Personal webhosting questions

Kckazdude

Kckazdude

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
Messages
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I am a total nOOb a this (read ID10T) but would like to attempt it none the less. I have an old machine laying around doing nothing but collecting dust and getting in the way. Would like to set it up to be a small webhost for myself to host pics and maybe a personal webpage. Currently I have RR for my OSP and havent read the TOS to see if this can even be done (yet). What would be needed for me to set this up if I could do it?
 
Depending on what operating systems you are familiar with you have a few options:

- I would recommend using Apache web server ( http://www.apache.org ) no matter which OS you end up with. It is free open source software and has amazing documentation and support.

- If you want to use a pure Microsoft solution there is IIS. I don't know much about IIS but I'm sure someone else will pipe in with some words.

If you decide to go the Apache web server route there is an excellent prepackaged software out there called "XAMPP". XAMPP combines the Apache web server, Perl scripting engine, PHP scripting engine and MySQL database engine into a single executable. All that you have to do in order to get the webserver up and running is to download the installer and start up a batch file.

I would give XAMPP a roll and see what shakes down.
 
if you decide windows, i suggest apache over iis. iis just sucks compared to apache, period.
 
Third on Apache, unless you want to run ASP pages. Given your self-proclaimed noob status, that's a big vote for Apache.

While I've not tried the XAMPP stuff, you might consider balancing its extra complexity against its extra functionality. For just hosting a few pics and such, you would probably find it easier to just have a static html page (or even just apache's automatic directory listing) in which case the Perl, PHP, and MySQL stuff are just potential security holes. Besides, if you decide you want them later, you can always install them. Perl for Win32 is a standard install program, PHP has excellent online documentation at their site, and MySQL, while not as simple as the other two, is still not terribly hard to set up, though PHPMyAdmin makes managing it a lot easier for a SQL noob.
Perl: www.activestate.com
PHP: www.php.net
MySQL: www.mysql.com
 
Apache is the way to go...
I learned hosting about 3 months ago...
Tried IIS, so many bugs, so many problems, so many hacking weaknesses...
Apache = win
 
ok, IIS isn't THAT bad.. ;)

when i was totally new, i found IIS was much easier to grasp than Apache. Just make sure you keep up on the latest patches and you should be OK. Lots and lots of companies use IIS, so it's a good thing to know if you're building that resume.

Just make sure you read, read, read and learn how to properly configure whatever webserver you decide to use.
 
That is true, it does have a very nice user interface... It is an option... But Apache, once configured is so nice to use...
 
ImpactDNI said:
That is true, it does have a very nice user interface... It is an option... But Apache, once configured is so nice to use...
Click to expand...

true..Apache is nice and fast!!

But what i like about IIS over Apache is that if i haven't touched the webserver in a long time (like many months), then when it comes to changing or adding something i can pretty much click my way through IIS without having to remember too much. With Apache, it means digging through the manuals again to try to figure out what all those config options meant. Damn if i can ever remember all the steps necessary to setup a password protected folder the 2 times a year when i need to do it in Apache.
 
Someone mentioned ASP and Apache - there is actually a way to get ASP.NET working through Apache (though the software is still in beta it has come a LONG way!).

Mono is the solution. I don't know much about it.. but from what I've heard someone has made it their goal to created an open sourced version of Microsoft's .NET framework. Cool shit.
 
pointdexterish said:
Someone mentioned ASP and Apache - there is actually a way to get ASP.NET working through Apache (though the software is still in beta it has come a LONG way!).
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's there, as is PHP on IIS and nearly every other combo imaginable. However, given the option, I'd think it's a whole lot easier to stick with the intended pairings.
 
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