Web server help

Need help installing PHP, configuring a script, or configuring a server? Then come on in and post your questions! We'll try to help the best we can!

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JB4
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Web server help

Post by JB4 »

Alright, I'm picking up a webserver today or tomorrow. So my question is, what would you suggest I get to host a website? I'm going to wait to buy a domain until I know what I'm doing, but I'm curious what I need. What OS Would you suggest, I'm going to get PHP obviously, but what else should I get?
JB4
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Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:07 pm
Location: Utah

Re: Web server help

Post by JB4 »

Oh ya, my server specs are these:
Pentium 3 with 256mb RAM and a single PCI slot. No removable storage, like a CD-ROM drive. They do have two on-board 10/100 network cards.
And another question, whats the easiest way to get an os on something like this.
JB4
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Re: Web server help

Post by JB4 »

I'm not very familiar with linux so i think using that wouldn't be a good idea. does windows server run similarly to windows xp? I'd assume it did.
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ghurtado
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Re: Web server help

Post by ghurtado »

If you are new to this and don't know what you are doing, then starting by building your own hardware and home server is possibly the hardest way to get a grip on how to run the whole gig. The easiest way to get started would be to use a web host which is already preconfigured to run PHP, and do some playing around with it; then from that point learn what you need to do to in order to run one from home.
JB4
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Location: Utah

Re: Web server help

Post by JB4 »

ghurtado wrote:If you are new to this and don't know what you are doing, then starting by building your own hardware and home server is possibly the hardest way to get a grip on how to run the whole gig. The easiest way to get started would be to use a web host which is already preconfigured to run PHP, and do some playing around with it; then from that point learn what you need to do to in order to run one from home.
I've used web servers before, but I meant I was new to the whole owning my own server thing.
Doug G
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Re: Web server help

Post by Doug G »

If you want to avoid lots of headaches, you can get quality commercial hosting for a few bucks a month. If you want to learn and run a server yourself, start with some content you're not real attached to, and study up on how all the different stuff fits together, you need to understand domain registration, dns, firewalls and tcp ports, servers and protocols. Oh, and did I mention SECURITY!!! You must make sure all services on your server are secure from the bad guys that infest the Internet.

Running an email server is an adventure of it's own :)

In addition you need to consider things like desired uptime, power backup, failover, data backups, client access, and probably lots more I forgot to mention too.
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