To run a server...

martinatkinson

martinatkinson

Registered
Hello!

Anyone know what kind of software/hardware I would need to turn my 733Mhz G4 into a web server? You know, instead of having "Hosting.com" or "RefHost.com" host my server I have it on my HD and people can access the website via internet browers.

Thanks!

Albert
 
While this won't give you an address like "www.martinatkinson.com", it does allow people to access a website you've put up by using your IP address.

Open up System Preferences, then go to the "Sharing" pane under "Internet & Network". Then just click the "Start" button under the "Web Sharing Off" heading.

Now, go to your home folder. Make a folder called "Sites" if it doesn't exist already. Anything in that folder will be accessible via a web browser. The URL to your "web site" is going to be in this format:

http://yourIPaddress/~yourshortusername/

Don't forget that trailing slash. You can find your IP address at the bottom of the Sharing pane. To find your short user name, go to the "Users" preference pane (under the "System" heading), select your user account, and then click "Edit User...". There you will find your short user name.

Incidentally, for some reason I'm always getting a 403 forbidden when I go to do this -- anybody have any suggestions?
 
Hello!

Yes, I have already set up my own Apache server (thanks Orielly.net!). I was just wondering if there was anything special I needed to allow domain redirection, subdomains (ie support.myIP), and other features in other servers. I was pretty much wanting to set up a server for people in my small town and they will probably want a www.theirdomain.com. Also, any hardware that will keep the mac running through surges, outages, etc?

By the way, can someone give me the difference between Mac OS X and Mac OS X server? Can I run X server like regular OS X? Can I run regular X like a server?

Thanks!

Albert
 
Originally posted by martinatkinson
Hello!

Yes, I have already set up my own Apache server (thanks Orielly.net!). I was just wondering if there was anything special I needed to allow domain redirection, subdomains (ie support.myIP), and other features in other servers. I was pretty much wanting to set up a server for people in my small town and they will probably want a www.theirdomain.com. Also, any hardware that will keep the mac running through surges, outages, etc?

By the way, can someone give me the difference between Mac OS X and Mac OS X server? Can I run X server like regular OS X? Can I run regular X like a server?

Thanks!

Albert
Click to expand...

You don't need special software or hardware to get your own domain (basically). You just need a static ip (that means that you always have the same ip) and a broadband connection. Then you have to register your domain on a company that offer it (you can do do that on many sites on the web) That will cost you some cash.

If you have dynamic ip, try this solution, where you can get a free address like yourname.dyndns.org

If you want to run a simple webserver Mac OS X is enough, really. But if you want to run a bigger more advanced webserver I belive it's easier to run it from Mac OS X server, but in your case, where you maybe only want a couple of html pages available for the public, OSX is enough.
 
Mac OS X Client, is a full fledged webserver. I have Apache/PHP/MySQL running on my computer along with 8 sites.

You need to get dirty with the apache config file, and setup virtual hosts. This will allow you do host multiple domains from one IP, or unique IP's for each site hosted.

To get php working you just need to uncomment the php lines in the Apache config and restart Apache.

You will need to compile/use a pre mae bundle for MySQL though.
 
Does anybody know why I keep getting 403 forbidden errors when I set up my web server like I described? I can't access any files inside my own sites folder, even though I've set the permissions so that anyone can at least read the contents.
 
Originally posted by BBenve
How do i link my IP to my domain name?
Click to expand...

You have to use your IP address as one of the DNS servers at network solutions (or wherever you registered your domain). If your IP address has never been used to host a domain name before, they will have to register your IP as a nameserver. All you have to do to get them to do this is ask. It doesn't cost anything to get your IP recognized as a nameserver. Once your Mac is a nameserver, change the primary DNS server associated with your domain to your Mac's IP.
 
Originally posted by Jadey


You have to use your IP address as one of the DNS servers at network solutions (or wherever you registered your domain). If your IP address has never been used to host a domain name before, they will have to register your IP as a nameserver. All you have to do to get them to do this is ask. It doesn't cost anything to get your IP recognized as a nameserver. Once your Mac is a nameserver, change the primary DNS server associated with your domain to your Mac's IP.
Click to expand...

Are you sure this will work without running a seperate DNS server on the Mac? Also, won't they need a secondary name server? I'm pretty sure you need a DNS server and not just an IP w/ Apache. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Same here. I run a domain name from my Mac with no secondary DNS. It's just a personal site otherwise I'd worry about the secondary.
 
The best/cheapest solution is to use Zone Edit. They act as the DNS server and can point your domain to your IP, and also offer e-mail forwarding so anything@yourdomain.com will go do another e-mail account. ZoneEdit is free for the first 5 zones (Zones meaning first 5 domains you use with them).
 
thanks guys/gals/whatever!:)

I'll let you know when I have time to get my up and running. I need to get DirecTV to get my static IP first.
 
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