[SOLVED] Hey all - 1st post -- Need Help

[Cascade]

Hey everyone
this is my first post and im looking for help
im new to running a server and am having trouble setting it up.
I am trying to make a web server so that i can host multiple web sites each with multiple pages on the same server. i guess i should start by talking about the server
its got a 3.2 Ghz Intel CPU -- quick enough for what i need
2 GB of RAM
200 GB IDE Hard Drive
DVD-Rom Drive
It currently has Windows XP Installed but this could be changed if what im doing is wrong.

The Server is connected to the internet via a network that goes like this

Phone Line --- Netgear ADSL Modem Router DG834 ---- Netgear 5 port 10/100 Mbps Switch FS605 , Port 1 of the switch is taken by the line from the modem to the switch , port 2 has a Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 , which is directly connected to my actual PC.

Then i have port 3 of the switch connect directly to the server via a network cable oviously.
The Server has an internet connection as i would expect but all atempts to set up the server have failed beacuse no one outside my network is able to access it

I would be most greatful if someone could tell me where i am going wrong and give detailed easy to follow instructions on how to do it right , in the end all i want to do is have a server to host the websites that i produce.

Also it would be helpful to know what software i should be using on the server , as you can tell i am new to this so please take it slow and help me as ill be most greatfull for your advice and guidance

I have been told that Apache is the best to use for this , am i right in doing so , also instructions on which apache files to download and how to install them would be great

Thank you for your time
Cascade
aka John

[apacheguy]

Please take a look at this post:

http://www.phpfreaks.com/forums/index.php/topic,118556.0.html

Most likely your problem is that you don't have port 80 open.

[Cascade]

i went to www.grc.com and used that shields up tool to check my ports , they all came up as Green which was Stealthed , im guessing this means there not open.

GRC Port Authority Report created on UTC: 2006-12-26 at 16:52:39

Results from scan of ports: 0-1055

    0 Ports Open
    0 Ports Closed
1056 Ports Stealth
---------------------
1056 Ports Tested

ALL PORTS tested were found to be: STEALTH.

TruStealth: PASSED - ALL tested ports were STEALTH,
                  - NO unsolicited packets were received,
                  - NO Ping reply (ICMP Echo) was received.
Which ports do i have to try and open to enable appache to work ? , i hear its Port 80 and Port 443 , is this right ??

[makeshift_theory]

yes, port 80 and 81 are for apache and 443 is for any SSL certificates you might have.  Also if you are looking to map several sites to one server you should read into Virtual Hosting, your configuration could look something like this:
[code]
HTTPD.CONF or APACHE2-VHOST.CONF if using lampp

<VirtualHost *>
ServerName www.domain1.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/domain1/
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *>
ServerName www.domain2.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/domain2/
</VirtualHost>
[/code]

This is a very basic and I mean basic virtual hosting set up.  This setup tells apache2 that if www.domain1.com is hit to set root to domain1/ and the same thing for domain2.com.  Hope this helps.

[apacheguy]

[quote]yes, port 80 and 81 are for apache [/quote]

Port 81 is not necessary to have open for apache - unless your server is set to listen to port 81.  Normally, you only need to have port 80 open.

Cascade - Please open port 80 first and then tell us if you encounter more problems.

[Cascade]

I think i have opened port 80 , i ran grc.com again and got this

GRC Port Authority Report created on UTC: 2006-12-27 at 10:40:34

Results from scan of ports: 0-1055

    1 Ports Open
    3 Ports Closed
1052 Ports Stealth
---------------------
1056 Ports Tested

The port found to be OPEN was: 80

Ports found to be CLOSED were: 53, 81, 443

Other than what is listed above, all ports are STEALTH.

TruStealth: FAILED - NOT all tested ports were STEALTH,
                  - NO unsolicited packets were received,
                  - NO Ping reply (ICMP Echo) was received.
Im not sure why or how some ports were closed ?

[makeshift_theory]

You should not need 443 to view it on the internet only 80, I would check in your httpd.conf to see what port you are using just to make sure, and make sure all of your routers have port access to TCP 80.  This may seem like a dumb question but you can see your apache startup page locally right?

[apacheguy]

[quote]Im not sure why or how some ports were closed ?[/quote]

Here is why - you said in your first post that you have this setup:  Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless [b]Firewall [/b] Router WGT624

Also, try what makeshift_theory said:  check to make sure all your routers have port 80 open.  It is possible that your first router has port 80 open, but then your second router has it closed.

[Drace]

Hi,

I've been working with Cascade on this, when trying to log onto the server from outside his LAN, I get this message:

The connection has timed out

The server at 192.168.0.136 is taking too long to respond.
    *  The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
          moments.

    *  If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
          connection.

    *  If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
          that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

I know that Firefox is permitted to access the web as I'm not behind any proxy's etc...having contacted Cascade and looking through this forum, I'm assuming the ports should be open to people outside his lan, but I'm not having any luck.

Here is the static IP Address that Cascade provided me with: 192.168.0.136,

Am I right in assuming that this is a LAN IP address and isn't accessible outside his network? Or am I using outdated theories??

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Drace
&
Paranoia Web Design

[makeshift_theory]

Lan IP's are for local, internal networks, what you need to look for is his Wan IP not his Lan.  For a easy way to get your ip, just type in google "what's my ip?" or go into your router's status screen.

[Drace]

So, am I right in assuming we're at a wall right now untill we discover the Wan IP?

We came to this before, we had the LAN IP address all set up and condfigured, then we got the WAN IP, after trying this the first time, its probable that when we first tried this the ports were a bit messed up (well no, it's not probable, it pretty much what happened). Anyway!, we had the WAN IP which everytime we tried to use it to bring up the index.html page, we got Cascades Router and Modem settings, the admin pages where everything is set up, is there a way around this?

Or should it be possible to view the site even with the LAN IP address if the correct ports are opened etc??

Drace

[makeshift_theory]

No, just go to http://whatsmyip.org/ and post what that ip is, that ip is the address you will access the site at.

[Drace]

Cheers makeshift theory, I passed the message onto Cascade about the WAN IP and we have success, thanks very much  ;D...
While your online, would mind helping us out in the other thread posted by Cascade? I know it's cheeky to ask, but you've been a great help and we would appreciate it a great deal.

Drace

[makeshift_theory]

Sure just remember to hit the "solved" button in the bottom left.  ;D