Hi, I''ve been learning about building Rails apps for about 8 months but I don''t really know how servers work or how to build a server. I have an old 450 GHz Pentium computer I can play with. Since I use OS X, I was thinking about installing a BSD system and trying to make a MySQL/Rails server. That is about all I know about servers. How does a server in my house get connected to the actual internet? I suppose I would need a fixed IP and a special connection (not cable modem?). Can I just connect the server to my router and surf to it from my Mac? Any pointers about where I can learn this stuff? Thanks, Peter
Peter, I just did a presentation on this for the Orlando Ruby Users Group (of which I am a part). You can get the powerpoint here: http://www.orug.org/. I created a test server using Ubuntu and it took about 15 minutes to get going (on an Athlong system with 512 MB RAM). Check it out and post any other questions. Good luck. - Robert Dempsey Peter Michaux wrote:> Hi, > > I''ve been learning about building Rails apps for about 8 months but I > don''t really know how servers work or how to build a server. I have an > old 450 GHz Pentium computer I can play with. Since I use OS X, I was > thinking about installing a BSD system and trying to make a > MySQL/Rails server. That is about all I know about servers. > > How does a server in my house get connected to the actual internet? I > suppose I would need a fixed IP and a special connection (not cable > modem?). Can I just connect the server to my router and surf to it > from my Mac? > > Any pointers about where I can learn this stuff? > > Thanks, > Peter-- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
Hi Robert, Thanks for the reply. Your presentation is what I am looking for but a little fast for me. I''m sure you fleshed out the details in real life. You talk about installing the OS, SVN, Ruby, Rails, Lighty. I understand the basic ideas behind this stuff. What I am wondering about more is how you physically wire all this stuff together and make it so that multiple people can actually access the server''s svn repository and view the websites that are on the server. This could be for a household network with a router or for the real world with the internet. For the world case, I don''t even know what kind of wire/ISP service would have to come from the outside world to my house. I''m sure it is a bit expensive. Thanks, Peter On 5/18/06, Robert Dempsey <rdempsey@techcfl.com> wrote:> Peter, > > I just did a presentation on this for the Orlando Ruby Users Group (of > which I am a part). You can get the powerpoint here: > http://www.orug.org/. I created a test server using Ubuntu and it took > about 15 minutes to get going (on an Athlong system with 512 MB RAM). > Check it out and post any other questions. Good luck. > > - Robert Dempsey > > Peter Michaux wrote: > > Hi, > > > > I''ve been learning about building Rails apps for about 8 months but I > > don''t really know how servers work or how to build a server. I have an > > old 450 GHz Pentium computer I can play with. Since I use OS X, I was > > thinking about installing a BSD system and trying to make a > > MySQL/Rails server. That is about all I know about servers. > > > > How does a server in my house get connected to the actual internet? I > > suppose I would need a fixed IP and a special connection (not cable > > modem?). Can I just connect the server to my router and surf to it > > from my Mac? > > > > Any pointers about where I can learn this stuff? > > > > Thanks, > > Peter > > > -- > Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
Peter, First, I have a cable connection (remember this is just a demo server) with a static IP address. Behind my cable modem I have a firewall that I have configured to allow access to the server. I am a special case as I have multiple servers behind my firewall and have some interesting routing rules for that, but I digress. So, I have a few domain names that then point to my static IP address and I server demo pages via that. This is good for a demo server or something to just have fun with. There are online services though for actual deployment such as Text Drive. There are also online subversion services. I wanted to test out cron jobs and the like so I built my own server. I hope that answers your questions; if not, let me know. Again, good luck! - Robert Dempsey http://www.techcfl.com -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
