View Full Version : DSL Web Server
I know that many are totally against running a personal web server, however, since I am not looking to make money on the site, the uptime and maintenance issues are not a big concern.
Anyway, I am testing the server, mainly the connection, with a domain name that I just sort of have laying around and I would appreciate it if some of you could visit the site and just let me know how the speed of the connection was.
I have a quick little poll on the site for your ratings and comments. Also, if you try to visit it and the site has crashed, I would appreciate comments in this forum to that effect. I have been having a glitch with Apache that I hope has been solved.
Thank you in advance.
http://www.arizonalawenforcement.com
Az Law
BerksWebGuy
6-6-05, 08:05 PM
There's nothing wrong with having a personal web server. They are a great way to learn alot of things. Just stick to a unix based OS. ;)
Usually, I don't recommend doing it.
If you know the risks associated with it, maybe you don't think about doing it.
So, if someone is attracted by the idea, I tend to think that person doesn't know well about the risks
nor how to do it correctly. :)
And your URL is showing wrong "Location" header for the redirect .....
Also, it tells me you are running Windows and PHP ....
By advertising the URL here in the Forum, you may get some of DDOS traffic, too.
Who knows?
You will get spider traffic, for sure.
####### Checking http://www.arizonalawenforcement.com/ #########
71.36.112.189 www.arizonalawenforcement.com
----- Request header -------
GET / HTTP/1.0
Host: www.arizonalawenforcement.com
<<<<<<
------ Response header --------
HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2005 23:10:48 GMT
Server: Apache/2.0.54 (Win32) PHP/4.3.11
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.3.11
location: news.php
Content-Length: 0
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1<<<<<<
------ data --------
<<<<<<
1.36390900612 seconds total, 0.679911136627 seconds sending request
The main page took only 1.1465 second.
Performance wise, it's pretty quick, so far. :)
Oh, another thing.
Some DSL provider prohibit setting up a server.
Check the TOS or AUP or whatever.
Many of them allow only very limited bandwidth, too.
####### Checking http://www.arizonalawenforcement.com/news.php #########
71.36.112.189 www.arizonalawenforcement.com
----- Request header -------
GET /news.php HTTP/1.0
Host: www.arizonalawenforcement.com
<<<<<<
------ Response header --------
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2005 23:22:25 GMT
Server: Apache/2.0.54 (Win32) PHP/4.3.11
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.3.11
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1<<<<<<
------ data --------
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='iso-8859-1' ?><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Arizona Law Enforcement: News</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="e107_files/e107.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="e107_themes/X-Voodoo/style.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel='stylesheet' href='e107_files/style.css' type="text/css" />
... snip
<div style='text-align:center' class='smalltext'>Render time: 0.1208 second(s). </div></body>
</html>
<<<<<<
1.14654898643 seconds total, 0.161900997162 seconds sending request
I think setting up a server is a great idea for testing purposes.
BUT! I would only ever have it accessable to the local network, never open to the internet - it just opens too many holes. I run a server on my own machine for development and testing before uploading to PowWeb but I don't allow my router to let anyone outside of my "intranet" see it or have access to it.
Thanks for all the comments, I pretty much expected them. I know the risks, but there is really only so much they can do. Perhaps I am fooling myself, but the content management system that I use automatically bans any IP that floods the site. I have tested it and it works very well. I am also running Black Ice as a second measure of security.
I also am of the opinion that the worst someone can do is either crash the site or the computer. I can live with either of those. There is nothing on the computer to "steal" and if they somehow actually managed to kill the whole computer then I guess that would be my lesson learned.
Yes, the site is running on a windows system with Apache. It is behind a wireless router and a dsl modem. I am not sure I get what was said about the wrong location in the header? As for the DSL provider, it is Qwest and they actually have instructions on their site on how to open and route the ports for a server.
Thanks again
YvetteKuhns
6-7-05, 01:52 PM
I am both surprised and impressed that your DSL provider allows and supports your running a server from home. This policy may change. I don't think my provider allows it.
Though you may not be too concerned with the hassle of attacks, downtime and possible crashes, you may want to make it easier on yourself and run Apache server on a nonWindows platform.
Render time: 0.1270 second(s) on a cable modem according to your web page, but it was actually a few seconds. Other pages were faster, but there are not alot of contents yet.
I know other people who host their own websites. That is too much extra work for ME. ;) It's fine until a problem arises. But if you are willing to try it and your ISP doesn't object, that's fine.
I clicked the banner and it took longer for that page to load. It has more contents. The dialup Internet users may have a few complaints for that page.
I would like to run the server on linux rather than windows, however, I am pretty proficient with windows and I have never even used linux before. My worry is that it will take me too long to figure it all out.
Also, for anyone who is curious, the Qwest website has the following listed in the DSL FAQ section:
I have an FTP or Web server on my network. How can I make it available to users on the Internet?
For a Web server, you'll need to enable port forwarding for port 80 to the IP address of your server. (It's recommended to configure your server to use a static IP address.)
For your FTP server, you'll need to enable port forwarding for port 21 to the IP address of your server. (It's recommended to configure your server to use a static IP address.)
Located here: http://www.qwest.com/internet/dslhelp/faqs.html
I assume that since they tell you how to do it, they don't mind if you do.
YvetteKuhns
6-7-05, 02:35 PM
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1149429,00.asp
Build-It: Home Linux Server and Services Configuration
I know the risks, but there is really only so much they can do.
I don't think you are fully aware of risks.
Bad people can take total control of your box without letting you know of it
and use it to harm others including the visitors of your site by infecting/tricking them.
It's just like an airplane. Crashing is bad enough.
But it can be hijacked and used for harming more people.
Although I don't think the probabliliy is very high, maybe you should avoid adding more risks
like using PHP based CMS.
Moreover, why don't you just use PowWeb account?
PowWeb isn't totally secure, either.
But you have someone to blame in case something bad happens.
With the DSL server, you'll get all the blame and responsibilities.
Something else to consider is running costs.
One of the reasons I chose to host with PowWeb was because it would cost me more in electricity bills to have my own box running 24/7 than it would to simply pay out for a reliable host.
I am both surprised and impressed that your DSL provider allows and supports your running a server from home. This policy may change. I don't think my provider allows it.
Mine (Comcast) does. Port 80 was blocked on Verizon which was my last ISP. I havn't checked the TOS though, so I could be breaking it. Oh well. It's been a few months and lots of traffic with no complaints.
I do have a Powweb account, this is more or less just for fun. The CMS thing is also just a temporary thing in order to see how the connection performed. The site will most likely end up being a small site used mainly for tinkering. As for the electricity thing, I don't see it costing much to run a computer all day long. My refrigerator is using a heck of alot more power than a 1.8 ghz computer will.
Anyway, I do appreciate all your comments. I will be taking the site down shortly to tinker with Linux.
Thanks
YvetteKuhns
6-7-05, 05:43 PM
There are lots of resources on the Internet for Linux servers. Since you are only using that box for a server, you won't have to worry about drivers, but you may have difficulty getting an Internet connection. Perhaps your ISP does support Linux and will help you. Most only support Windows and sometimes Mac.
Good luck!
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