Module 7, Server Project - Boise State Universityedtech2.boisestate.edu/ferdons/552/Ferdon - Server...Time Capsule so that line (brown) was drawn in outside of Packet Tracer. Another

SusanFerdon,EDTECH552SP11

Module 7, Server Project

Overview

The goal of this project was to set up my home computer to be a server and

create a webpage to be hosted by that server. The assignment required that I download

and install an Apache server and use no-IP to set up dynamic DNS, to allow the server

to be found when my ISP changes the IP address of the computer the server is on. My

computer is a MacBook Pro running Windows XP on Parallels and, when at home, I

connect to the Internet via Comcast wireless Netgear router. I also have an AT&T USB

modem that is used for Internet access when away from home or work. My initial plan

was to set up the server on the Parallels side of my Mac using my home wireless

network. I encountered some difficulty along the way, as you will see in the procedures

listed below, and finally ended up using my husband’s Windows laptop as the server.

The website template I selected was Pedestrian from www.freecsstemplates.org.

Network Layout

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) for my home network is Comcast cable. A

Netgear router is connected to a Ubee cable modem which provides a wireless network.

The Sony Vaio laptop, acting as server, is currently connected to the Netgear router

with an Ethernet cable. The diagram below shows wireless connection to the Comcast

network named Ferdon Home Network. The laptops also connect wirelessly to the Time

Capsule - it backs up the Macs and provides wireless access to the printer. In making

the diagram, it was not possible to show the USB connection from the printer to the

Time Capsule so that line (brown) was drawn in outside of Packet Tracer. Another thing

that was not possible using Packet Tracer is an accurate representation of the coaxial

cable. One coaxial cable enters the house and is connected to splitters so the one cable

splits into three. One cable goes to the TV, another goes to the phone, and the third

goes to the Ubee RF Cable modem. Only the TV allowed coaxial cable (blue jagged

line) to be shown in Packet Tracer. A more accurate representation would show the

phone and Ubee cable modem connecting to the ISP with blue jagged lines as well.


Process/Procedures

Step 1: Download and install Apache Server

I downloaded appserv-win32-2.5.10 from sourceforge and saved it to Local Disc (C:) on the Windows side of my Mac.


Step 2: Confirm Installation

Upon installation, the Installation Wizard asked if I wanted to unblock the application (firewall) and I did. When URL http://127.0.0.1 was entered into a browser (again, in Parallels) the content that appeared confirmed that installation was successful.

Step 3: PHP

I entered URL http://127.0.0.1/phpinfo and PHP information appeared.


Step 4: Download Template

With the server software installed, I turned my attention to creating the webpage. I chose the template “Pedestrian” from www.freecsstemplates.org.

Step 5: Add Content

I made some modifications to the css then added content to my four linked pages: Home, Bio, Coursework, and Projects.

Step 6: Move Folder

With web pages formatted and content added, I opened Parallels and moved the Pedestrian folder from the Mac side to the Windows side “www” folder, and renamed the folder “web”.


Step 7: No-IP

Next, I set up an account at http://www.no-ip.com/ then downloaded and installed the Windows software. I added the hostname: ferdonsno-ip.info.

Step 8: Port Forwarding

When I entered the URL in my browser, the page was not found so my next step was to set up port forwarding. My Comcast service uses a Netgear router, so I entered “192.168.0.1” in my browser window - that’s the IP that online references said that Netgear routers use.

The router did not respond.

Thinking that the router’s IP address may be listed in my computer’s System Profiler, I looked up that information. I discovered that the Mac side of my laptop has one IP address and the Parallels side has another. That would mean that the no-IP host I just set up was set to the wrong IP address (Mac) and for the server to be accessed it would likely have to be operating in Parallels mode, which my computer rarely is. With the router not responding, I decided to set up the host again, this time using my USB modem and a browser window that I opened in Parallels.


I later learned that the reason the router did not respond was that it uses 192.168.1.1, not 192.168.0.1. Either way, I wanted to go through my USB modem at this point in hopes that it would be easier to set up and would also keep my home network more secure.

