Can Anyone Host a Website
Content
Can anyone host a website?
Before we go any further in this article, we should mention that many Internet service providers
consider hosting a website on a personal Internet connection to be a violation of the user
agreement. This is especially true of cable-based service providers. In many cases though, a
personal website with a small amount of traffic is not an issue. Check the terms of your service
contract before hosting a website on a personal internet connection in order to avoid unpleasant
surprises later on.
Understanding IP addresses and DNS
In order to understand the rest of this article, the function of IP and DNS addresses must first be
grasped. If you feel know these subjects already, feel free to skip to the next part of this Beginners
Guide.
IP addresses: a computers' digits
An IP address is the computer's address on whatever network (including the Internet) it happens
to be on. Having a valid IP address allows a PC system to send and receive data over a network
correctly. This address takes the form of four sets of decimal numbers, 0-255, for example:
192.168.5.45
Each network adaptor installed in a computer must have its own IP address, so it's quite possible
for a PC to have more than one IP address. To look at a computer's IP address(es), open the
command prompt (start\run and type 'cmd') then type 'ipconfig'.
As we can see here, the IPCONFIG command shows three values for each IP address; the address
itself and a subnet mask and default gateway. The subnet mask is used to separate each IP
address into a host and a network portion. The host portion of the address indicates the
computer's exact
address within its
network, while the
network portion
indicates the network
the computer belongs
to.
All computers with the
same network portion
of an IP address can communicate with each other provided there is some way to transfer signals
between them.
The Subnet Mask (of Zorro)
A subnet mask is shown in the same format as the IP address (for example 255.255.255.0). As far
as this Beginners Guide is concerned, assume that the values of the 4 sets of numbers in the
subnet mask can be either 0 or 255.
Sets with the value of 0 indicate the host portion of the IP address, and sets with the value of 255
indicate the network portion. For example, with an IP address of 192.168.3.25 and a subnet mask
of 255.255.255.0, the network portion of the address would be '192.168.3', and the host portion
would be '.25'. This means the computer assigned this address is host 25 within the 192.168.3
network.
A Networks' Default Gateway
To communicate with different networks (that is, computers with IP addresses that use a different
network portion), a gateway must be used. At its simplest, a gateway is any device which has two
or more network adaptors, each connected to a separate network. Computers on one network can
pass data to the gateway, which then forwards it to the desired computer on the other network.
This is the fundamental structure of the Internet.
The default gateway address shown in by the IPCONFIG command you tried just a moment ago
indicates where data will be sent if you try to contact an IP address outside the local network. In
the case of most home network setups, the default gateway will be the router or Internet sharing
device.
Public and Private IP Addresses
As far as this Beginners Guide is concerned, there are two types of IP addresses; private and
public. Private addresses are usable only within private networks and cannot be used on the
Internet, as the gateways that make up the Internet will refuse to pass on information coming
from a private IP address. Public addresses are Internet-ready, and can transfer information to any
other public IP address over the Internet. When a PC connects to an Internet service Provider, it
receives a public IP address (or the home router used to connect one's network does).
If you have a home network using a router or Internet-sharing device, each of the computers will
receive a private IP address from the router, which in turn has received a public IP address from
the service provider. When one of the computers uses a browser to connect to the Internet, the
router receives the request first and replaces that computer's private IP address with its public
one. When the web site data comes back from the Internet, the router performs the same
operation in reverse, sending the data to the computer that requested it.
Dynamic and Static IP Addresses
Depending on the Internet service provider, a PCs public IP address is either static or dynamic.
Static IP addresses are usually found in 'always on' services like cable Internet connections and
never or rarely change. Dynamic IP addresses are common to DSL Internet providers and change
every single time the user connects to the service. No additional steps need to be taken to host a
website on a static IP address connection, but hosting on a dynamic IP introduces some
complexities which PCSTATS will cover a little later in this Beginners Guide. Stay alert.
DNS: The Friendly Face of the Internet
Before we show you how to install Apache web server and start hosting a web site, you'll probably
want to acquire a DNS domain name for that website. This will allow visitors to type 'www.
(yoursitename).(com\org\ca\whatever)' to visit the website instead of having to memorize a
server's 9-digit IP address.
DNS (the Domain Naming System) provides a simple way of navigating the Internet. Instead of
having to memorize the IP address of each website, users can simply type a friendly URL like
www.pcstats.com to get there. The DNS name (www.pcstats.com) is mapped to the IP address of
the PCSTATS web server, allowing anyone to visit our site without knowing its current IP address.
A system of DNS servers shadows the growth of the Internet and provides a means of connecting
DNS names with web servers. When a person acquires a domain name through a registrar site, the
IP address is linked to that name, allowing users to connect to a web server via the simple www.
(yoursite).com/net/org/whatever URL system. A central governing body (ICAAN) controls the
allocation of domain names, ensuring that the system remains conflict-free.
