using their service in the contract.

ef · 01-31-2004, 11:17 AM

thanks guys for your help

ef · 02-01-2004, 09:50 PM

another question: my router has a static ip can I use it for my NS

shad0wDeath · 02-05-2004, 07:26 PM

Basically you need to edit the file httpd.conf in /apache/conf/ and change the ServerName line from

ServerName localhost
to
ServerName yourIP

Also, find the port line and change it to 81.

To access the site, people will go to

http://yourip:81/pub/

Want to check out what I mean? Go to http://66.188.63.15:81/public/ and you can see my apache server run from a box similar to yours.

01-30-2004, 12:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
[MATIRIX] Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1	hosting from home PC Hello. I've been looking for how to set up an HTTP server on my home PC which has XP pro on it, and make the web pages on that server accessible to the public. I realize the security risks of this and am willing to take them. I have Apache HTTP server version 2.00 and I would prefer to stick with that if possible. I've heard that Linux is a good thing to do this with, but I really would like to stay with Windows for now...there must be some way to do it. By the way I have Apache set up on my computer right now along with PHP and MySQL running fine, which is a big reason why I want to do this (to keep my own database and have support for PHP), but I can only view the pages from this computer (it just goes to the localhost in my browser). My processor is an AMD Athlon XP 2600 with 512 MB of RAM and an 80 GB HD and I also have a small HD of about 4GB or so seperately that could be used if necessary. I figured you would probably want to know the specs, so there they are. If you have any more questions about it, please reply and I will be happy to answer you. Have a great day and thanks in advance, [MATIRIX]

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01-30-2004, 03:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
nenn Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 28	depends on your isp, if your behind a firewall, if your behind a router if your pc is set to "listen" to port 80 requests, alot of factors that all can cause that to not work. try from another pc to connect directly to your ip on port 80, for example 66.122.1.90:80 if you know your isp doesnt block port 80, (most broadband companies do to stop ppl from killing the bandwidth) try starting http on a different port such as 81, check to make sure your router has portfowarding to the port, check to see if you have a firewall that its not just blocking everything. i hope this helps as you didnt really ask a question.

01-30-2004, 10:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
ef Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 4	Hi nenn, the question is what do I have to do to be able to host my own site at home and broadcast my ip. or do you know of any link where I can get this info. Thanks

01-30-2004, 10:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
ekÆsine Wizard Techie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,940	one thing you will need is a adress that remains the same. with cable and DSL you would normally have a dynamic IP, an address that always changes. dyndns.org is a free DNS service you can use. you give your users something like www.terrasite.dyndns.org. when they put that in their browser it requests it from dyndns.org which returns the actual address like 154.37.65.46 back to the browser. you likely have only 1 external IP which is valid on the internet. whatismyip.cm will tell you this address or your router configshould have this info. you also need a IP updater program on the server. the server checks its own IP every few minutes and if it changes it reports this to dyndns.org. you provide your account details and it logs into the account. now back to the software. winXP pro has a HTTP server called IIS internet information services. you have to install this feature in control panel> windows setup. i have no clue how it is set up, but you will probably have to set up ports like he said. if you want apache there is a windows version of it available at download.com.

01-30-2004, 11:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
ef Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 4	thanks EK. Let's say I have a domain name: abc.com, I was looking to set un my dns line ns.abc.com207.200.10.5 and ns1.abc....assuming i have a static address can that be done or i still have to go through a dns service provider?

01-31-2004, 12:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
ekÆsine Wizard Techie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,940	if you have a static IP address than no, you do not need a DNS service or IP updater since your IP will not change.

01-31-2004, 09:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
un655 Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 12	You might want to check with your isp before going on with this. For example, my provider (Charter) specifically said I was not allowed to host any websites using their service in the contract.

01-31-2004, 11:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
ef Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 4	thanks guys for your help

02-01-2004, 09:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
ef Newb Techie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 4	another question: my router has a static ip can I use it for my NS

02-05-2004, 07:26 PM	#10 (permalink)
shad0wDeath Newb Techie Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 8	Basically you need to edit the file httpd.conf in /apache/conf/ and change the ServerName line from ServerName localhost to ServerName yourIP Also, find the port line and change it to 81. To access the site, people will go to http://yourip:81/pub/ Want to check out what I mean? Go to http://66.188.63.15:81/public/ and you can see my apache server run from a box similar to yours.