http server installation and configuration questions

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mxpxrulzz

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 27, 2002
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So i'm a web developer, and I would like to get some more hands on experience with setting up and configuring web servers.

I have run apache (xampp) and iis on my own machine with no problems, but I am looking for a less watered down approach, as I have a computer that is sitting around doing nothing. I am mainly doing this so I can become more familiar with server administration. Basically I have a few questions as to which way I should move forward with this.

1) What is the "best" or "standard" linux distro for apache? Is there even an answer? For example, I don't want to waste my time installing apache on ubuntu if generally the industry uses red hat... etc.

2) Is the most current windows server version 2003? Should I hold off on learning 2003 since 2008 is supposedly releasing soon?

3)what is the best "remote administration" tool? I tried tight vnc but it seemed kind of laggy considering the machine is on the same lan.

4) Would it be possible to install a server administration package such as hsphere or cpanel on my own server? Basically I am trying to get this thing from scratch to as close to a "production" server as possible.

5)any tips? I am planning on dual booting a linux distro and windows server.
 
mxpxrulzz said:
So i'm a web developer, and I would like to get some more hands on experience with setting up and configuring web servers.

I have run apache (xampp) and iis on my own machine with no problems, but I am looking for a less watered down approach, as I have a computer that is sitting around doing nothing. I am mainly doing this so I can become more familiar with server administration. Basically I have a few questions as to which way I should move forward with this.
Click to expand...

1) What is the "best" or "standard" linux distro for apache? Is there even an answer? For example, I don't want to waste my time installing apache on ubuntu if generally the industry uses red hat... etc.
Click to expand...

Red Hat Enterprise is pretty common because it has a company behind it offering support contracts. However, you will find that when it comes to Linux, companies/webhosts tend to use a variety. I have seen servers running on Red Hat 7/9, Red Hat ES 3/4, Debian, CentOS (which is basically Red Hat without the Red Hat name), SuSE Enterprise Server, Slackware, and even Gentoo.

Personally, I use Debian, but I'm not as in tune with the rest of the industry as I only run a server for personal stuff.

2) Is the most current windows server version 2003? Should I hold off on learning 2003 since 2008 is supposedly releasing soon?
Click to expand...

For now, 2003 is the newest. Server 2008 is scheduled for release the end of February. However, don't expect places to just make a quick switch to the new Windows Server. Server 2003 is widely used and I expect that it'll be the case for a while. Plus stuff you learn for 2003 could be carried over to 2008.

3)what is the best "remote administration" tool? I tried tight vnc but it seemed kind of laggy considering the machine is on the same lan.
Click to expand...

I don't run a Windows server, but in Linux I just SSH into the machine. I don't run X windows on my Linux servers.

4) Would it be possible to install a server administration package such as hsphere or cpanel on my own server? Basically I am trying to get this thing from scratch to as close to a "production" server as possible.
Click to expand...

You certainly can, but H-Sphere/Plesk/CPanel are not free and I don't think any of them offer free use of their software. A license for each of them tends to be very expensive, as well.

5)any tips? I am planning on dual booting a linux distro and windows server.
Click to expand...

I quickly got annoyed of dual booting to run testing servers, so I switched to virtualizing my testing servers. If you have the computer resources to do this (and the system in your sig certainly does), I'd suggest you look into this. Use VMWare Server or Virtualbox, both are free. My main OS is Vista (or Red Hat EL 4 when I'm at work) and I run VMWare with multiple Debian and Windows installations at the same time. Really convenient and doesn't require me to reboot to enter a different OS.
 
I agree with much of BillLeeLee's comments.

With the Windows server, Remote Desktop is another viable option for remote administration.

+1 for the VMware idea. The ability to keep one OS from interfering with another plus the "snapshot" ability of VMware Server can both be huge time savers as you experiment/learn/break/repair ;)
 
Thanks BillLeeLee...

Is there anywhere I can download red hat enterprise from or do you have to pay for it?

And are there any good virtualzation tuorials or information, this sounds like something I am definitely imterested in. Before I would run apache on one port and iis on another but tis sounds even better.
 
mxpxrulzz said:
Thanks BillLeeLee...

Is there anywhere I can download red hat enterprise from or do you have to pay for it?

And are there any good virtualzation tuorials or information, this sounds like something I am definitely imterested in. Before I would run apache on one port and iis on another but tis sounds even better.
Click to expand...