When a user types www.pcstats.com into the browser's address bar, the computer sends that
address to a DNS server on their network or the Internet, looking to have it translated into an IP
address that it can contact directly. That DNS server will send back the IP address if it knows it,
and if it doesn't, it will contact other DNS servers all the way up to the root of the Internet until it
finds the address it's looking for. The entire process generally takes less than a second.
Acquiring a DNS Domain Name (URL) for a Website
Technically, one does not need to have a domain name for a website. There's nothing stopping you
from simply using a web server's IP address for all traffic. If you're making a private site for
yourself and a few of friends, this may be all that's needed. On the other hand, if you want general
Internet traffic to have even a chance of visiting the website, you better get out there and get a
URL that ordinary humans can remember.
If you've made up your mind, there are a couple of ways to get a domain name for a website. The
most straightforward way is to visit one of the many, many domain name registration services.
There's a lot of choice out there, so do some research and try to find a reputable service in your
home country. A central body (ICAAN) governs all domain name registration, so the various
registration services have purchased permission to lease domain names to consumers for a period
of time.
Once a domain name registration service provider to your liking has been found, the next step is
ensuring the domain name you've thought of is not already registered. All registration services
should include a domain lookuptool as part of their tools. Using this, try out the prospective
website domain name and see if anyone else has already claimed it.
If it is available, choose the extension (.com, .org, .net, etc.) and register the domain name.
Remember that it is being registered for only a certain length of time, measured in years. After
this expires, you will have to renew or risk losing the name to someone else.
Once the domain name is registered, the registration service's tools should help you link it to the
web server's IP
address. From this
point on, anyone who
entersyour domain nam
e into a web browser
will be directed to your
Apache server.
Getting
a DNS name for free
It is quite possible to
get a free DNS name,
as there are services
out there which provide
just such a thing. The
obvious drawback of
this is that the user generally has to choose from the limited selection of names which each
particular service has available. Still, it's better than using a plain IP address. Here are a couple of
places to start -here, and here. These are the same services that provide dynamic DNS solutions
as detailed below. The domain names can be used for static or dynamic IP addresses
interchangeably.
Using a dynamic DNS service to host a website
For computers with a dynamic IP internet connection, like DSL, the public IP address changes
every time the computer connects to the Internet. This can be a serious barrier to hosting a
website. The domain name you acquired connects to one IP address only, so when a web server's
address changes frequently, everyone who uses the domain name as a URL to visit that website
will get an error message, and not be able to resolve the site's content.
Configuring firewalls for website hosting
Fortunately, various free 'dynamic IP' services are available to translate the PCs dynamic IP to a
static one which can be stored within the DNS record. Generally speaking, these services allow
users to choose from a range of free domain names, and then require the installation of a client
application on the host PC web server.
This program reads the current dynamic IP address of the PC and sends it to the dynamic IP
service, allowing that service provider to associate the chosen domain name with the latest actual
IP address for the web server. In this way, visitors that attempt to access the website via its
domain name in a browser will always be directed to the right IP address whatever the dynamic IP
of the web server happens to be.
Here are a couple of services to get you started: No-ip.com and ZoneEdit.com
Configuring firewalls for website hosting
Like most modern systems, your computer is probably using some sort of firewall software or
hardware to protect it from intrusion (and if it's not, it should be). While firewalls are quite
effective at protecting a computer from malicious intrusions, they are even more effective at
preventing a website from being visited by anyone outside ones own computer or network.
To prevent this potential problem from stopping a website cold in its tracks, we need to create an
exception to the host PCs' firewall rules that allows traffic into the computer over port 80, the
standard HTTP port for website viewing.
To do this in the pre-Service Pack 2 version of the Windows XP Firewall, find the Internet
connection by going to 'my network places' then 'show all connections.' Right click on the Internet
connection's icon and hit 'properties' then 'settings'.
In the 'services' tab, scroll down until 'web server (HTTP)' is visible and check that box. In the
post-SP2 version of the Windows XP Firewall, user can allow web traffic to pass through to IIS by
going to 'start\control panel\windows firewall' then opening the 'advanced' tab.
Highlight the Internet connection in the 'network connection settings' window, then click 'settings.'
From this screen, place a checkmark in the HTTP box and hit 'ok.' If the PC hosting the website
uses an Internet sharing device like a home router (which includes a firewall itself), you will need
to create a virtual server (also known as port forwarding) to allow the website to be accessible
over the Internet.
Creating a Virtual Server
A virtual server is a set of instructions given to the home router, telling it that if data comes in over
a specific port (say TCP port 80 for hosting a website) that data should be allowed through the
firewall and forwarded to a specific computer inside the network. In this way, we can make the
website (or whatever else) available
without otherwise compromising the
host PCs' firewall security.
