gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 I am looking for a good web server for windows. I would like it to support PHP and multiple web sites. Any recomendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Hi gooberpea33,AnalogX's SimpleServer:WWW looks like it can fulfill your request - it's very simple (I don't think you could find one simpler to use)...and it's FREE! :)You might also look at AnalogX's PHPConfig application for more easily configuring PHP (with a GUI).Wes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 does it support security also? I need one that would be safe for credit card numbers, for business purposes. I have tried the web server that came with windows 2000 advanced server OS, but it won't work on anything but my local network, I don't know why. I also tried using the FTP server that came with windows 200 AS, and it didn't seem to have enough options, so I scarpped that and used bulletproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Apache. It's one of the most widely-used webservers on the 'Net, and it's open-source, so it's free :)Apache is built for PHP. For sucure online credit usage, you'll need an SSL certificate (yes, you can use that with Apache), which costs somewhere around a few bucks a month (under $10, I think) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 I got apache, and all the settings are in a notepad, and there is no GUI, it got me too confused, but if someone else wants to get that apache file configured for me, I will apreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 If you are wanting a business class web server, then I agree with epp_b about going with Apache. Also, Webmin is a popular web-based (GUI) interface for system administration for Unix, Linux, Apache, etc. You can get an idea of what it looks like by viewing several screen shots here.There's also a full-featured, Java-based Apache GUI application called NetLooney which is open-source (GPL), so it's free.Wes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 If I use Apache, I will be using it on a windows computer. Is there any other good web servers out there besides Apache? A friend told me Frontpage was a web server, is that true? If so, is it secure and support PHP and multiple sites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 FrontPage is just a WYSIWYG web page authoring tool - not a web server. You've already tried one of the easiest web servers out there (and with lot's of GUI-ness), IIS (which is what comes with Windows 2000 Advanced Server)...but you had problems with it.If you want/need something even easier than what MS has to offer...I can only think of Sun's Cobalt Servers. Maybe you should buy one of these "plug-and-play" web servers.Either way, I'd say you need to educate yourself further. ;)Good luck!Wes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 To learn all the ins and outs of installing and configuring Apache, etc.:Dev Shed: The Soothingly Seamless Setup of Apache, SSL, MySQL, and PHPAlso, there is a combined installer for the Windows version of Apache/PHP/MySQL if you find the normal method of installation a bit much:Apache, PHP4 and MySQL for Win95/98/ME and now updated for XPOnce you get it up and running, you might want to have something cool to run on it:WebAPP - Your World, Your WayEnjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 So, the web server that comes with windows is good? Will it do everything I need? why can't I access it from outside of my network? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 I think I might wind up using Apache after all, I found a few gui's for apache, I just never thought of getting a separate program to make Apache easier. So, I will download as many as I can find and then test them out on my server!! I have only found 2, but if anyone wants to help in the search, then lets go!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 How are you trying to access IIS from outside your network? Please tell us your setup including firewall configurations, IP addressing, Internet connection, and whether you've put a default page in the IIS document root folder. Don't rely on the localstart.asp page to work properly outside your internal network. There are security settings that won't let that file get displayed beyond your local host. Apache is not fully production stable on Windows nor is it designed to work with SSL in Windows: however you can still set password protected directories, but that is not the same as SSL/secure web site. Only IIS will have full SSL capabilities in Windows. If you want to use Apache with SSL you must use a Linux host. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 So, I need to figure out how to get my site on the other side of the router, by using the windows IIS web server. I wasn't using the page that the web server comes with, I was using my own, sample web page. I had the main page as "index.htm". And I had a few friends try to access the page, thats how I know it wasn't working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Well, this is a little problem but very fixable. By default, IIS doesn't recognize index.htm as a default file: it only specifies Default.htm and the .asp files. You will need to add index.htm as the one of the recognized files. Do the following:Go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Internet Services Manager. Drill down to your Default Web Site. Right-click on it and select Properties. From there go to the Documents tab. Click the Add button in the Enable Default Document section and add index.htm. Or simply rename index.htm to Default.htm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Did you open port 80 on your router? