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General discussion

Can I set up my own small webserver???

by porthome Sep 30, 2005 12:00AM PDT

This may be the wrong forum for this post, so please redirect me if it is. My question is this... can I add an older PC to my home network and use it to serve a small website? Several local community groups I work with could benefit from having a few pages of web info, which are updated infrequently and would get maybe 500 hits a month max ... but the average cost of an ISP here in the Great White North is about $200 per year, equal to the entire budget of some of these groups!
However, I am on a DSL line, with a home network, and have a couple of older machines in storage. So I am wondering whether I could fire one of them up, get some domains assigned, and get the job done.
Any advice on this, including "don't go there, fool", will be welcome.
PS I am a Windows guy, if that matters.

Perry B

Discussion is locked

6 Posts
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Do yourself a favor.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 30, 2005 12:04AM PDT

Install Linux and get APACHE running on it.

Why not start off with something a bit more solid?

Bob

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I am concerned about the learning curve for a new OS
by porthome Sep 30, 2005 6:47AM PDT

Despite hearing good things about LINUX, I have no experience with it - compared to about 20 years of Windows starting with version 0.1. So I'm worried about the learning curve. But thanks for the advice

PB

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No curve here. Why it's just Apache.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 30, 2005 7:05AM PDT

With Apache as the server, you won't have to fret much. Plus you dodge the bullets aimed at Windows.

Give it a week and if you can't make it work, then load windows and Apache.

Bob

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(NT) Easy enough
by RezRunner Oct 1, 2005 6:18AM PDT

Perry

I'm a networking student and right now we are setting up Linux and Windows systems and making them talk to each other. We have set up mail servers, exchange servers, and web servers. I really don't consider myself a Linux person either but to set up Apache in either one is not that hard. The main thing you have to remember is GOOGLE is your friend.

RezRunner

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Apache also works on windows
by BumFluff Oct 4, 2005 6:58AM PDT

I have windows XP with an Apache webserver that I use for testing. It works fine. The apache foundation has a version of the apache webserver that works on windows.

You may also want to install such things as PHP and MySQL which I also have set up on my home windows based computer.

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Use the Uniform Server - be up and running in 1 minute
by MeinradK Dec 15, 2005 10:20AM PST

After struggling endlessly to get my own server running, I finally figured out the easiest route... use the Uniform Server package. It's totally pre-configured so you just install and start creating sites. It comes with PHP and MySQL pre-configured as well.

I wrote a tutorial on how to do it (shameless plug Silly)

http://iamtheshadow.blogspot.com/2005/12/set-up-fully-configured-wamp-web.html

If you like it or think it needs improvement in some way, send me some feedback - I try to keep it up to date as suggestions come in.

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