Creating a virtual server tends to be the
same in almost all home router models.
First consult the documentation to find
the configuration page for 'virtual servers' or the equivalent. When creating a virtual server, first
enter the IP address of the computer that is hosting the website. Next, find the port that data
enters that system on. Enter TCP port 80, since this is the default port for HTTP.
Finally, choose the port that will be open on the router to receive incoming data. In most cases,
this will be the same as the port on the host PC, so enter 80 here too. Once all this information is
saved to the router, all data coming from the Internet to the firewall on TCP port 80 will be allowed
through the firewall and redirected to the host computer, thus allowing access to the website.
Halting IIS website hosting (Windows XP Pro/2000 only)
It's important to note that the Apache service will not be correctly installed if Microsoft IIS
(Internet Information Server) is already hosting a website on the computer. If there is a website
up and running with IIS already, it need to be stopped before Apache can be used to host a
website on the same system. Apache will not share port 80 (the default port for HTTP web traffic)
with any other application, so any program that monopolizes this port (including some firewall
software) may cause Apache not to install its service correctly.
When IIS is installed on Windows XP or 2000, it starts hosting a basic website automatically. Given
this fact, it's quite likely that if you are using Windows XP Pro or 2000, you are unknowingly
hosting a site through the program. To check on this and stop IIS if necessary, right click on 'my
computer' and go to 'manage'. In the computer management Window, choose 'Internet
Information Services' and expand it.
Under the 'web sites' folder, the currently created websites are listed. The Windows XP IIS default
website is 'Default Web Site'.
Right click on 'default web site' and choose 'stop' to stop IIS hosting the site, allowing Apache to
start properly.
Part 2: Installing and using Apache Web server
Now that PCSTATS has walked you the steps of acquiring a DNS name (or not) and preparing the
computer for hosting a web page, it's finally time to get the Apache web server up and running.
This is actually a very simple process, so follow along and that web site will be live in no time.
Installing Apache
Apache HTTP server can be downloaded from the Apache Foundation website here, there is no fee.
Make sure to download the WIN32 Binary file, which comes as an executable MSI file. The uncompiled source code is also available due to the open source nature of the project. At the time of
writing, the latest version of Apache HTTP server was 2.0.54.
Once that executable
file is downloaded, start
the installation by
double clicking on the
MSI file. Hit 'next' until
the server information
screen is displayed (at
left).
Apache wants three
pieces of information
here. The domain name
and server name (URL)
of the website, as well
as an email address
where the program can
send alerts and
notifications.
If you're not sure, the
domain name is the
Internet name space that was registered or obtained, like pcstats.com for example, while the
server name is the name of the machine that is hosting the actual website in that domain.
In most cases, WWW is the standard name used for web servers, so if your domain was
Pcstats.com, the server name would be www.pcstats.com . If you used a free DNS or dynamic DNS
service to acquire the domain name, you most likely chose a different server name as part of the
process, so use that.
All three of these entries must be filled out to continue the installation process. If you do not
currently have a domain name, either through a domain registrar or a dynamic DNS service like
No-IP.com, enter fictional addresses like (yourname).com and www.(yourname).com for now. We
will change these once the Apache server program is installed and a domain and server name have
been acquired. Of course, it's better to start the whole installation process with a valid domain
name, so it would be better if you obtained one now.
Choose the typical installation option and accept the default installation folder. Hit 'install' to begin
the install process.
Apache Status and Services
Once the installation has completed, the Apache Status Monitor program will start,
indicated by the icon in the taskbar.
Apache creates a service called Apache2 in Windows 2000/XP to allow itself to run in the
background, serving the website. Double click the Apache manager icon to make sure the service
is running. You should see something like the following:
If you do not see the Apache2 service in the manager window, chances are you have a conflict
with IIS or another web hosting program. Follow the instructions listed above for stopping the
default IIS website hosting service. Once you have made sure that IIS is stopped, restart the
Apache service manually by opening a command prompt window (go to 'start\run' and type 'cmd')
and navigating to the 'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\bin' directory and typing: apache -k
install
This will create the Apache2 service, allowing the Apache web server to run correctly.
Testing the Apache web server
Now that the Apache2 service is successfully installed, the Apache server should be hosting a basic
welcome web page on the host PC. To test this, open a web browser and type the following in the
address bar:http://localhost
This tells the browser to check port 80 of the localhost, which is physically on the computer. The
Apache welcome page should be visible if everything has gone smoothly, as pictured below.
If not, check to make
sure the Apache2
service is up and
running, and that the
default IIS website is
not live as detailed
above.
If there is another
computer on the same
network as the Apache
server, open a browser
on that other system
and type the IP address
of the Apache server
computer to get to the
same welcome page. If
the welcome page is
not visible after doing
this, chances are the
Apache server
computer has a
software firewall that
has disabled access to port 80 across the network. If this happens, follow the steps listed above
for allowing port 80 access through a firewall.