If you are behind a router, just configure your router to forward the ports you need to be public. People will be able to access your server from the outside by accessing your router''s public IP address, which you can figure out by going to a site like whatismyip.com on a machine behind the same router. As for accessing the server from within your network, you can feel free to use the LAN address (starts with a 192 usually) which you can find by invoking the ifconfig command logged into your server''s shell. Using the LAN address only works within your network, but you can use nonforwarded ports and ensure that your traffic is remaining within your network. Nothing special is needed when it comes to wiring, just plug it into your router like your other machine(s). Zack On 5/18/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com> wrote:> > Hi Robert, > > Thanks for the reply. > > Your presentation is what I am looking for but a little fast for me. > I''m sure you fleshed out the details in real life. You talk about > installing the OS, SVN, Ruby, Rails, Lighty. I understand the basic > ideas behind this stuff. > > What I am wondering about more is how you physically wire all this > stuff together and make it so that multiple people can actually access > the server''s svn repository and view the websites that are on the > server. This could be for a household network with a router or for the > real world with the internet. For the world case, I don''t even know > what kind of wire/ISP service would have to come from the outside > world to my house. I''m sure it is a bit expensive. > > Thanks, > Peter > > On 5/18/06, Robert Dempsey <rdempsey@techcfl.com> wrote: > > Peter, > > > > I just did a presentation on this for the Orlando Ruby Users Group (of > > which I am a part). You can get the powerpoint here: > > http://www.orug.org/. I created a test server using Ubuntu and it took > > about 15 minutes to get going (on an Athlong system with 512 MB RAM). > > Check it out and post any other questions. Good luck. > > > > - Robert Dempsey > > > > Peter Michaux wrote: > > > Hi, > > > > > > I''ve been learning about building Rails apps for about 8 months but I > > > don''t really know how servers work or how to build a server. I have an > > > old 450 GHz Pentium computer I can play with. Since I use OS X, I was > > > thinking about installing a BSD system and trying to make a > > > MySQL/Rails server. That is about all I know about servers. > > > > > > How does a server in my house get connected to the actual internet? I > > > suppose I would need a fixed IP and a special connection (not cable > > > modem?). Can I just connect the server to my router and surf to it > > > from my Mac? > > > > > > Any pointers about where I can learn this stuff? > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Peter > > > > > > -- > > Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. > > _______________________________________________ > > Rails mailing list > > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://wrath.rubyonrails.org/pipermail/rails/attachments/20060519/501a72b6/attachment.html
On 5/18/06, Robert Dempsey <rdempsey@techcfl.com> wrote:> Peter, > > First, I have a cable connection (remember this is just a demo server) > with a static IP address.So I need to have a static IP. I will talk to my ISP about this. I am almost certain my cable connection is using a dynamic IP. Then I suppose I register this IP with a name server so that my domains point to this IP. So I will have my cable modem connected to my router. My router connected to my server and my other desktop computers. When a request comes in from the outside world, how does it know to go to the server to find what it is looking for? Is this something I also have to register with the name server? Thanks, Peter
Zack, I''ve never configured my router. Just use it so that multiple computers can access the net. I don''t really understand how ports work. I''m sure all this stuff seems very simple after doing it a couple times. I''d like to read about how things work and why I do particular steps. Any recommendations for quality beginner reading about this stuff? I''m not a moron (I hope!) I just know nothing about it. Thanks, Peter On 5/18/06, Zack Ham <zackham@gmail.com> wrote:> If you are behind a router, just configure your router to forward the ports > you need to be public. People will be able to access your server from the > outside by accessing your router''s public IP address, which you can figure > out by going to a site like whatismyip.com on a machine behind the same > router. As for accessing the server from within your network, you can feel > free to use the LAN address (starts with a 192 usually) which you can find > by invoking the ifconfig command logged into your server''s shell. Using the > LAN address only works within your network, but you can use nonforwarded > ports and ensure that your traffic is remaining within your network. > Nothing special is needed when it comes to wiring, just plug it into your > router like your other machine(s). > > > Zack > > > On 5/18/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi Robert, > > > > Thanks for the reply. > > > > Your presentation is what I am looking for but a little fast for me. > > I''m sure you fleshed out the details in real life. You talk about > > installing the OS, SVN, Ruby, Rails, Lighty. I understand the basic > > ideas behind this stuff. > > > > What I am wondering about more is how you physically wire all this > > stuff together and make it so that multiple people can actually access > > the server''s svn repository and view the websites that are on the > > server. This could be for a household network with a router or for the > > real world with the internet. For the world case, I don''t even know > > what kind of wire/ISP service