Basics of Apache install...

[johnpain123]

Hi there all,

 

I'm really new to web development and know next to nothing about how to do all of this stuff!  I'm interested in trying to set up websites and have downloaded Apache for Windows today. 

 

I'm stuck at the first installation screen! 

 

I've seen a post from user 123boy which is similar to my request, but I don't want to use "localhost", because I want to understand and learn how to use my own values.

 

It asks for the following:

1.  Network Domain.

2.  Server Name.

3.  Administrator's Email Address.

 

The thing is that I don't fully understand how to set this stuff up on my laptop! 

 

For point 1, I have called this "mydomain.net".  I went to the hosts file and did this:

 

127.0.0.1      johnpain123.mydomain.net    mydomain.net

 

I also went to Local Area Connection > Properties > Internet Protocol  (TCP/IP) > Properties > Advanced > DNS tab > "Append these DNS suffixes (in order):" > and here I typed "mydomain.net"

 

For point 2, I have called this "johnpain123" and my computer name (My Computer > Properties > Computer Name) is also "johnpain123".  Are these the same thing?

 

For point 3, I've realised that I must really be missing something because how do I set up an email account like this on my laptop that Apache can send emails to me?!!  And where would the emails go to anyway?

 

So...

 

1.  Have I got the configurations correct so far for points 1 & 2???

 

2.  Is there anything more that I need to do for points 1 & 2?

 

3.  Can anybody guide me as to what I need to do to set up point 3?  Can I just use a gmail address for example?

 

 

I'd really appreciate any help I can get because I'm really, really lost and feeling really, really stupid!  :'(

 

Thanks in advance,

 

John.

[wildteen88]

Are you wanting your computer to be accessible from the internet, by mydomain.net if so you don't need to add mydomain.net to the host file or name your computer johnpain123.

 

The network domain and the Server Name field should be mydomain.net

 

To add your computer to the internet sign up to dyndns.org or no-ip.com (you may have to pay a subscription fee to use your own domain name). Once everything is setup you should be able to access your computer via your domain.

 

Note: Make sure your firewall excepts external connection to port 80. You will also need to port forward port 80 if you're behind a router.

 

[johnpain123]

Hi Wildteen,

 

> Are you wanting your computer to be accessible from the internet

For now, I just want to build the site on my laptop and then, when it's ready, I'll want it on the 'net! :-)

 

> Note: Make sure your firewall excepts external connection to port 80.

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

So far I've installed Apache, and it seems ok except there is an error in one of the log files:

 

"httpd.exe: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 192.139.0.5 for ServerName"

 

Is this anything I should be worried about?

 

Another (what may seem really stupid) question from me is coming up.... but let me just explain the whole picture...

 

Basically, I want to use Drupal to create a website.  From the reading I've done, I need to install Apache, MySQL DB, PHP and Drupal.

 

I know there is a thing called WAMPServer out there, but I want to learn along the way and configure the individual components myself.  ( I always find this better in the long term).

 

I have so far installed Apache, MySQL, but I'm not sure if I need to install PHP and I don't understand how to install Drupal?!

 

I've looked at the Lullabot install video for Drupal v6 and I understand it up until a point where she drags and drops the Drupal files into a web directory and "hey presto" it all just works?!  How do I configure this directory for me to do the same thing?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[xqwertyx]

You can download xampp by apachefriends if you want an easier way to install apache and mysql on your machine.

[wildteen88]

You can download xampp by apachefriends if you want an easier way to install apache and mysql on your machine.

Did you not read this point made by johnpain123:

I know there is a thing called WAMPServer out there, but I want to learn along the way and configure the individual components myself.  ( I always find this better in the long term).

 

> Are you wanting your computer to be accessible from the internet

For now, I just want to build the site on my laptop and then, when it's ready, I'll want it on the 'net! :-)

 

...

 

So far I've installed Apache, and it seems ok except there is an error in one of the log files:

 

"httpd.exe: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 192.139.0.5 for ServerName"

This is probably because when you first installed Apache you set the Network Domain to mydomain.net. As this address does not exist yet Apache cant establish the ip address the domain belongs to. Apache will fall back to the ip address of the computer it is installed on instead.

 

You can ignore the error, however for now I'd recommend you to open your httpd.conf file and find the following line:

ServerName mydomain.net:80

and change it to:

ServerName localhost:80

Save the httpd.conf and restart Apache.

 

I have so far installed Apache, MySQL, but I'm not sure if I need to install PHP and I don't understand how to install Drupal?!

 

I've looked at the Lullabot install video for Drupal v6 and I understand it up until a point where she drags and drops the Drupal files into a web directory and "hey presto" it all just works?!  How do I configure this directory for me to do the same thing?

You will need to install PHP yes. Read the instructions in this post for setting up PHP with Apache on Windows.

 

The install video you watch to install Drupal most probably used an FTP client to upload the Drupal script to their website. As you have AMP installed locally you do not need to use FTP. You just download Drupal, extract the contents of the .tar.gz file (using winRAR) to Apaches htdocs folder (C:/path/to/Apache/htdocs).

 

Open your browser and go to http://localhost/drupal-folder/install.php and the install script should appear.

You should read the drupal docs

[johnpain123]

Hi Wildteen88,

 

Thanks for the quick reply and sorry for the delayed response!  Was going to work on this on Sunday, but ended up having to go and see my uncle in hospital who'd been diagnosed with cancer.  He should be ok now, but God did that put things into perspective!

 

Anyway, good instructions!  I will try what you have suggested and will report back on progress soon.

 

John.