The final step in testing is to attempt to access the Apache web server from the Internet.
If you've already registered a domain name (or acquired one from a dynamic DNS service),
attempt to access that website directly from a browser by typing in the URL address. If everything
is configured correctly, this should bring you back to the same introductory Apache page. Now
move to another Internet-enabled computer on a separate connection and try the same thing. If
you see the welcome page again, the Apache server is working fine and publicly accessible. If not,
look at the router settings or Internet sharing device to make sure it is correctly configured to pass
port 80 traffic through to the Apache web server on the host computer, as we have detailed above.
Basic Apache configuration
One of the nicest things about Apache as a basic web-hosting program is that it needs next to no
configuration from the user once installed. If your website HTML files are ready, open up the
'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\htdocs' folder. This is the folder from which Apache reads
the web files, and the default file it looks for is 'index.html' just as with IIS. The 'index' file from
the default welcome website currently occupies this directory, along with various versions of the
same page in different languages.
Delete these files, or cut and paste them elsewhere, or simply copy your own website HTML files
into the directory and replace the existing 'index.html' with your own main page. Remember that
the first web page of any website must be labeled 'index', so it may be necessary to rename the
introductory HTML page of the website if this is not the case.
Once this is done, fire up a web browser and
verify that the web page is displaying correctly
(the browser cache may need to be cleared, or
the page refreshed a couple of times first). The
final step is using an outside Internet
connection to verify what Internet visitors will
see upon typing in the URL of the website
you've just configured, so try that out too.
Exploring the Apache CONF file
Unlike IIS, Apache has no graphical interface.
All management of the program is done by
editing its configuration files which reside in
the 'C:\program files\apache
group\apache2\conf' directory.
Editing these configuration files looks initially
daunting, and it can be a complicated process
if you are looking to configure complicated
settings, but fortunately the default program
settings are all anyone really needs to begin working with Apache. The main configuration file is
'httpd.doc'. The 'httpd.default' text file is an exact copy,
and is intended to provide a fallback to the default
settings in case a mistake is made while editing the
original.
The httpd.doc file is well documented, so there is help
there if you decide to experiment. Let's take a quick look
at three of the most relevant configuration file settings,
even though these do not have to be changed to get a
website up and running.
Apache Home Directory
The first setting we need to get to grips with is Apache server's home directory. This is the
directory which will contain the files (documents) making up a web page. Using IIS, this would be
located in C:\inetpub, while Apache defaults to the 'c:\program files\apache
group\apache2\htdocs' directory.
For the purposes of this PCSTATS Beginners Guide, there's no need to change the default setting,
but at some point you'll probably want to create a separate website directory on a dedicated hard
drive though. To do this, find the 'documentroot' setting in the httpd.doc file and change it to the
directory of your choice. We'll also have to change the same setting again a little further down the
page. Read the comments in the file for help.
Domain and Server Name
If Apache was installed before a domain name was registered, or the name of the domain or server
has been changed, we need to make some adjustments. These changes can be made in Apache
HTTP server by editing the httpd.doc file. Find the 'servername' entry in the file and change it to
the appropriate value.
Creating a simple website to test Apache
While this Beginners Guide will not deal with creating or editing web sites or HTML files for use
with Apache, we are going to cover how to create a basic (very basic) HTML file to serve as your
'home page' for testing Apache. All we are going to do is fire up a word processor, type a few lines,
then save the resulting document as an HTML file, something most word processors can do easily.
While the resulting file will not do (obviously) for creating complex websites, it does just fine as a
tester to make sure everything is working fine with the web server.
Open Word or another fairly recent word processing program (WordPerfect, OpenOffice, and even
Notepad will do just fine). Create a new document and type "Apache home page test" or
something similar in the document. Now go to the 'file' menu and select 'save as.'
In the save as window, select the 'file type' dropdown box. Change it to 'web page' (for Microsoft
Word users) or 'HTML document' (for users of OpenOffice). Save the file as 'index.html' in the
following location: 'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\htdocs'. This will ensure that it is the
first HTML document that the Apache server attempts to open when a web page is requested. You
will have to move or
delete the other files in
the 'htdocs' directory
first though. They are
the files for the default
'welcome' page and can
be safely removed.
This index.html file is a
very simple webpage,
which means that
anyone who attempts
to access the website
you've just configured
in Apache will be
greeted by it.
Now that you know how
to host a basic website with Apache, you can dig deeper into the documentation yourself.
Apache is available on Linux platforms as well as Windows (and indeed it originated there), so
learning the basics of the program in Windows will serve well if you ever decide to experiment with
alternative operating systemssince the interface is essentially the same.
