Personal Web Sharing Problems

R

r_sin_

Registered
Hey Everyone,

I'm trying to host my own website off of my computer using Personal Web Sharing. I have done this in the past, but I have never encountered this problem before.

I have enabled Personal Web Sharing in system prefs but the link that is given does not work. When i click on the link, I see a blank page. Even if I try to navigate to pages that don't exist (are not in the sites folder), I don't get an error message... just blank.

HOWEVER, when i access the site internally (127.0.0.1/...) the site works. This leads me to believe that it is a permissions problem. (I tried going on the site from another computer and i got a 404 error).

Can anyone help me with this problem? I am fairly new with changing permissions, espcially for websites. I heard that chmod 644 is good enough to view websites? maybe 754? Can anyone provide me with a step by step procedure (or terminal command) to fix my problem? Thanks for any help
 
Where exactly are you storing your web pages, and what URL are you using to access them?

There are two places to store web pages in Mac OS X, with two different URLs for accessing either. You can store them in /Library/WebServer/Documents, or you can store them in ~/Sites. Each one has a different URL to access them... the first would be http://(your IP address)/ and the second would be http://(your IP address)/(your short user name)/
 
I am storing them in my ~Sites directory. And I am accessing them by the right URL (ip/~User). The site works internally, thats the main reason I'm confident it's a permissions problem. Does anyone know if this is a chmod value problem?

Any step-by-step response to fix this problem would be appreciated. Thanks
 
How are you connected to the internet? Are you behind a router? If so, have you forwarded port 80 on the router to the web server computer?

It doesn't sound like a permissions problem since you're getting a 404 (not found) instead of a "you don't have permission to [xxx]" message.
 
I am connected through Cable. The thing about the router is that I think the personal web sharing automatically enables port 80 (along with a couple other ports).

I found out that I can't see any of the files in the "Webserver/Documents" folder either, as well as the Sites folder.

This is getting really frustrating, does anyone have a solution for this? I've tried to google it, but my problem seems pretty unique. Any suggestions are welcome!
 
So, do you have a router or don't you?

Obviously, you've got a cable modem... but do you also have a router between the cable modem and your computer? If so, you will need to forward port 80 on the router to your computer. Personal Web Sharing will do nothing to the router -- it will activate port 80 on your computer, but you still need to forward it on the router so that the router will know where to send incoming connections on port 80 to.
 
Sorry, i didnt make myself clear. I don't have a router. I am connected directly to the cable modem.

I am so frustrated at this, that im debating whether or not to re-install mac os x. But i dont wanna go through all that and still not have it work.

I appreciate all the help. is there ANYTHING i can do?!?!
 
Hmmm... is there a possibility that the modem itself is also a router?

Also, a lot of cable ISPs block incoming traffic on certain ports so that people don't run their own servers (web servers, FTP servers, game servers, etc.). Time-Warner Cable here in Texas does it... it may be prudent to contact your ISP and inquire as to whether they're blocking traffic on certain ports.
 
Ok Thanks,

Im going to take my laptop to school and try to host the site off of a different IP (different ISP). If it works, I know that its an ISP problem.... i don't really know whether im rooting for it to work or not.

If it doesn't work... i might just have go to ahead and reformat. (It might be time anyways). I'm always open to new suggestions tho. Anyone?
 
r_sin_ if you can access the site via 127.0.0.1 then it most definitely is not a permissions problem. Permissions can only prevent the web server from seeing the files internally to your computer, if the server can see them then it will serve them just fine anywhere. (Assuming you are not using web based authentication, which you aren't out of the box.) The fact you local hose IP works eliminates permissions as a source of error.

I would bet dollars to doughnuts that it is a router/blocking issue. To troubleshoot the router question one simple question is what IP do you have when you are connected with your cable modem. If it is one of the un-routable IPs like 198.126.*.* or 10.*.*.* then you most certainly have a router in your cable modem.
 
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