How do I turn my computer into a server?

Questions about HTML, CSS, Flash, JavaScripts, Myspace layouts, servers, and all that jazz.
Post Reply
webby
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:26 pm

How do I turn my computer into a server?

Post by webby » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:50 am

How do I turn my computer into a server? I want to have a website on my computer and use it as the main server and I heard you could do that with Windows XP Pro.

User avatar
hal_nesbitt
Site Admin
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: Alexandria, VA
Contact:

Post by hal_nesbitt » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:21 am

If you are running XP Pro, then you can very easily do this by installing IIS. Just go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components and then choose Internet Information Services (IIS). This will then install it on your machine. Once it is done installing, you can configure the IIS by going to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services. From here you can set up the accounts, documents, directories, etc.

You can also install IIS on your XP Home system, as long as you are inclined to modify a few files. A good tutorial can be found here.

Once everything is installed, you can view your website by opening up a browser and typing http://localhost. This website will be viewable over your network by going to the IP or DNS entry you have set up. (to find out your IP, open a command prompt and type 'ipconfig'.)

If you wish to view your site from another location outside your network, then you will need to use your external IP. You can find out your external IP by going to http://whatismyip.com. However, you should note that most ISPs turn off port 80 (the default port for IIS) and port 8080. If you are having problems viewing your site outside your network via external IP, then you need to pick a new port. In IIS, assign a new port number, such as 8000 or something. If you are behind a firewall or router, then you will also need to forward this port to your internal IP. Instructions on port forwarding can be found here: http://www.portforward.com. Now you must include the port number in the urls; viewing your site will look like this:

Within network: http://192.xx.xxx.xx:8000
Outside of network: http://xx.xxx.xx:8000

Cheers!
"Maturity is stupid." - Benjamin Franklin

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Semrush [Bot] and 1 guest