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Before we go any further in this article, we should mention that many Internet service providers
consider hosting a website on a personal Internet connection to be a violation of the user
agreement. This is especially true of cable-based service providers. In many cases though, a
personal website with a small amount of traffic is not an issue. Check the terms of your service
contract before hosting a website on a personal internet connection in order to avoid unpleasant
surprises later on.
Understanding IP addresses and DNS
In order to understand the rest of this article, the function of IP and DNS addresses must first be
grasped. If you feel know these subjects already, feel free to skip to the next part of this Beginners
Guide.
IP addresses: a computers' digits
An IP address is the computer's address on whatever network (including the Internet) it happens
to be on. Having a valid IP address allows a PC system to send and receive data over a network
correctly. This address takes the form of four sets of decimal numbers, 0-255, for example:
192.168.5.45
Each network adaptor installed in a computer must have its own IP address, so it's quite possible
for a PC to have more than one IP address. To look at a computer's IP address(es), open the
command prompt (start\run and type 'cmd') then type 'ipconfig'.
As we can see here, the IPCONFIG command shows three values for each IP address; the address
itself and a subnet mask and default gateway. The subnet mask is used to separate each IP
address into a host and a network portion. The host portion of the address indicates the
computer's exact
address within its
network, while the
network portion
indicates the network
the computer belongs
to.
All computers with the
same network portion
of an IP address can communicate with each other provided there is some way to transfer signals
between them.
The Subnet Mask (of Zorro)
A subnet mask is shown in the same format as the IP address (for example 255.255.255.0). As far
as this Beginners Guide is concerned, assume that the values of the 4 sets of numbers in the
subnet mask can be either 0 or 255.
Sets with the value of 0 indicate the host portion of the IP address, and sets with the value of 255
indicate the network portion. For example, with an IP address of 192.168.3.25 and a subnet mask
of 255.255.255.0, the network portion of the address would be '192.168.3', and the host portion
would be '.25'. This means the computer assigned this address is host 25 within the 192.168.3
network.
A Networks' Default Gateway
To communicate with different networks (that is, computers with IP addresses that use a different
network portion), a gateway must be used. At its simplest, a gateway is any device which has two
or more network adaptors, each connected to a separate network. Computers on one network can
pass data to the gateway, which then forwards it to the desired computer on the other network.
This is the fundamental structure of the Internet.
The default gateway address shown in by the IPCONFIG command you tried just a moment ago
indicates where data will be sent if you try to contact an IP address outside the local network. In
the case of most home network setups, the default gateway will be the router or Internet sharing
device.
Public and Private IP Addresses
As far as this Beginners Guide is concerned, there are two types of IP addresses; private and
public. Private addresses are usable only within private networks and cannot be used on the
Internet, as the gateways that make up the Internet will refuse to pass on information coming
from a private IP address. Public addresses are Internet-ready, and can transfer information to any
other public IP address over the Internet. When a PC connects to an Internet service Provider, it
receives a public IP address (or the home router used to connect one's network does).
If you have a home network using a router or Internet-sharing device, each of the computers will
receive a private IP address from the router, which in turn has received a public IP address from
the service provider. When one of the computers uses a browser to connect to the Internet, the
router receives the request first and replaces that computer's private IP address with its public
one. When the web site data comes back from the Internet, the router performs the same
operation in reverse, sending the data to the computer that requested it.
Dynamic and Static IP Addresses
Depending on the Internet service provider, a PCs public IP address is either static or dynamic.
Static IP addresses are usually found in 'always on' services like cable Internet connections and
never or rarely change. Dynamic IP addresses are common to DSL Internet providers and change
every single time the user connects to the service. No additional steps need to be taken to host a
website on a static IP address connection, but hosting on a dynamic IP introduces some
complexities which PCSTATS will cover a little later in this Beginners Guide. Stay alert.
DNS: The Friendly Face of the Internet
Before we show you how to install Apache web server and start hosting a web site, you'll probably
want to acquire a DNS domain name for that website. This will allow visitors to type 'www.
(yoursitename).(com\org\ca\whatever)' to visit the website instead of having to memorize a
server's 9-digit IP address.
DNS (the Domain Naming System) provides a simple way of navigating the Internet. Instead of
having to memorize the IP address of each website, users can simply type a friendly URL like
www.pcstats.com to get there. The DNS name (www.pcstats.com) is mapped to the IP address of
the PCSTATS web server, allowing anyone to visit our site without knowing its current IP address.
A system of DNS servers shadows the growth of the Internet and provides a means of connecting
DNS names with web servers. When a person acquires a domain name through a registrar site, the
IP address is linked to that name, allowing users to connect to a web server via the simple www.
(yoursite).com/net/org/whatever URL system. A central governing body (ICAAN) controls the
allocation of domain names, ensuring that the system remains conflict-free.
