Crazy Newbie Totally Clueless 2

[ValGraham]

Alright, I'm crazy because I don't have the slightest idea about what I am trying to do BUT ...I think I have everything I need EXCEPT.....a clue or two on how to do it.
I have a Server (compaq prolane 800)...I have page builders (Dreamweaver 4 or microsoftfrontpage) .....Apache server software (just downloaded)...A high speed connection to the net....running windows xp. Now I may be crazy (in fact i think i am) but I'm pretty sure i can build a web hosting server (for a small group of us to use as an ft site) and house websites. So here ios my problem....I have an idea I need Apache...so I got it...now I don't know what to do. Told ya I was crazy. pretty please someone help me...i have glanced at a few tutorials but it's all so complicated. I'm fairly good at web page design but this whole apache thing and how to get myself up and running on my own has really given me a headache. Anyone? Thanks-Val

 

[RhythmAce]

First off, make sure your install is working. Try to access localhost from your browser. You should get the test page. If not, check your httpd.conf file and edit and/or uncomment the line that says what ip and what port to listen to. It should look something like Listen xx.xxx.xx.x:80 where the Xs are your ip address. Once you are able to connect to your web page you can start adding content to the same directory your test page is in. For any one to be able to access your web server, they will have to enter your ip address into their browser. If you have a registered domain name i.e.

http://www.yourdomain.com

, you can edit your dns "A" record to have your domain name point to your ip address. This is usually done through your registrar. If you do not have your own domain name or have a dynamic ip, you could use a dns pointer service such as

http://www.tzo.com.

They will give you a sub-domain like

http://yourdomain.tzo.com

and point that name to what ever your ip address is at the time. To make your website useful, you will want to add cgi and php scripts. You can download windows versions of perl (for running cgi), php and mysql. I also understand that they make a windows version of sendmail you can get at

http://www.sendmail.com

if you want to set up your own mail server. I'm not a windows user but there are plenty of them here if you need any help with the installations and troubleshooting.

 

[ifincham]

Hi,

Well, being primarily a unix/linux oriented product all the configuration stuff is maintained in a text file and not in the windows registry, i.e. C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache/conf/httpd.conf (Assuming you installed on the C:/ drive).

At the most basic level, the content is pointed at by the 'DocumentRoot' directive which by default would be :

DocumentRoot "C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache/htdocs"

So, for example, if you placed a 'test.html doc in that physical directory it would be available at

http://localhost/test.html

. The Apache manual at

http://localhost/manual

is physically in C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache/htdocs/manual . Fairly easy really.

That should get you started anyway....

Regards

 

[ValGraham]

Thanks Guys for the help. I've finally got it set up.
Val