would have to come from the outside > > world to my house. I''m sure it is a bit expensive. > > > > Thanks, > > Peter > > > > On 5/18/06, Robert Dempsey <rdempsey@techcfl.com> wrote: > > > Peter, > > > > > > I just did a presentation on this for the Orlando Ruby Users Group (of > > > which I am a part). You can get the powerpoint here: > > > http://www.orug.org/. I created a test server using Ubuntu and it took > > > about 15 minutes to get going (on an Athlong system with 512 MB RAM). > > > Check it out and post any other questions. Good luck. > > > > > > - Robert Dempsey > > > > > > Peter Michaux wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > I''ve been learning about building Rails apps for about 8 months but I > > > > don''t really know how servers work or how to build a server. I have an > > > > old 450 GHz Pentium computer I can play with. Since I use OS X, I was > > > > thinking about installing a BSD system and trying to make a > > > > MySQL/Rails server. That is about all I know about servers. > > > > > > > > How does a server in my house get connected to the actual internet? I > > > > suppose I would need a fixed IP and a special connection (not cable > > > > modem?). Can I just connect the server to my router and surf to it > > > > from my Mac? > > > > > > > > Any pointers about where I can learn this stuff? > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > Peter > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Rails mailing list > > > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > > > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Rails mailing list > > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > >
You do not absolutely need a static IP if you are just doing little projects, or using it for non-critical tasks. Check out ods.org for a client that will update the DNS entries with your current IP address, so in the off chance it changes, your domain will only be down temporarily. As for setting up your router, read in its manual to find out how to access the control panel. Log in as instructed, and find out how to do "port forwarding." You want to forward port 80 to the LAN address of your server... try reading the router manual and it should explain this. On 5/18/06, Peter Michaux <petermichaux@gmail.com> wrote:> > On 5/18/06, Robert Dempsey <rdempsey@techcfl.com> wrote: > > Peter, > > > > First, I have a cable connection (remember this is just a demo server) > > with a static IP address. > > So I need to have a static IP. I will talk to my ISP about this. I am > almost certain my cable connection is using a dynamic IP. Then I > suppose I register this IP with a name server so that my domains point > to this IP. > > So I will have my cable modem connected to my router. My router > connected to my server and my other desktop computers. When a request > comes in from the outside world, how does it know to go to the server > to find what it is looking for? Is this something I also have to > register with the name server? > > Thanks, > Peter > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://wrath.rubyonrails.org/pipermail/rails/attachments/20060519/5887f766/attachment.html
> So I need to have a static IP. I will talk to my ISP about this. I am > almost certain my cable connection is using a dynamic IP. Then I > suppose I register this IP with a name server so that my domains point > to this IP. > > So I will have my cable modem connected to my router. My router > connected to my server and my other desktop computers. When a request > comes in from the outside world, how does it know to go to the server > to find what it is looking for? Is this something I also have to > register with the name server?Peter, You don''t really need a static IP. You can use a dynamic IP with a dynamic DN service such as http://www.dyndns.com/ (google for others). This setup works well for demos but you probably want to be hosted with a static IP for production. DNS provides a name lookup mapping to a IP address. The next part of the puzzle is to port forward connections from you external IP address to server(s) inside your local network. lets say you have a network like so aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd -- cable modem -- router -- server (192.168.xxx.yyy) Your cable modem has an external IP of aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd, you cable modem and/or router maps this to you private network (which may have an IP address range of 192.168.xxx.yyy or other private networks such as 172. or 10.). Connections to various services are run via ports (think lanes of traffic). You want to map incomming connections (say port 80 for HTTP) to your web server (think connecting a lane of traffic from your cable modem to your web server). This action is called port forwarding (again google is your friend). So you setup a rule on your router that says any connection to aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd port 80 will connection to my internal web server 192.168.xxx.yyy port 80. These kind of setups are exposing your machines on your internal network to all and sundry on the net so there are lots of security considerations. IT''s best to be well informed (read up lots). Id'' start by googling the following terms (a read at HowStuffWorks is good too) DNS Network Address Translation Port Forwarding I found the Linux HOWTOs useful for learning the nuts and bolts too. HTH Ross
