How to Convert a Computer Into a Web Hosting Server
Virtually any modern computer can be turned into a web server. One of the most popular web server configurations is LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP), which uses the Linux operating system, Apache web server, MySQL database server and the PHP web development language. The free openSUSE Linux distribution is bundled with all of these tools, plus many more useful web server and development packages, such as Ruby on Rails, Java, and Perl. The installation is straightforward, and automatically installs and configures a web server for you.
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Instructions
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Install openSUSE Linux
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1
Place the openSUSE DVD in the DVD reader and reboot the computer.
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2
Select "Installation" on the "openSUSE Installer" window. The installer initializes, which may take several minutes.
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3
Select the desired language and keyboard layout and read the License Agreement on the "Welcome" screen. Click "Next." The installer will analyze the system configuration.
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4
Select "New Installation" and "Use Automatic Configuration" on the "Installation Mode" screen. Click "Next."
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5
Select the Region and Time Zone for your area. Check that the correct time is displayed. Click "Next."
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6
Select "KDE Desktop" (unless you prefer Gnome) on the "Desktop Selection" screen. Click "Next."
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7
Click "Next" on the "Suggested Partitioning" screen to accept the suggested partitioning, which will work for most users.
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8
Fill in your user information on the "Create New User" screen. Leave "Use this password for system administrator" checked. Uncheck "Automatic Login." Click "Next."
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Click the "Software" heading on the "Installation Settings" screen. Under "Desktop Functions" uncheck all the categories so that no desktop software is installed. Under "Server Functions" check the "Web and LAMP Server" to install the web server software. Under "Development" check "Web Development" and any other development tools you want available on the server. Click "OK" to return to "Installation Settings."
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Scroll down to the bottom of the list to the "Firewall and SSH" section. Click "disable" next to the Firewall option.
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Review the information on the "Installation Settings" screen and click "Install." Click "Install" on the confirmation window to start the installation. Installation will take approximately 20 minutes, depending on the speed of the computer. When complete, the system will start up the desktop.
Start and Enable the Servers
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12
Open the "Kickoff Application Launcher" on the task bar. Click the "YaST icon in the "Computer" section. The "YaST Control Center" launches.
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Click the "System" section on the left side of the window. Click the "System Services (runlevel)" icon on the right side of the window. The "System Services" window opens.
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Click on "apache2" in the "Service" column. Click the "Enable" button to start the Apache web server and configure it to start up with the system. Click the "OK" button to close the message window.
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Repeat starting and enabling for the mysql (MySQL database server) and sshd (SSH server) services.
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Click "OK" and answer "Yes" to the message that pops up.
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Click the "Network" section on the left and the "HTTP Server" on the right to start the Apache web server configuration wizard. Refer to the Help and online documentation for information on customizing Apache for your needs.
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Tips & Warnings
For best results, remove all disk partitions before installing openSUSE.
Set up the web server to automatically serve content from users' public_html directory by enabling the mod_userdir module. Provide customized web addresses for multiple sites using Apache's virtual hosting capabilities.
