Web hosting on Win XP Pro

[niggles]

I had a conversation with a guy who said it was possible to use Windows XP Pro to host a web site. Is that true, can Windows XP pro be used to host a web site? If it can does anyone have a FAQ they can point me to?

 

[Crusty]

You can use IIS for up to 10 concurrent users, or you can install Apache which is a full fledged webserver.

 

[niggles]

He was saying Win XP pro could do it by itself. I thought Apache ran on Win 2000/NT. I know XP Pro is the heir to Win 2000, but Can it run on XP pro?

 

[Crusty]

IIS is part of XP Pro, and Apache will run all sorts of OS'... not even close to being limited to only Win2k/NT

 

[niggles]

Ahh, I get it, thanks. Don't suppose you know of any friendly places to get info on IIS?

Edit: actually never mind, I've found something, thanks though. I'm not sure how this is going to work if I have a router in front of the box, but I'm hoping I can figure that out. If not you might see me back here.

 

[Crusty]

All you have to do is forward port 80 on the router to your computer.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Originally posted by: niggles
Ahh, I get it, thanks. Don't suppose you know of any friendly places to get info on IIS?

Edit: actually never mind, I've found something, thanks though. I'm not sure how this is going to work if I have a router in front of the box, but I'm hoping I can figure that out. If not you might see me back here.

open control panel. go to add / remove programs; click on the add / remove windows components button; click on IIS then click details. make sure world wide web service is checked.

if you dont have administration tools in your start menu, right click on the start button, choose properties, click the start menu tab, click customize, click the advanced tab and put a check next to 'Display on the all programs menu' for administration tool.

now you should have that folder in the start menu and youll find IIS in there.

 

[Varun]

Originally posted by: niggles
Ahh, I get it, thanks. Don't suppose you know of any friendly places to get info on IIS?

Edit: actually never mind, I've found something, thanks though. I'm not sure how this is going to work if I have a router in front of the box, but I'm hoping I can figure that out. If not you might see me back here.

Check the Windows Help Files (Yes the are usefull!)

 

[djdrastic]

Just a tip , keep that boxed patched regularly , guard that computer like a hawk , and make sure that you read some IIS 5.X documentation . There are quite a number of things you can do to secure your install

 

[Canterwood]

You can also run the IIS Lockdown Tool, which can help secure your system better. 🙂

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: Canterwood
You can also run the IIS Lockdown Tool, which can help secure your system better. 🙂

great stuff guys, thanks. Anyone else have any thoughts on how to keep this secure? Is it really that unsecure, to the point of being a bad idea?

 

[bdoople]

I love Apache. I would recommend you use it.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: niggles

Originally posted by: Canterwood
You can also run the IIS Lockdown Tool, which can help secure your system better. 🙂

great stuff guys, thanks. Anyone else have any thoughts on how to keep this secure? Is it really that unsecure, to the point of being a bad idea?

I would only use IIS if you have a pressing need for ASP pages. Otherwise, go with apache all the way.

 

[JackMDS]

If you would like to host you need to "Sit" on the Internet.

This page might help, http://www.ezlan.net/myip.html

Good source for IIS, http://www.iis-resources.com

:sun:

 

[djdrastic]

It's not that bad . As long as you patch the box everyday , use IIS LockDown tool and enable logging on the box.Review logs daily

 

[DasFox]

niggles don't host a site on XP that's insane, or else you better get yourself one nice hardware router, now this is of course if you are concerned about the site and security. If this site isn't really important or your hardware then it's not going to matter. But if security and safety are a concern in any way, then a Unix based OS or Linux is the way to go.

Unix are the best when it comes to servers. If your really into doing it right one day, learn FreeBSD:

http://www.freebsd.org/

Of course there's alot more then just FreeBSD but it's probably the most widely used server powering the Web. 🙂