Using IIS to host a personal website help!

[crazysniper22]

Hello guys.. i dont know if this is the right place to post this, but here i go anyway..

I want to use IIS on my other PC to host my personal website but i dont how to get started. Is there anyone who can help me? or at least knows of a good and simple tutorials on the net? that would be much appreciated. thanks very much in advance!!!

By the way both PC's are connecting to the internet using a router (Draytek Vigor 2200 usb) and are not properly network configured e.g. sharing files etc... and also the IP's they are using are also assigned by the router.

Additional INFO:

The PC i want to use as a personal webserver has AMD Athlon 800 Mhz processor and 384MB of SDRAM, basic keyboard and mouse etc.. I also have a static IP add assigned by my ISP. And last but not the least it has a Windows Server 2003 OS installed on it.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

By web site, you do mean actual web site that can be accessed from the Internet, right? You don't just want something that someone on the network can access?

In that case, you need a domain, which you get by going through registrars. Register.com, for example. I don't know if that's a good one or what a good one would be, though. Just make sure you don't purchase anything besides a domain since you'll be hosting this yourself.

Since you have the static IP, all you will need to do is go into your router and forward port 80 to the computer that's running the server. Read your router's manual or go to the manufacturers web site for more information on your router's setup page.

I would also suggest you use Apache instead of ISS. However, ISS will work just fine.

[crazysniper22]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

@ Yawgm0th

Thanks for the reply bro!

Yeah actual website that can be accessed to the net. Did you say domain? what is it for? someone told me to register to DynDNS.org as well for this domain thingy.

And did you say use apache instead of IIS? but i heard that apache is for more advanced user only.

OK heres my dumbness again.. lets sat i did all those, how do i make it work and view my website on the internet? Em sorry but i really dont have any idea on how to do this hosting your own website thingy. I hope you have enough patience for me hehe!

Thanks again.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

The domain is what people use to access the website. For example, tweaktown.com is a domain, as is google.com. You buy a domain and point it to your IP.

I haven't tried ISS or Apache in a while, but you should be able to figure out how to use either one. I have recently used Abyss Web Server and it should od what you need it to while being incredibly easy to use. That's assuming you can't figure out how to use ISS.

So after you buy the domain, point it to your IP, forward port 80 to your IP on your router, all you have to do is get your website setup in the directory that the web server uses and it's online. You just put your index.html (although you can change it to a different file with most web servers, if you want, but the default is index.html) in there and start the server program. You should then be able to access it online. But make sure have the domain set to your IP, not your computer's network IP, and test it with a PC on a different Internet connection.

Of course, I'm assuming you know HTML or are using some sort of program that creates HTML documents by automatically doing the coding for you.

[Mutineer]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

You can use a dyndns address instead of purchasing a domain name. I'm not sure how they handle static IP addresses, whether you have to pay for it or not, but it's definitely worth a shot.

Setting up IIS / Apache is relatively easy too. If you want to get a little more advanced, it's probably worth setting up and learning PHP. There's plenty of info about that at www.php.net if you're interested. If you're unsure of which you want to use, then I'd suggest IIS. It's easier to work with.

The other thing is that you'll need to forward port 80 on your router to redirect it to the IP of your webserver. That way, anytime someone tries to get to the webserver from the internet, the router will know where the request has to go. Check your router manual for that one.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

The other thing is that you'll need to forward port 80 on your router to redirect it to the IP of your webserver. That way, anytime someone tries to get to the webserver from the internet, the router will know where the request has to go. Check your router manual for that one.

I'm pretty sure I said that, twice...

[Mutineer]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

Just covering all bases Yawgy.. ;)

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

I know. ;)

BTW, how do you go about getting the dyndns name? I saw that back when, well, you know...

Never mind, I just did my google thing...

http://www.dyndns.org

[Mutineer]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

Yeah, it's a good little service. As most people have dynamic IP addresses, it's also good to either get a router that supports dyndns updates (most Netgear routers do, as well as some others), or get a small application like DirectUpdate, which will run as a service on your web host machine and automatically update your dyndns entry whenever your external IP address changes, or when you choose to update it.

It can also be used for static addresses that are using a dynamic address account on Dyndns. It will still send in updates, even though your address isn't changing, which helps get around the 30 day limit between dyndns account updates.

[crazysniper22]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

thanks guys, i'll try and diong it now. byt thea way.. do i need to create a virtual directory etc...??

And i got confused.. i thougth i can use the IP 192.168.x.x and not my actual IP? I have already registred with DynDNS and im reading on what to do next hehe!

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

No... I said, you have to use your actual IP for the domain, not the network IP. With the netowrk Ip, it would only work on other machines on the network.

[Mutineer]

Re: Using IIS to host a personal website help!

It's not really a 'domain' as such... but yeah, what he said. I'll see if I can explain it a little better.

In your little home network, there's two 'areas', so to speak. There's all the internal network area, which will have the 192.168.x.x IP range, then there's the external network area, which will be the IP assigned to you by your ISP.

When you set up the webserver, you'll be able to access it internally by using the machine's IP address or computer name (example: 192.168.0.2 or webserver). However, anyone that tries to get to the server will need to enter your external IP address. It's then the router's job (with port forwarding) to take those requests and pass them onto your webserver.

So all you need to do is set up the server, test it out on your network (by using the 192.168.x.x IP address). Then, when it's ready, set up DynDNS to your external IP, set your router to forward all traffic on port 80 to your server, and you'll be set. One thing though, trying to test the DynDNS address from your own network may not work. It's better to get someone else to try it for you. ;)