hi

i have been a linux desktop user for quite some time now.

i have decide to create a host server as a personal fun project
i even have a old separate machine on which i will be doing all the experiments.

the specifications of the machine are:

intel P4 1.4 Ghz processor
intel D915GAV board.
1 gb ddr ram.

i guess it is a pretty low-end machine. do i need to upgrade it?
since the server will be on for quite some time,will the default cooling be enough?or will i have to install external cooling devices?

that was the hardware part. now for the software.

i am not sure yet which distro to use as the OS
i will be using the server as a ftp server as well as for hosting a website on it.
from what i have understood until now i think a LAMP server would be ideal for me. i have googled and came across the following links:

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ubuntu-710...ver-setup.html
http://www.diywebserver.com/

are there any more good tutorials or FAQs on the subject?
i would be glad on receiving any kind of help.

thanks.

I wouldn't call your machine low end by any means. Many new machines are being sold with similar specs. A machine like that could be used as a web server and support interactive use at the same time assuming that you are talking about serving web services to a local LAN.

If you use OpenSuSE then you can set the whole thing up in the administrative gui. Just go to network services and click on web server and follow the prompts. Default values will probably work fine. Then make sure that your firewall allows inbound HTTP connect requests by opening port 80. Then all you have to do is create the web pages and put them in the right location.

Ubuntu may be a little bit more challenging only because if you have implemented a firewall then the firewall front end software (Shorewall, Firehol, or whatever you used) is not as easy to configure as OpenSuSE's administrative gui to control the SuSE Firewall configuration.

I've never used Fedora. I gave up on Red Hat many years ago. There are simply too many distros that are much much better than Red Hat software for me to spend time using Red Hat.

All in all the whole thing should be easy to start up. The larger challenge may be to create good web pages.

There are probably lots of tutorials on line. Just go to google.com and search for

for cooling, maybe an AC room would be enough? (are you in India?)

any current Linux will let you run apache and perl and php and mysql (in fedora you turn them on using "ntsysv"). to put your server on the net you'll have to either get a static IP from your ISP, or, if not, then use dyndns.org or the like to point domain names at your server.

what're you actually going to be serving, anyway?

@stress_junkie

thanks for your help. i will definitely install either OpenSuse or ubuntu in my server.

@resetreset

yes i am from india.

i came to know about dyndns.org and am thinking of using it. i have a question though: which will prove more reliable? static ip or dyndns?

i havnt really zeroed in on anything particular yet. i am thinking about using it as an ftp server which seems to be simpler to configure. i think i will give hosting web pages a shot too. thanks for your input guys.

Before you get this set up and running, please spend a bit of time planning out your security. Having a server connected 24/7 means that people can take a crack at it 24/7 and if my logs are any indication, they do. Plan now so you know what to do if the worst occurs. There is some excellent information in the sticky threads at the top of the Security forum if you're looking for a place to start.