Thread: How To Setup Your Own Web Hosting Environment at Home - Part 2

On [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] we talked about what LAMP stands for and offered a reason for people to get involved in it plus we provided a link where you can get the installer and start working.

Assuming that all went well, and that you PC did not explode from the awesomeness of this guide (!) we will now resume our journey into the jungle of GUADAL....Sorry! Wrong Guide! Eh.... Lets move on quickly to running the installer and some things to note.

Before we do that, you need to know that as of the time of the writing (April 2011) , the program versions included in the Apache Friends distribution are the following:

• Apache 2.2.17
• MySQL 5.5.8 + PBXT engine (currently disabled)
• PHP 5.3.5
• OpenSSL 0.9.8l
• phpMyAdmin 3.3.9
• XAMPP Control Panel 2.5.8
• Webalizer 2.21-02
• Mercury Mail Transport System v4.72
• FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.37
• SQLite 2.8.17
• SQLite 3.6.20
• ADOdb 5.11
• Xdebug 2.1.0rc1
• Tomcat 7.0.3 (with mod_proxy_ajp as connector)

Supported Windows versions are:

Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7

Although the programs above are recent versions, they are by no means the latest and you can always update a program if you find you need to. Xampp installer is just a convient way to install a proven, working set of applications without the need to install and setup each one of the programms included.

Start the installer, select the default install directory C:\Xampp and press continue. Note that the install directory should not have any spaces in it and that the Xampp default directory is a good choice. Just press next and wait until everything is automatically installed.

After everything is done, you will have a xampp xontrol panel in Start>Programs>Xampp. From this handy control panel you can start/stop Apache webserver, the MySQL database, the Filezilla FTP server and the Mercury Mail server. You can also make any of the programs run as Services, in order for them to start automatically with windows or run even if the user is logged off.

Restart your computer just to make sure that everything is setup correctly (paths and other system variables). Once everything is ok and you have restarted, you will then need to start from the Xampp control panel the Apache Web Server AND the MySQL Database Server. Once that is done, point your browser to

PHP Code:

http://localhost 


OR if that does not work for some mysterious reason,

PHP Code:

http://127.0.0.1 


.

This is the LocalHost IP a.k.a HOME IP and every computer has it. It allows you to access the computer as if it where a webserver, provided you run a web server. We run Apache now that we installed the Xampp package, and as soon as we input in the browser address localhost or 127.0.0.1 we will be presented with our very own, first class,Super HOMEMADE web page server. What you see is the default Xampp mini website, running on your system.

Now you are able to run your very own PHP scripts and Databases on your home. But dont jump with joy yet! We have to secure our server and make it non accessible from the outside world and from our fellow blackhat guys that are dying to get into our system.

In order to make things much more secure, we need to change some things in xampp, which is made for developers and for that reason lacks any kind of security at this point. Great for playing with it, bad if you are behind a router or internet line and the computer you are on has access to the Big, Bad Internet.

In order to quickly secure a number of things, you need to go the security section in the xampp default webserver you are now running. So you need to go to

PHP Code:

http://localhost/security/ 


and there check the results of the test. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the page and click the link:

PHP Code:

http://localhost/security/xamppsecurity.php 


, here you will quickly fix a number of serious security issues by assigning a password to MySQL database, and assigning a password to phpmyadmin AND securing the Xampp default directory with a password also. DO NOT tick the options to SAFE (typo, it should be SAVE) plain password in text file.

You will receive a warning and at this point you will need to restart your apache and mysql from the control panel. Once that is done you will now need to enter a password (the one you entered before in the security page) to access the

PHP Code:

http://localhost 


directory where your test pages will be located from now on. The default directory on your disk where you can put your first test pages is located at:

PHP Code:

c:\xampp\htdocs 


Everything in the htdocs directory will be server by the Apache webserver, depending on the type of extensions the file has. For now, make a new file, rename it to test.php (be careful with notepad in windows, dont select .txt as extension when saving, but select all) and in the file put these simple lines:

PHP Code:

<?php
    echo 'I am Alive';
?>

Save, close the file and then in your browser type:

PHP Code:

http://localhost/test.php 


A plain white page showing: I am Alive should show. Congratulations, you have just run your first PHP script!

More info on what each program does, and how to configure apache, php, mysql, webalizer and other services will be provided in the next guide, giving you the ability to run much more advanced scripts and perform much more advanced tasks than simply printing funny messags on the screen. From serving a real website, to a dynamic php website to running your own scripts and more.
That third Guide is to follow soon! Until then, have fun with your newly installed home web server!

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• How To Setup Your Own Web Hosting Environment at Home - Part 1

Good tutorial for newbies.
I think the 3rd part will be the most important because it will show how to make your home computer a SERVER in www world.

Congrats!
It will be helpful for a lot of people!