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ironknee · Apr 28, 2003, 10:21 PM

hi

my isp is driving me crazy. Any1 recommend a good isp for hosting a website?

Got me thinking, is it possible for me to buy OSX server and host the site myself? I have a DSL line, all i need is space, and a mail server...I have a beige PMG3 i'm not using....

I am not a techie, they make the server seem so simple...

any thoughts? thanks

Colonel_Panic · Apr 29, 2003, 02:22 AM

If your IP does not change this is not very hard. All you have to do is get a DNS name, you can even get a free one (no-ip.com) hook up your server and go to system preferences and turn web sharing on..

Now there are more steps to that depending on how "hardcore" you want this thing to be. Do you have any PHP or Mysql in your website?

JB72 · Apr 29, 2003, 06:43 AM

Originally posted by ironknee:
my isp is driving me crazy. Any1 recommend a good isp for hosting a website?

Got me thinking, is it possible for me to buy OSX server and host the site myself? I have a DSL line, all i need is space, and a mail server...I have a beige PMG3 i'm not using....

I am not a techie, they make the server seem so simple...

any thoughts? thanks

www.speakeasy.net

You don't need OS X Server to host a sight. Regular Mac OS X will do fine. It has Apache 1.3.x built in.

I'd recomend going over to the MacDevCenter and reading some of their articles. Personally I think they're great.

Roof! Roof! I rove Macs!

Of particular interest will be this section: http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...ebserving.html .

philzilla · Apr 29, 2003, 07:43 AM

Originally posted by JB72:
You don't need OS X Server to host a sight. Regular Mac OS X will do fine. It has Apache 1.3.x built in.

that's exactly the point i was going to make. i find it strange that people say they want to serve their own site, yet they don't know that they have the means to do so right at their fingertips.

maybe i'm just weird.

OptimusG4 · Apr 29, 2003, 10:51 AM

Originally posted by philzilla:
that's exactly the point i was going to make. i find it strange that people say they want to serve their own site, yet they don't know that they have the means to do so right at their fingertips.

maybe i'm just weird.

Na, most people think they need OS X Server cause it has Server in the name. If you need a decent yet cheap server, OS X Client works just as well. If you have an Xserve though, you know what you need

JB72 · Apr 29, 2003, 04:47 PM

Originally posted by philzilla:
that's exactly the point i was going to make. i find it strange that people say they want to serve their own site, yet they don't know that they have the means to do so right at their fingertips.

Yeh I think that maybe because of how Windows is sold. I dunno.

I actually like OS X Server. I think it's really neat, and included Apache 2 But it is pricey. I used to have a copy but it was too expensive to upgrade.

FYI, here is a free, easy install package of Apache 2.

Colonel_Panic · Apr 29, 2003, 07:42 PM

Yeah I forgot to mention the whole OS X client will serve it.. Thats how I serve mine I don`t need the tools that OS X Server comes with seeing how most of them are already there in client just hidden under the CL

ironknee · Apr 29, 2003, 08:28 PM

Originally posted by Colonel_Panic:
If your IP does not change this is not very hard. All you have to do is get a DNS name, you can even get a free one (no-ip.com) hook up your server and go to system preferences and turn web sharing on..

Now there are more steps to that depending on how "hardcore" you want this thing to be. Do you have any PHP or Mysql in your website?

HI ALL, and thanks for the feedbacks

no, it's only a simple website for my work (graphic design) would like to have a mailserver...that's it

My next question is do u think my biege g3 266mhz (i think) or my tangerine iMac 333mhz can handle the task?

Thanks again

philzilla · Apr 29, 2003, 08:48 PM

Originally posted by ironknee:
My next question is do u think my biege g3 266mhz (i think) or my tangerine iMac 333mhz can handle the task?

throw as much memory in there as it can take, and you'll be fine. until i got a faster machine last week, i was running 10.2.5 on my 266 iMac. no speed demon, but it will do all the things you require of it

Colonel_Panic · Apr 29, 2003, 09:51 PM

Also if your going to be using this machine is JUST a sever through it in a closet someware and boot into just darwin, no GUI (start as normal but login with the name >console). Then start apache "apachectl start" That should save some memory as well. No need to have a GUI if all its doing is running apache.

ironknee · May 1, 2003, 02:44 PM

Originally posted by Colonel_Panic:
Also if your going to be using this machine is JUST a sever through it in a closet someware and boot into just darwin, no GUI (start as normal but login with the name >console). Then start apache "apachectl start" That should save some memory as well. No need to have a GUI if all its doing is running apache.

