Question on servers

Alright say you have a normal computer, it has about lets say 80gigs, is a pentium 4, runs on windows XP, and all that other stuff would you be able to turn that into a server?

Yea u could but you need big bandwidth. It would be cheaper to rent one

Yes, say I have all that ... how exactly would I turn a computer into the server?

You would not want to use windows XP for a server. There are to many reasons to list why. Why not download a Linux distro? it comes with a web server installer and its free. Try Fedora 4, good server software. If you have questions on getting started let me know.

FS

try searching google theres a few sites on this(actually I believe theres an old topic about this on freewebspace)
however a few things to consider

1-You would need to keep your computer running 24/7
2-some ISP dont allow this
3-What would happen if server goes down when your out
4-speed


By the time you take this all into consideration its just cheaper to buy a dedicated than try to run your own.

What happens if I shut my computer off? and then turn it back on? Will the hosting resume?

Should do depemding on your software. Ive got mac os x and my apache server turns on but i have to turn on my php and mysql servers everytime i turn on my laptop! U get it...

Do you think 80GIGS of harddrive is enough for a server? or is more required?

that is good, but do you have any other things on your computer???

What do you mean?

Lik any other apps, games etc. You can just wipe it if u wanna install linux

I have a few, should I delete them?

While you are waiting patiently for Linux to download, I highly suggest reading on www.linux.org for info on a server install. It really should not be difficult. You will also need to read up on apache. I believe apache comes in Fedora but cant remember. Been awhile since ive built my own server. You should also look at finding an open source control panel if you plan to use the server for hosting. I know there is some good ones out there, I suggest looking on google.

I encourage you to be patient, It is not an instant thing setting up a web server, however whatever the reason you are setting it up for, It is always a feeling of acomplishment once it is completed. Also you will learn alot by doing it.

Hope this helped, again remember patience is important.

Here are a few links you may find helpfull.

www.apache.org <--the actual web server software.
www.php.net <-- should be included in apache.
www.apachefriends.org/en/index.html

Good Luck!

If you wish to run a webserver with windows try reading here, alot of good info

www.apachefriends.org/en/index.html

FS

Thanks guys, right now I'm downloading Fedora. but there's many discs :S do I download them all?

Yes...

No disrespect to you, but if you don't know how to find your "PC specs" (from the thread in the computer forum), how on earth do you plan on managing a *nix server?

Lol, it's all about learning first :p I'm not planning on managing a server right now.

At school, they don't throw in you into the deep end in your first lesson, you start from the small tasks and then move up. As some of your posts indicate, you cannot even install a simple script, you should learn how to use FTP and such before moving to this step.

Alright, I was just asking if it's possible. But I guess I should take it step by step. Hmm, I'll stick with FTP learning at the moment. But I'll be back to my server questions, ... on day ;).... :p

Okay guys, I've learned how to install script and lol and finding computer specs. Does anyone think they can help me out now?

Do you know what SSH is?

i got it wrong :p

It's a secure version of Telnet.

Oh thanks mate! :)

You know what Telnet is, correct?

isn't it a network protocol generally used for communication?

It's for sending commands to a remote server. Telnet is extremely insecure as everything, included passwords, are transmitted in plain text.

'bash' is the shell that you will most likely be using unless you have some special purpose. A shell is a program. To access a remote server, you need a SSH client such as PuTTY. PuTTY is a very popular program, I use it myself.

For a local 'server' you can just run commands straight from the shell, no need for an SSH client to access localhost ;)

I see. thanks. So PuTTy PuTTy is good? I heard of it some where :S

PuTTY is great for accessing remote servers.

Just to clarify, a shell is the *nix command prompt, only much better than the Win one :p. PuTTY is used for accessing remote shells.

PuTTY is great for accessing remote servers.

Just to clarify, a shell is the *nix command prompt, only much better than the Win one :p. PuTTY is used for accessing remote shells.

Yep, yup. Thanks :D

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Okay now back to business :P

So on the PC I want to become a server I download all the discs of fedora? Then after that what do I do. I still haven't downloaded all the discs so I will do that right now, but just a heads up what's next?

As I said before I strongly suggest against this, you will just end up trying to install fedora and then give up because it's too complicated. Anyway, there will be instructions included with your download, just read them and you should understand.

By the way, your signature is against FWS rules and your forum is going against Bidvertiser rules!

What kind of ISP are you using to even consider a home based server?

Do I have to use fedora to make a computer into a server?

Err... no. Use whatever OS you like.

You know what Telnet is, correct?

Darned, I am so used to ssh via putty, I forgot what telnet is :eek2:

then google it