Step 9: No-IP

I removed my existing host and, while in Parallels using my USB modem, added a new host: sferdon.serveftp.com

Step 10: Browse to site

I wanted to see if the USB modem would let requests through so I used canyouseeme.org to see if port 80 was blocked. It was – connection refused. That meant I needed to do port forwarding.

I was not able to find a way to configure my AT&T USB modem for port forwarding, so I went back to my original plan of using my home wireless network.

New Plan

I was now committed to using my home network and was concerned that having the server on the Parallels side of my Mac would be problematic, so I moved my files to my husband’s laptop (Windows), installed the server, set up a new host on no-IP then


configured the router.

New host name: www.sferdon.loginto.me

Step 12: Configure Router

The default gateway for my router is 192.168.1.1.

Portforwarding - 192.168.1.101 set for HTTP.

The service now appears in the list.

Step 15: LAN Settings

Local Connection TCP/IP Properties were set to 192.168.1.101, with subnet mask 255.255.255.0 and default gateway 192.168.1.1.


Step 16: Check that port is open

Port is open.

When the IP address was entered in browser, AppServ opened. When “/web” was added to URL, the webpage opened.

Step 17: Open from URL

Using a different computer, I entered http://sferdon.loginto.me/web/ in the browser and the page opened.

Conclusion

This project provided very practical application of the type of tasks that school

technology coordinators are called upon to perform. Facilitating teacher and student

access to online content is key to effective technology use and integration and there are

a number of advantages to having schools provide server space for teachers and

students. One advantage is cost savings. While some organizations, like Wordpress,

provide hosting of basic sites free of charge, oversight by school districts is not possible

both in regard to content and access. Further, products like Moodle are open source,


therefore free of charge, but hosting services charge based on the number of users.

Hosting websites and Learning Management Systems on school equipment means that

access can be controlled and there is in-house support at no additional cost, aside from

hardware requirements. PHP and MySQL environments, like Moodle, Joomla and

Wordpress provide a means for teachers communicate and provide content to students

in a customizable format that is easy to access.

Setting up a server was both a rewarding and frustrating process. I see great

benefits in being able to provide server space for educational applications but it seems

that most of my classmates and I ran into trouble related to our ISPs. Dealing with

downloads, file management, and creation of online content appeared to go well for all,

but port forwarding and DMZ proved to be problematic due to the great variety of

devices/routers and ISP configurations we were dealing with. It would be interesting to

find out if setting up a server is easier in an educational setting than in a home setting,

due to the differences in ISPs.


Module 7, Server Project – Extra Credit

Overview

One of the extra credit options was to set up a Wordpress blog on the home

server. I followed the steps from Dr. Hung’s tutorial for downloading and installation.

The Wordpress installation comes with one theme and I chose to download and apply

another, Paper3. The one difficulty I encountered was in the formatting of the page

when it is access remotely. While the formatting appears as expected in localhost, the

page is improperly formatted when accessed from the URL:

http://sferdon.loginto.me/wordpress. The page format differs, depending upon which

theme I have applied, but neither includes images, colors, fonts, etc. from the theme.

Process/Procedures

Step 1: Download Wordpress

I downloaded Wordpress saved it to Local Disc (C:)/AppServ/web.

I accessed Wordpress index.php via mySQL, localhost.


Step 2: Set Up Database and Connection Details

I created a new database, wpdb, and completed the form fields for the connection.

Connection was successful.

Step 3: Install Wordpress


Installation was successful.

Step 5: View Blog

From within localhost, the blog appearance is as expected for the theme I downloaded and applied: Paper 3.

When accessed through the URL, http://sferdon.loginto.me/wordpress, the formatting does not appear.


Closing Thoughts

Having locally hosted blogs will make it easy for school technology coordinators

to help teachers get blogs up and running. However, I noticed a tremendous difference

in loading time between my simple four-page website and the database-driven blog.

The Wordpress blog has many more files to begin with and I added very little to it.

Loading time was such that, if I were a casual visitor, I would have given up before the

page loaded. School network administrators must be very aware of processing needs or

students and teachers will have a very difficult time accessing the content.

Documents

Module 7, Server Project - Boise State Universityedtech2.boisestate.edu/ferdons/552/Ferdon - Server...Time Capsule so that line (brown) was drawn in outside of Packet Tracer. Another