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 I already had index.htm added, thats what made the test site work. And I do have port 80 routed to my server. So the problem lies somewhere within my server. Is it ok that I am using separate FTP software? I didn't fell that the windows FTP server has enough features. And I have previously used Bulletproof, so I already know how to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 IIS 5 does not need FTP from MS. So it really does not matter. I use WinSCP3 from http://winscp.sourceforge.net. Secure and free!When IIS is configured properly, you should be able to type in http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ (The address of your router) and your web page should display. I don't need to specify my default.htm to view my top page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 Well, what am I configuring improperly? Like I said, I can view my site locally, but not past my router. Are there some kind of settings that only allow local computers to connect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 I'll check my IIS 5 Sunday morning and look for possible mis-configuration areas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 BTW: What kind of router are you using? And are you also using a personal software firewall (like ZoneAlarm) on this computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 When IIS is configured properly, you should be able to type in http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ (The address of your router) and your web page should display. I don't need to specify my default.htm to view my top page.Well,not all routers will let you do that from your local machine. You would need an external network connection to test that. On the Linksys routers doing that, that is typing in the WAN IP address assigned by your ISP, will crash the router and force you to reset it.If your router has logging capabilities you might want to see if it is dropping packets from outside the local network. Also, install a packet capturing tool like Ethereal to see what is happening on the network interface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 I do have a linksys router, but doing that doesn't crash it, it just won't connect, because it can't connect to itself. I have to type in the IP address of my server, for local access. I am almost positive the problem is not in my router, even though that would be the most logical answer to my problem. No, I am not using a firewall on my server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ThunderRiver Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 If you use Apache with PHP, I recommend Linux as the server. Apache for Windows works with PHP, but it hs bottleneck, and that's the main reason why this forum has moved from a Windows server to Linux server.Linksys router should support loopback feature, otherwise, you should look into their web site and see if there is such an update. Even Microsoft wireless base station router supports loopback in the newest kernel update.You need to enable port forwarding, so that port 80 will be forwarded to your server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 I got the windows server working!!!! It was a setting on the server!!! It said something about a host, and I had the IP address typed in that box, I typed in the DNS name instead, and now it works!!! So, is this windows server gonna do everything I need it to? I tested it using a proxy server, so my computer did loop back. I connected through another computer outside of my network and it sent me back to my network!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Way to go gooberpea33! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Congrats Gooberpea!How much PHP are you planning to use? ThunderRiver is correct in that using PHP and IIS is not going to be a great solution in the long term. The main issue will be performance. PHP can run as either a CGI application or an ISAPI module (IIS will use a PHP .dll version.) Now, here's the interesting thing: installing PHP as an ISAPI module will make parsing PHP tags faster and use less resources. Unfortunately, it is not considered production quality stable by the PHP development team. If PHP crashes, it will take down IIS with it and force you to restart the web server. On the other hand, using CGI as a PHP executable is quite stable. The only problem with CGI, on any platform, is that each time you call the CGI app you create a new process. Now imagine multiple hits within a short period of time and you can see your web server will be constantly busy. You could use Apache on Windows, but it only supports PHP as an ISAPI module and you cannot use Apache for secure web sites in Windows. Your choice is clear: Linux! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilson Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 I have Windows XP with Apache 2.0.47 and PHP 4.3.4RC2. PHP is installed as an Apache module, and port 80 is open on my firewall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooberpea33 Posted October 27, 2003 Author Share Posted October 27, 2003 Well I really don't feel like putting linux on my server, because my server does so much, and I wouldn't know how to set it up for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilson Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I think you really should be using Apache instead of IIS. It really is easy to set up Apache, PHP, and even a MySQL database, despite how complex the sites may look.http://httpd.apache.org/ - get Apache 2.0.47http://www.php.net/ - get PHP 4.3.3 or 4.3.4RC2Install Apache in C:\server\Apache2\Unzip PHP in C:\server\PHP\Copy C:\server\PHP\php4ts.dll to C:\server\PHP\sapi\Copy C:\server\PHP\php.ini-recommended to C:\Windows\ and rename it to php.iniAdd the following lines: #Add in the Php4 moduleLoadModule php4_module C:/server/PHP/sapi/php4apache2.dllAddType application/x-httpd-php .php to C:\server\Apache2\conf\http.confGo through C:\Windows\php.ini and configure a few things.'Then you can restart Apache, and you should have a working Apache2/PHP server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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