Hi, how does one boot only into darwin? thanks

ironknee · May 1, 2003, 08:59 PM

hi again, but i also want to know the hit counts to the site. is there a built in OSX app for that or is there a free/share app?

thanks again and thanks for my nontechie questions...i'm learning

Colonel_Panic · May 1, 2003, 10:07 PM

When prompted for you login, login as >console

godzookie2k · May 1, 2003, 11:47 PM

slowifi.com is my current favorite host. they host me and do a great job for little or nothing. you may want to consider them as thier rates are flip fantastic and worth less than the hassle of setting up and maintaining your osx box as far as uptime is concerned. plus, dsl only has a 15k (give or take) upload speed, so even if one person is on your server they will have a pretty slow time anyway. you may want to consider a cheap hosting provider instead of doing it yourself.

*no, slowifi didn't put me up to the praise stated above.

JB72 · May 2, 2003, 02:10 AM

Originally posted by Colonel_Panic:
Also if your going to be using this machine is JUST a sever through it in a closet someware and boot into just darwin, no GUI (start as normal but login with the name >console). Then start apache "apachectl start" That should save some memory as well. No need to have a GUI if all its doing is running apache.

That's a good idea. But that's something to do once the server is up, configured, and going. Then go Darwin-only and stuff it away somewhere.

genevish · May 3, 2003, 10:00 AM

For a time, I was hosting my site on http://www.phpwebhosting.com/ It's not the least expensive option, but they have everything I needed (PHP, MySQL, SSH access, etc), plus "unlimited" disk space. I'm still leery of this claim, but their main page says this, and when I requested my space be upped from 100mb to 150 so I could add some additional files (a friend uses the space to post large Quark files for his clients to download), they not only filled the request very quickly, they made it 225mb, just in case I needed it. Their customer service and site setup is excellent.

Having said that, I was recently looking to save money and decided to cancel the site and host things on my home computer (MDD PowerMac, dual gig G4's, OS X 10.2.5). The process was a bit involved, but works quite well.

I use DynDNS's custom DNS services to point my URL (www.genevish.org) to my home computer, where I have Apache, PHP and MySQL all set up. I also use the excellent myPhoto to serve up all my iPhoto library for friends and family to see.

I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

SSharon · May 12, 2003, 02:39 AM

can you provide some more info on how you have that service point that .org name to your personal computer. I would like to do just that. Also, does anyone know a good place to find cgi and perl tutorials. Also again, how easy to use is OS X server, I will be using it this summer and want to know how much I have to learn (thats what I need those tutorials for too). thanks in advance

genevish · May 14, 2003, 10:20 PM

Originally posted by SSharon:
can you provide some more info on how you have that service point that .org name to your personal computer. I would like to do just that.

It's pretty simple. When you register the name, give the registrar the IP addresses of DynDNS's nameservers. The rest is spelled out much more clearly than I can explain it here.

-Scott

Rainy Day · May 15, 2003, 07:37 PM

it's only a simple website for my work (graphic design) would like to have a mailserver...that's it

My next question is do u think my biege g3 266mhz (i think) or my tangerine iMac 333mhz can handle the task?

I have a 25 MHz 68040 box with 36 Mb RAM running a BSD and it has speed to burn. A properly configured 266 MHz G3 is more than what you need.

Trim down processes you don't need. Killing the GUI has already been mentioned.

But with that said, while putting up your own server is relatively easy, making it secure is another story entirely. MacOS X client is not as secure out-of-the-box as it might be for server use. You stand a fairly decent chance of getting hacked into eventually, unless you're going to spend a lot of time studying security. It's amazing how many ways there are to co-opt a server box. And once a hacker has entered your server, they have a foot in the door to launch attacks against the other computers on your LAN. Beyond that, there are other headaches such as backup and the like. While hosting your own server has its advantages and a certain sense of satisfaction, there are reasons why you may simply want to consider finding another an IHP (InterNet Hosting Provider) to host your needs.