1. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
3. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
4. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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”.
5. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
6. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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
7. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
8. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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,
9. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
10. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
11. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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
12. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.m
e/wordpress, the
formatting does not
appear.
13. Susan Ferdon, EDTECH 552 SP11
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.
