Tuesday 9th of February 2010

Home HTTP Server – How to create one

November 11, 2008 by Ivan  
Filed under Articles, Servers

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In this tutorial we will see how to create an HTTP server. A web server is software installed on a computer that allows other computers to access specific files on that computer/server. There are many reasons to create your own home servers. For example: file sharing, so you can download files from your home computer from anywhere or you can create a web site on own server etc. Simply said It works like this; You choose a directory on your computer , in that directory add folders, files like music,video and etc. When you put the IP address of your computer the in web browser you can see all the files from that folder and you can download those files. Let’s now create a server(HTTP server!) using Apache(a server client):

1. You must have:

  • Broadband internet connection always on
  • Windows on your computer

2. Create a folder on your disc , in this example I created a folder on E:\my server
3. Download apache_2.2.10-win32-x86-no_ssl.msi and install it, set parameters( for localhost type something like a myserver.com(doesn’t really matter), also type your email address in field “Administrator@ Email Address” ) as shown below, choose where you want to install it.

Enter email address where you want to receive tutorials when we post them! It’s free!

4..When you install Apache , go to directory where you installed it (p.e. “C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\conf”) , here you will find a httpd file.
Open that file with notepad.

After this will appear notepad with long and complicated code, don´t worry, you must change just 3 things.

5. In notepad file find #DocumentRoot “C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache2/htdocs” and replace with #DocumentRoot “E:\my server”. Also find #<Directory  “C:/Program Files/Apache Group/Apache2/htdocs” and replace with <Directory  “E:\my server”.  E:\my server is folder where you put files which will appear on your server. In this example I created that folder on local disc E:. You can create your folder in any other place, but then type that path here. Find #AllowOverride None and change to AllowOverride All.

Change selected code



After this, save file like httpd.conf.

6. Type in web addresses http://localhost/ or your IP Address, you should see something like this

Every files you put in folder , which we created in step 2 , will be shown on http://localhost/

7. If you want access own server from other computers. You must forward a port in the router we’re using. The port we need to forward is port number 80. Why? Because by default it’s the port used for HTTP. Port forwarding actually means opening a tunnel through the router so that the router wouldn’t reject the connections that are trying to connect to it. How to port-forward? With every router it’s different. Here are the instructions for every one of them. You must also turn off you firewall.

That is all. Enjoy your home server. If you have questions, post them in the comments area.

Note: Creating home server is risky,when you open port, there is a possibility to have someone a breach in your computer .Before you start, make sure your computer has all the latest patches and security updates, and that you’ve done a thorough spyware and virus scan. This tutorial is only for advanced users

If you want to learn more about creating server below you can download free ebook called Run Your Own Web Server Using Linux & Apache – Free 191 Page Preview

Whether you’re planning on running Linux at home, or on a leased Web Server, this book will walk you step-by-step through all of the common administration tasks, from managing traffic reporting to log-file rotation. This guide even includes step-by-step instructions on installing Linux (Fedora 4), Apache 2.0, PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1 on a home or office development server, so you can test all of your applications before rolling them out. DOWNLOAD




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Comments

28 Comments on "Home HTTP Server – How to create one"

  1. blacklist on Fri, 6th Feb 2009 4:18 pm 

    where the software installer?

  2. Ivan on Fri, 6th Feb 2009 6:00 pm 

    sorry, broken link, try now

  3. unixasas on Sun, 8th Feb 2009 4:24 pm 

    When I go to local host or my IP, ir’s written “IT WORKS!”

  4. Rudi on Wed, 11th Feb 2009 12:25 pm 

    egy jo jatek

  5. Avinash on Sat, 28th Feb 2009 6:00 pm 

    Its working but i cannot acess it it shows the following message

    Forbidden
    You don’t have permission to access / on this server.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Apache/2.0.63 (Win32) Server at pheonix.mshome.net Port 80

  6. Avinash on Sat, 28th Feb 2009 6:01 pm 

    i get the following message when i try to acess it pls help
    Forbidden
    You don’t have permission to access / on this server.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Apache/2.0.63 (Win32) Server at pheonix.mshome.net Port 80

  7. ajay on Tue, 24th Mar 2009 8:21 am 

    by iis server

  8. grench on Fri, 27th Mar 2009 9:02 am 

    i want to know about make server more details.and i just try your tutorial and i have created follow your tutorial.but why my friends cannot look and download my tools in server was i created??can teach me

  9. Ivan on Fri, 27th Mar 2009 10:28 am 

    You need to forward a port in the router, just follow step 7

  10. JAIME on Thu, 9th Apr 2009 5:54 am 

    I HAVE VISTA WIN64 THEY ALL SAY WIN32 CAN I USE THIS

  11. pankaj on Tue, 14th Apr 2009 1:25 am 

    I followed instructions.