On 5/18/06, Zack Ham <zackham@gmail.com> wrote:> People will be able to access your server from the > outside by accessing your router''s public IP address, which you can figure > out by going to a site like whatismyip.com on a machine behind the same > router.So I just checked out my IP. It is something like 24.68.96.174 Is that all there is too it? So for the time being that is uniquely my house? Thanks, Peter
Ross, Thanks for the info. The fog is clearing. I will read more on the topics you mentioned. Security is the reason I would probably just do this stuff for experiments. I think I''ll leave production up to my web hosting company. Peter On 5/18/06, Ross Dawson <Ross_Dawson@aas.kaz.com.au> wrote:> > So I need to have a static IP. I will talk to my ISP about this. I am > > almost certain my cable connection is using a dynamic IP. Then I > > suppose I register this IP with a name server so that my domains point > > to this IP. > > > > So I will have my cable modem connected to my router. My router > > connected to my server and my other desktop computers. When a request > > comes in from the outside world, how does it know to go to the server > > to find what it is looking for? Is this something I also have to > > register with the name server? > > Peter, > You don''t really need a static IP. You can use a dynamic IP with a dynamic DN service such as http://www.dyndns.com/ (google for others). This setup works well for demos but you probably want to be hosted with a static IP for production. > > DNS provides a name lookup mapping to a IP address. The next part of the puzzle is to port forward connections from you external IP address to server(s) inside your local network. > > lets say you have a network like so > > aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd -- cable modem -- router -- server (192.168.xxx.yyy) > > Your cable modem has an external IP of aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd, you cable modem and/or router maps this to you private network (which may have an IP address range of 192.168.xxx.yyy or other private networks such as 172. or 10.). Connections to various services are run via ports (think lanes of traffic). You want to map incomming connections (say port 80 for HTTP) to your web server (think connecting a lane of traffic from your cable modem to your web server). This action is called port forwarding (again google is your friend). So you setup a rule on your router that says any connection to aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd port 80 will connection to my internal web server 192.168.xxx.yyy port 80. > > These kind of setups are exposing your machines on your internal network to all and sundry on the net so there are lots of security considerations. IT''s best to be well informed (read up lots). > > Id'' start by googling the following terms (a read at HowStuffWorks is good too) > DNS > Network Address Translation > Port Forwarding > > I found the Linux HOWTOs useful for learning the nuts and bolts too. > > HTH > > Ross > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails@lists.rubyonrails.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
On 19 May 2006, at 06:28, Zack Ham wrote:> You do not absolutely need a static IP if you are just doing little > projects, or using it for non-critical tasks. Check out ods.org > for a client that will update the DNS entries with your current IP > address, so in the off chance it changes, your domain will only be > down temporarily. > > As for setting up your router, read in its manual to find out how > to access the control panel. Log in as instructed, and find out > how to do "port forwarding." You want to forward port 80 to the > LAN address of your server... try reading the router manual and it > should explain this. >Keep in mind a lot of ISPs block incoming connections on ports < 1024 to prevent you from running your own server, depending on where you live. Best regards Peter De Berdt
Hello Peter, Peter Michaux wrote:> So I just checked out my IP. It is something like > 24.68.96.174 > > Is that all there is too it? So for the time being that is uniquely my > house?Most likely this IP changes whenever establish the connection to your ISP. So that''s not very nice as you will have to check again what your IP is. And if you are not at home, this could get difficult. There are services like http://www.dyndns.com/ that give you a dns name under which you can access your current ip (like myhome.dyndns.com). You just have to tell the service every time you get a new IP, which can be automatically done with some linux/unix shell scripts, e.g. http://ddclient.sourceforge.net/ Some routers do have this functionality integrated. Of course you still have to manage the port-forwarding. I hope that helps, Philipp -- "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin http://www.filzip.com