Apache web server software will allow your computer to act as a web server. The software runs on almost any operating system and is free. Apache is the most popular web server on the Internet Currently, 65% of all web sites on the Internet are being hosted by Apache web server software. http://www.apache.org/


The first step to installing Apache web server software is to obtain the software from Apache here http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/binaries/win32/

Once you have downloaded the software, run the installer (.exe)

a. After opening the installer, you will see a welcome screen to the installation wizard. Click next.

b. You will be prompted to read and agree to the license agreement. Accept and click the next button.

c. Next you will be presented with the Apache "read me" information. This document contains important information.

d. Configuration: next you will be prompted to enter configuration information. Enter the following information replacing your_domain.com with your desired domain name.

Network Domain: your_domain.com
Server Name: www.your_domain.com
Administrator's Email Address: your-name@ your_domain.com

Then select the "next" button.

Important note about Network Domain and Domain Names. Later we will be discussing domain names in greater detail.

• If you already own a domain name that you plan on hosting, it is a good idea to enter the information above.
  
  
• If you are hosting more than one domain on your server, enter the primary domain information (the domain you wish your website to default to).
  
  
• If you do not own a domain name, use a fake name like "mydomain.com". We can change this information later. We will discuss domain names and domain name registration later on in this tutorial.

e. Next you will be prompted to select a "Setup Type". Choose "Typical" and select next.

f. You will be given the option to change the installation directory of Apache. It is a good idea to keep this option as the default: C:\Program Files\Apache Group\
Select the next button.

g. Finally you will be prompted to "Install" Apache. Select the "Install" button and wait for Apache to complete it's installation.

h. After some time, you will be notified that Apache has completed the installation. Select the finish button.

Done! Well almost.

Let's check our installation to see if Apache is working properly. We'll configure the home page and root directory later.

Open your web browser and point the web address to http://localhost

You should see a screen something like this:

Note: http://localhost will only work on the computer running web server software.

If you are running Windows 2000 Professional on your computer you can install Microsoft's web server, Internet Information Server (IIS) for free from the Windows 2000 Pro installation CD and configure it to run on your system by following the instructions below: -

1. Place the Windows 2000 Professional CD-Rom into your CD-Rom Drive.

2. Open 'Add/Remove Windows Components' found in 'Add/Remove Programs' in the 'Control Panel'.

3. Place a tick in the check box for 'Internet Information Services (IIS)' leaving all the default installation settings intact.

4. Once IIS is installed on your machine you can configure IIS through the 'Personal Web Manager' found in the 'Administration Tools' in the 'Control Panel'.

5. Double-click on the 'Personal Web Manager' icon.

6. Once the Personal Web Manager is open you will see the Main dialog box were it will show your home page and home directory default values. Where the home page is shown below as 'http://My_Computer', will be 'http://' followed by the name of your computer. Clicking on each of these values will open your home page in your default web browser or open the default home directory in Windows Explorer.

7. To view your home page in a web browser type 'http://localhost' (you can substitute 'localhost' for the name of your computer) into the address bar of your web browser. If you are not sure of the name of your computer right-click on the 'My Computer' icon on your desktop, select 'Properties' from the shortcut menu, and click on the 'Network Identification' tab.

8. Until you place your own web site in the default directory for the web servers home page you should now be looking at the documentation for IIS.

9. To place your own web site in place of the IIS documentation in your home page you need to place your own web page in the 'c:\inetpub\wwwroot' directory making sure the page is called Default.htm or Default.asp. Now when you type 'http:// followed by your computer name', into your web browser you should see your own home page.