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own server hosting problems
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 3:52 pm
by Calimero
OS winXP, apache, mysql, php,
I have VPN to my ISP (plus 256kb link)
I have a cable modem Webstar Scientific atlanta from my Cable service provider
I got static IPs from my ISP
NOW THE PROBLEM IS:
How the hell do I make my machines visible from the internet / either by simply connecting a cable modem to switch and then all machines to the switch - in this case I give each machine static IP but I cant access them - they are web and mail servers
or can I do it like this.. cable modem, 1 PC, switch, other machines - in this way I dont need to browse, but for these machines to be visible from the net in order for someone to view my pages, or send me mail on my server, or query the DB - you get the point.
Any help appreciated, Thanks Ahead !!!
P.S. Urgent problem.
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:02 pm
by feyd
most cable modem providers prohibit registered servers on their networks (customers) .. that being said, the layers can generally be: cable modem > router/gateway (with hardware firewall) > all machines
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:09 pm
by Calimero
This router/gateway, can it be a PC, I have already spent lots of money so far,
And I'm new at tnetworks, although everithing worked perfectly in LAN
If possible, little in depth explanation will come just FINe

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:14 pm
by feyd
it's a lot easier and safer to have a hardware router/gateway ($100) to control it, than a whole PC..
If you still want to press on with the PC, you'll need a to set up TCP/IP forwarding for the ports you wish to allow. You may need to configure PNP (plug'n'play TCP forwarding).
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:18 pm
by Calimero
Present situation is that I have spare PC, so I would go that way... any ideas or (web)sources how to do this, I have already diged, but as I'm new maybe I didnt dig correctly.

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:20 pm
by feyd
What OS do you have on this PC?
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:22 pm
by Calimero
right now WinXP PRO
pc is 400 Mhz PII 128 mb RAM (SDRAM I think, not sure)
zone alarm PRO.
What do you think about the idea: modem, switch, all computers / problem is to set IPs (and probably something else) so anyone can access webservers on them.
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:25 pm
by feyd
I'd suggest switching it to a *nix based system for this interface machine.. although, you may not need it, depending on the switch you have.. which is?
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:30 pm
by Calimero
I have two, right now I'm using
D-Link DES-1008D 8 ports ethernet
also I have Sweex 8 port LAN switch
Sorry if I wrote some info wrong, didnt know what exactly you meant.
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:38 pm
by feyd
hmm.. from what I can tell both of those don't have router/firewall systems built-in, so you'll need some control for protecting and forwarding information to your server(s)..
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:42 pm
by Calimero
Oh yeah,
One friend told me that if I use one gateway PC that is connected directly to cable modem, and on the other side PC is connected to a switch which is then connected to other PC's NO MATTER that I give them static or virtual IP adresses they cant be accessed from the internet
Is this true ??!?!?
You wrote "SOME CONTROL" - beside hardware routers, can PC do this, and with WinXP Pro (I'm persistent even stuborn I know, but I don't know Unix based OS).
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:45 pm
by feyd
As long as your interface PC is set up to forward correctly, it'd work.. However, the IP to access them would always be the interface PC, not the others..
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:46 pm
by feyd
WinXP Pro can be configured to share it's IP with other machines on its network, however, it can be difficult to get it correctly configured to protect the entire network. You may want to get SP2 for it, as a Firewall is built-in, with logging..
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 4:51 pm
by Calimero
So just to recap to see if I "copy that"
2 PCs
One gateway
Second webserver
User wants index.html from the Second PC
He/She must type in the (ill use the IP) IP of the gateway, and will get the index.html of the second one (webserver, which is behind the gateway PC)
BUT my question is how the user gets the data from a second one if he/she typed IP of the first one - how does the gateway PC decides which PC behind him will he route the request. Where do I set that up ??
Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 5:01 pm
by feyd
it's based on the ports you wish to forward..
80 is for HTTP traffic..
25 is SMTP traffic (sending mail)
443 is HTTPS traffic..
110 is POP3
53, DNS
21, FTP
you can configure your gateway to forward them straight.. i.e. forward data on gateway:80 to web-server:80, or you can do some other port (internally). Then gateway:110 to mail-server:110 or something...