    Pager of my site “sallh.selfip.org” says It Works however I donot see the Anything else. I was expecting to see Parent Directory and The folder I created on the drive

    This is a home PC with default website port 80 no routers involved.

    Please help.

  12. Wizsndragons2002 on Wed, 22nd Apr 2009 11:06 pm 

    For some reason when I go to save the HTTPD.CONF it tells me that I can not save this file. I am using Vista 32. Please help…..

  13. SHAUN on Thu, 23rd Apr 2009 2:41 pm 

    So I’ve followed all of the instructions above but when I type in my address it is not found and I am given a list of website suggestions. What have I done wrong? What am I missing?

  14. joe on Fri, 15th May 2009 9:26 pm 

    I wanna no how make a test server

  15. zahid on Sun, 31st May 2009 6:13 am 

    after following all the instructions it shows “It works!” but where is my parent directory?
    i have created page as “index.html” but it doesn’t show the page at all.

  16. gavinda on Wed, 3rd Jun 2009 6:18 am 

    thank 4 this………..i have doubt how to create a server, but now i have simple knowledge about making a server

  17. JoMat on Thu, 25th Jun 2009 2:37 pm 

    Great tutorial. I have one doubt. When you say in step 5 “Find #AllowOverride None and change to AllowOverride All.”

    Do you mean to find and replace all of them or just the one marked on the picture?

    Thanks

  18. Ivan on Thu, 25th Jun 2009 2:54 pm 

    @JoMat
    just the one marked on the picture

  19. kausik on Fri, 26th Jun 2009 9:45 pm 

    i followed the instructions and when i put my IP address in the web browser it seeks username and passward…….please help…

  20. Formls on Mon, 20th Jul 2009 3:59 pm 

    The only problem is that your way does not allow for mysql to work. Would you be able to do a tutorial for that too?

  21. gprabhu9477 on Thu, 23rd Jul 2009 4:23 am 

    Great!It’s working fine for me…I want a directory listing is shown always in page top(Sample listing> Home / Articles, Servers / Home HTTP Server)

    thanking you for a nice tutorial…..

  22. Destiny on Thu, 23rd Jul 2009 4:43 am 

    I did do port forwarding and still no one but myself can view my site. Any idea on what I am doing wrong?

  23. gprabhu9477 on Thu, 23rd Jul 2009 4:43 am 

    One more doubt, can i get this directory & files over worldwideweb(www) using my computer as a server? Any possibilities there? and what are the requirements? please tell …

  24. Devin on Wed, 12th Aug 2009 10:39 pm 

    I was wondering if there was a way to make the server password protected so that I could be the only one with access?

  25. GIo on Sun, 8th Nov 2009 3:55 pm 

    i think i made all the steps right but when i type the ip to open the page it doesnt open it as it seems in the picture…it says this…:
    ”If you can see this, it means that the installation of the Apache web server software on this system was successful. You may now add content to this directory and replace this page.”

    do u know what i should do to make it work?? pls answer on my email__ xasiklakos_16@hotmail.com __ Ty :D

  26. Aakash on Fri, 4th Dec 2009 5:51 am 

    Hey i followed your steps and after it does not show me the folder but shows me a sign named IT WORKS.. WHAT TO DO!

  27. Rob on Tue, 15th Dec 2009 5:50 pm 

    Good information. Even if you’re insterested in the new Home Server on the market from Microsoft, this will help some people who are not ready to afford one.

    Build a Home Server

  28. ashley williamson on Tue, 2nd Feb 2010 1:02 pm 

    after following all the instructions it shows “It works!” but where is my parent directory?

    i can’t get it to show my folder at all, wat do i do???
    please help!

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