When a user types www.pcstats.com into the browser's address bar, the computer sends that
address to a DNS server on their network or the Internet, looking to have it translated into an IP
address that it can contact directly. That DNS server will send back the IP address if it knows it,
and if it doesn't, it will contact other DNS servers all the way up to the root of the Internet until it
finds the address it's looking for. The entire process generally takes less than a second.
Acquiring a DNS Domain Name (URL) for a Website
Technically, one does not need to have a domain name for a website. There's nothing stopping you
from simply using a web server's IP address for all traffic. If you're making a private site for
yourself and a few of friends, this may be all that's needed. On the other hand, if you want general
Internet traffic to have even a chance of visiting the website, you better get out there and get a
URL that ordinary humans can remember.
If you've made up your mind, there are a couple of ways to get a domain name for a website. The
most straightforward way is to visit one of the many, many domain name registration services.
There's a lot of choice out there, so do some research and try to find a reputable service in your
home country. A central body (ICAAN) governs all domain name registration, so the various
registration services have purchased permission to lease domain names to consumers for a period
of time.
Once a domain name registration service provider to your liking has been found, the next step is
ensuring the domain name you've thought of is not already registered. All registration services
should include a domain lookuptool as part of their tools. Using this, try out the prospective
website domain name and see if anyone else has already claimed it.
If it is available, choose the extension (.com, .org, .net, etc.) and register the domain name.
Remember that it is being registered for only a certain length of time, measured in years. After
this expires, you will have to renew or risk losing the name to someone else.
Once the domain name is registered, the registration service's tools should help you link it to the
web server's IP
address. From this
point on, anyone who
entersyour domain nam
e into a web browser
will be directed to your
Apache server.
Getting
a DNS name for free
It is quite possible to
get a free DNS name,
as there are services
out there which provide
just such a thing. The
obvious drawback of
this is that the user generally has to choose from the limited selection of names which each
particular service has available. Still, it's better than using a plain IP address. Here are a couple of
places to start -here, and here. These are the same services that provide dynamic DNS solutions
as detailed below. The domain names can be used for static or dynamic IP addresses
interchangeably.
Using a dynamic DNS service to host a website
For computers with a dynamic IP internet connection, like DSL, the public IP address changes
every time the computer connects to the Internet. This can be a serious barrier to hosting a
website. The domain name you acquired connects to one IP address only, so when a web server's
address changes frequently, everyone who uses the domain name as a URL to visit that website
will get an error message, and not be able to resolve the site's content.
Configuring firewalls for website hosting
Fortunately, various free 'dynamic IP' services are available to translate the PCs dynamic IP to a
static one which can be stored within the DNS record. Generally speaking, these services allow
users to choose from a range of free domain names, and then require the installation of a client
application on the host PC web server.
This program reads the current dynamic IP address of the PC and sends it to the dynamic IP
service, allowing that service provider to associate the chosen domain name with the latest actual
IP address for the web server. In this way, visitors that attempt to access the website via its
domain name in a browser will always be directed to the right IP address whatever the dynamic IP
of the web server happens to be.
Here are a couple of services to get you started: No-ip.com and ZoneEdit.com
Configuring firewalls for website hosting
Like most modern systems, your computer is probably using some sort of firewall software or
hardware to protect it from intrusion (and if it's not, it should be). While firewalls are quite
effective at protecting a computer from malicious intrusions, they are even more effective at
preventing a website from being visited by anyone outside ones own computer or network.
To prevent this potential problem from stopping a website cold in its tracks, we need to create an
exception to the host PCs' firewall rules that allows traffic into the computer over port 80, the
standard HTTP port for website viewing.
To do this in the pre-Service Pack 2 version of the Windows XP Firewall, find the Internet
connection by going to 'my network places' then 'show all connections.' Right click on the Internet
connection's icon and hit 'properties' then 'settings'.
In the 'services' tab, scroll down until 'web server (HTTP)' is visible and check that box. In the
post-SP2 version of the Windows XP Firewall, user can allow web traffic to pass through to IIS by
going to 'start\control panel\windows firewall' then opening the 'advanced' tab.
Highlight the Internet connection in the 'network connection settings' window, then click 'settings.'
From this screen, place a checkmark in the HTTP box and hit 'ok.' If the PC hosting the website
uses an Internet sharing device like a home router (which includes a firewall itself), you will need
to create a virtual server (also known as port forwarding) to allow the website to be accessible
over the Internet.
Creating a Virtual Server
A virtual server is a set of instructions given to the home router, telling it that if data comes in over
a specific port (say TCP port 80 for hosting a website) that data should be allowed through the
firewall and forwarded to a specific computer inside the network. In this way, we can make the
website (or whatever else) available
without otherwise compromising the
host PCs' firewall security.
Creating a virtual server tends to be the
same in almost all home router models.