Just grab CentOS 5;

From personal experience, and as others say...http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=551807

Debian would work out as well, the main difference is the use of apt-get a very nice package manager. However I still prefer CentOS myself because I custom compile programs.

Everytime it's asked I see CentOS recommended for beginners in the web hosting industry.
 
mxpxrulzz said:
Thanks BillLeeLee...

Is there anywhere I can download red hat enterprise from or do you have to pay for it?

And are there any good virtualzation tuorials or information, this sounds like something I am definitely imterested in. Before I would run apache on one port and iis on another but tis sounds even better.
Click to expand...

Red Hat provides the source code for Red Hat EL, but no binaries for free. They give me a license at work, which is why I can download Red Hat ES isos.

However, like I have said and the above poster has said, just download CentOS, which is built from the Red Hat sources, so it is just Red Hat without the name. I use it at work since Red Hat comes on multiple CDs, but you can get CentOS as one single DVD, and it is free!

www.centos.org

Virtualization:

Information:
http://vmware.com/virtualization/

Software:
Innotek VirtualBox
or
VMware Server

It should be pretty intuitive using either software package, but both sites also have documentation if you have trouble. I didn't need a tutorial when I originally ran VMWare Server, and I thought to myself "Wow, this is easy to use, why didn't I try this before?"
 
awesome!

I jumped the gun and found fedora, and started the installation, but this seems more desktop orientated correct?
 
mxpxrulzz said:
awesome!

I jumped the gun and found fedora, and started the installation, but this seems more desktop orientated correct?
Click to expand...

Fedora is the testing environment for the Red Hat distribution. It's community supported and is more cutting edge than Red Hat, it can be used for desktop or server. I have used Fedora for may 2 days out of my experience with Linux.

mxpxrulzz said:
these are the stats of my server :

1 gb pc 3200 ddr
athlon 2500+
(2) 40gb hdds
nvidia vanta 16mb graphics card :p


would it better for me to run 2003 and virtualize centos or vice versa?
Click to expand...

I'd install Windows 2003 and virtualize CentOS. With CentOS, you don't have to install a GUI since Linux servers are typically managed from the command line.
 
mxpxrulzz said:
So i'm a web developer, and I would like to get some more hands on experience with setting up and configuring web servers.

1) What is the "best" or "standard" linux distro for apache? Is there even an answer? For example, I don't want to waste my time installing apache on ubuntu if generally the industry uses red hat... etc.
Click to expand...

for web serving I use SUSE 10.3 myself, but I believe RHEL and CentOS are more suited for this. It depends on how much command line experience you have or are willing to learn. SUSE can pretty much be setup using just the GUI.

2) Is the most current windows server version 2003? Should I hold off on learning 2003 since 2008 is supposedly releasing soon?
Click to expand...

Yes, no.

3)what is the best "remote administration" tool? I tried tight vnc but it seemed kind of laggy considering the machine is on the same lan.
Click to expand...

Try UltraVNC, or if pure windows just use Remote Desktop
4) Would it be possible to install a server administration package such as hsphere or cpanel on my own server? Basically I am trying to get this thing from scratch to as close to a "production" server as possible.
Click to expand...

can't help ya there, sorry

5)any tips? I am planning on dual booting a linux distro and windows server.
Click to expand...
Also install a database server and scripting language support. No webserver is complete without those nowadays.
 
joshua13 said:
Never heard of it, I believe webmin is the most popular among free control panels. Let us know how it works out :)
Click to expand...

thanks for the reccomendation, ispconfig was kind of a bitch to install but webmin was easy as pie.

currently playing around with centos... now if only i get it to be seen by the outside :(
 
yeah, even tried forwarding everything and putting it into the "dmz" but it still redirects to the web administration of the router.

Buffalo wireless-g airstation if anyone has anything similar.

I tried rebooting it and even updating the firmware.
 
Maybe the Router's web-admin is set to work on port 80, change it to something else.
 
Cobalt2112 said:
Maybe the Router's web-admin is set to work on port 80, change it to something else.
Click to expand...
nope... manually set web config to run on port 1000 and it still brings up the login box everytime i type in the external ip.

any trustworthy router guru want to log into my router and try to forward everything to 192.168.11.100 ? :D
 
Also make sure the server itself allows incoming port 80. If the firewall is enabled, then port 80 may be blocked on the server.
 
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