First consult the documentation to find
the configuration page for 'virtual servers' or the equivalent. When creating a virtual server, first
enter the IP address of the computer that is hosting the website. Next, find the port that data
enters that system on. Enter TCP port 80, since this is the default port for HTTP.
Finally, choose the port that will be open on the router to receive incoming data. In most cases,
this will be the same as the port on the host PC, so enter 80 here too. Once all this information is
saved to the router, all data coming from the Internet to the firewall on TCP port 80 will be allowed
through the firewall and redirected to the host computer, thus allowing access to the website.
Halting IIS website hosting (Windows XP Pro/2000 only)
It's important to note that the Apache service will not be correctly installed if Microsoft IIS
(Internet Information Server) is already hosting a website on the computer. If there is a website
up and running with IIS already, it need to be stopped before Apache can be used to host a
website on the same system. Apache will not share port 80 (the default port for HTTP web traffic)
with any other application, so any program that monopolizes this port (including some firewall
software) may cause Apache not to install its service correctly.
When IIS is installed on Windows XP or 2000, it starts hosting a basic website automatically. Given
this fact, it's quite likely that if you are using Windows XP Pro or 2000, you are unknowingly
hosting a site through the program. To check on this and stop IIS if necessary, right click on 'my
computer' and go to 'manage'. In the computer management Window, choose 'Internet
Information Services' and expand it.
Under the 'web sites' folder, the currently created websites are listed. The Windows XP IIS default
website is 'Default Web Site'.
Right click on 'default web site' and choose 'stop' to stop IIS hosting the site, allowing Apache to
start properly.
Part 2: Installing and using Apache Web server
Now that PCSTATS has walked you the steps of acquiring a DNS name (or not) and preparing the
computer for hosting a web page, it's finally time to get the Apache web server up and running.
This is actually a very simple process, so follow along and that web site will be live in no time.
Installing Apache
Apache HTTP server can be downloaded from the Apache Foundation website here, there is no fee.
Make sure to download the WIN32 Binary file, which comes as an executable MSI file. The uncompiled source code is also available due to the open source nature of the project. At the time of
writing, the latest version of Apache HTTP server was 2.0.54.
Once that executable
file is downloaded, start
the installation by
double clicking on the
MSI file. Hit 'next' until
the server information
screen is displayed (at
left).
Apache wants three
pieces of information
here. The domain name
and server name (URL)
of the website, as well
as an email address
where the program can
send alerts and
notifications.
If you're not sure, the
domain name is the
Internet name space that was registered or obtained, like pcstats.com for example, while the
server name is the name of the machine that is hosting the actual website in that domain.
In most cases, WWW is the standard name used for web servers, so if your domain was
Pcstats.com, the server name would be www.pcstats.com . If you used a free DNS or dynamic DNS
service to acquire the domain name, you most likely chose a different server name as part of the
process, so use that.
All three of these entries must be filled out to continue the installation process. If you do not
currently have a domain name, either through a domain registrar or a dynamic DNS service like
No-IP.com, enter fictional addresses like (yourname).com and www.(yourname).com for now. We
will change these once the Apache server program is installed and a domain and server name have
been acquired. Of course, it's better to start the whole installation process with a valid domain
name, so it would be better if you obtained one now.
Choose the typical installation option and accept the default installation folder. Hit 'install' to begin
the install process.
Apache Status and Services
Once the installation has completed, the Apache Status Monitor program will start,
indicated by the icon in the taskbar.
Apache creates a service called Apache2 in Windows 2000/XP to allow itself to run in the
background, serving the website. Double click the Apache manager icon to make sure the service
is running. You should see something like the following:
If you do not see the Apache2 service in the manager window, chances are you have a conflict
with IIS or another web hosting program. Follow the instructions listed above for stopping the
default IIS website hosting service. Once you have made sure that IIS is stopped, restart the
Apache service manually by opening a command prompt window (go to 'start\run' and type 'cmd')
and navigating to the 'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\bin' directory and typing: apache -k
install
This will create the Apache2 service, allowing the Apache web server to run correctly.
Testing the Apache web server
Now that the Apache2 service is successfully installed, the Apache server should be hosting a basic
welcome web page on the host PC. To test this, open a web browser and type the following in the
address bar:http://localhost
This tells the browser to check port 80 of the localhost, which is physically on the computer. The
Apache welcome page should be visible if everything has gone smoothly, as pictured below.
If not, check to make
sure the Apache2
service is up and
running, and that the
default IIS website is
not live as detailed
above.
If there is another
computer on the same
network as the Apache
server, open a browser
on that other system
and type the IP address
of the Apache server
computer to get to the
same welcome page. If
the welcome page is
not visible after doing
this, chances are the
Apache server
computer has a
software firewall that
has disabled access to port 80 across the network. If this happens, follow the steps listed above
for allowing port 80 access through a firewall.
The final step in testing is to attempt to access the Apache web server from the Internet.
If you've already registered a domain name (or acquired one from a dynamic DNS service),
attempt to access that website directly from a browser by typing in the URL address. If everything
is configured correctly, this should bring you back to the same introductory Apache page. Now
move to another Internet-enabled computer on a separate connection and try the same thing. If
you see the welcome page again, the Apache server is working fine and publicly accessible. If not,
look at the router settings or Internet sharing device to make sure it is correctly configured to pass
port 80 traffic through to the Apache web server on the host computer, as we have detailed above.
Basic Apache configuration
One of the nicest things about Apache as a basic web-hosting program is that it needs next to no
configuration from the user once installed. If your website HTML files are ready, open up the
'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\htdocs' folder. This is the folder from which Apache reads
the web files, and the default file it looks for is 'index.html' just as with IIS. The 'index' file from
the default welcome website currently occupies this directory, along with various versions of the
same page in different languages.
Delete these files, or cut and paste them elsewhere, or simply copy your own website HTML files
into the directory and replace the existing 'index.html' with your own main page. Remember that
the first web page of any website must be labeled 'index', so it may be necessary to rename the
introductory HTML page of the website if this is not the case.
Once this is done, fire up a web browser and
verify that the web page is displaying correctly
(the browser cache may need to be cleared, or
the page refreshed a couple of times first). The
final step is using an outside Internet
connection to verify what Internet visitors will
see upon typing in the URL of the website
you've just configured, so try that out too.
Exploring the Apache CONF file
Unlike IIS, Apache has no graphical interface.
All management of the program is done by
editing its configuration files which reside in
the 'C:\program files\apache
group\apache2\conf' directory.
Editing these configuration files looks initially
daunting, and it can be a complicated process
if you are looking to configure complicated
settings, but fortunately the default program
settings are all anyone really needs to begin working with Apache. The main configuration file is
'httpd.doc'. The 'httpd.default' text file is an exact copy,
and is intended to provide a fallback to the default
settings in case a mistake is made while editing the
original.
The httpd.doc file is well documented, so there is help
there if you decide to experiment. Let's take a quick look
at three of the most relevant configuration file settings,
even though these do not have to be changed to get a
website up and running.
Apache Home Directory
The first setting we need to get to grips with is Apache server's home directory. This is the
directory which will contain the files (documents) making up a web page. Using IIS, this would be
located in C:\inetpub, while Apache defaults to the 'c:\program files\apache
group\apache2\htdocs' directory.
For the purposes of this PCSTATS Beginners Guide, there's no need to change the default setting,
but at some point you'll probably want to create a separate website directory on a dedicated hard
drive though. To do this, find the 'documentroot' setting in the httpd.doc file and change it to the
directory of your choice. We'll also have to change the same setting again a little further down the
page. Read the comments in the file for help.
Domain and Server Name
If Apache was installed before a domain name was registered, or the name of the domain or server
has been changed, we need to make some adjustments. These changes can be made in Apache
HTTP server by editing the httpd.doc file. Find the 'servername' entry in the file and change it to
the appropriate value.
Creating a simple website to test Apache
While this Beginners Guide will not deal with creating or editing web sites or HTML files for use
with Apache, we are going to cover how to create a basic (very basic) HTML file to serve as your
'home page' for testing Apache. All we are going to do is fire up a word processor, type a few lines,
then save the resulting document as an HTML file, something most word processors can do easily.
While the resulting file will not do (obviously) for creating complex websites, it does just fine as a
tester to make sure everything is working fine with the web server.
Open Word or another fairly recent word processing program (WordPerfect, OpenOffice, and even
Notepad will do just fine). Create a new document and type "Apache home page test" or
something similar in the document. Now go to the 'file' menu and select 'save as.'
In the save as window, select the 'file type' dropdown box. Change it to 'web page' (for Microsoft
Word users) or 'HTML document' (for users of OpenOffice). Save the file as 'index.html' in the
following location: 'c:\program files\apache group\apache2\htdocs'. This will ensure that it is the
first HTML document that the Apache server attempts to open when a web page is requested. You
will have to move or
delete the other files in
the 'htdocs' directory
first though. They are
the files for the default
'welcome' page and can
be safely removed.
This index.html file is a
very simple webpage,
which means that
anyone who attempts
to access the website
you've just configured
in Apache will be
greeted by it.
Now that you know how
to host a basic website with Apache, you can dig deeper into the documentation yourself.
Apache is available on Linux platforms as well as Windows (and indeed it originated there), so
learning the basics of the program in Windows will serve well if you ever decide to experiment with
alternative operating systemssince the interface is essentially the same.
If you have any comments or questions, please post them in the PCSTATS Forums. Find out about
this and many other reviews by joining the Weekly PCstats.com Newsletter today! Catch all of
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