This webserver system is put up for training and educational purposes. It may also be used for revenue generation or other internet related activity from time to time.
The main components of this system are:
The Internet Access (ISP)
The internet access is your monthly subscription to you internet service provider (ISP). There are various access types, the two most common service for broadband are Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and cable. Fiber optic connection (FTTC) are also available in some cities recently. Wireless is also a choice with 3G, satellite, Mi-Fi, WiMax and the later 4G. Before, dial-up (56k) was the norm but up to now, there are still users of this service mostly corporate customers. 2.5G is also a dial up service but much faster than POTS. My ISP is comcast and one thing good for it is that they have Powerboost. My fastest download spike record is about 5Mbps (sweet) but it happened only once.
The Webaddress
Actually, in order for a webserver be found in the internet is that it needs to have a public IP address. This IP (Internet Protocol version 4) address is unique 4 blocks of 3 digit numbers separated by dots (preceeding zeros not displayed). Instead of remembering these set of digits, it was replaced by a dot com URL (Universal Resourse Locator) otherwise called webaddress, also called domain name. In this particular case the aljoromy.dyndns.org, or the registered address, aljoromy.net. I have a dynamic address meaning it can be changed anytime by the ISP (Internet Service Provider). Thanks to FreeDNS and DynDNS, the site you're reading right now is accessible. This website currently has two secondary URL's namely kixx.uk.to and aljoromy.dyndns.org. All three domain names point to this webserver.
The Modem
The modem is the main inteface to the ISP. The digital signal is encapsulated to RF signal for transmission and reception. The gateway/router is connected to an Ambit cable modem. I am planning to have a VOIP cable modem/router so as to reduce the boxes in the communication cabinet and also for the UPS to supply only one box in case of power failure.Traditional dial-up modems provide online access through the public telephone network at up to 56 kbps (equal to 56,000 bits per second). A cable modem, on the other hand, gives users high-speed Internet access through a cable TV network at more than 1 mbps (1 million bits per second), or about 20 times faster. Cable modems typically connect to computers through a standard 10Base-T Ethernet interface. A wire, called "Category 5 cabling," is run from the cable modem to an Ethernet card in the computer. Data is transmitted between the cable modem and computer at 10 mbps. Tomorrow's cable modem technology also will support Universal Serial Bus (USB) and home phone-line networking connections to computers
The Gateway/Router
The gateway/router is a Linksys WRT54G-TM. This also carries my home phone service from T-Mobile. It also supports UMA calls. My first WRT54G died after three years of service. It just ceased to operated. I will pry it open and look for any user serviceable parts, I just have to find time yet. The configuration is easy, just set the IP address of the host PC and set the port and hope it works. ;P This has wireless connectivity aside from 4 port switch. I am planning to upgrade this to a wireless N gigabit router if it show any sign of fatigue ;P but for now it is still serving its purpose and I do not have any issues with it aside from low bandwith wi-fi connection sometimes.
The Server Computer
The heart of the webserver project is the HP Pavillion 533W. It is running on a modified stock configuration and was loaded with XAMPP package. It has been running with ApacheTriad (A2T) with no problems but I like to have an updated engine. Since it has an Intel Celeron processor, I have no plans of upgrading its components. The main reason is that due to the way PCs are evolving, old components are more expensive than the current ones.
The only thing that was changed was the original hard disk drive. It ceased working on 02/2008. Unfortunately, I didn't made a backup of the main disk so I have to rebuild the system to the successor HDD to bring this PC back to life. The retired 60 GB Maxtor HD was replaced with a bigger and (hopefully) quicker 200GB 72000rpm Seagate.
Another item that was added besides the onboard 100Mbps ethernet port was the 1Gbps Airlink101 PCI ethernet card. My good friend Richard spotted it on sale at Frys for unbelievable $5. This PC was then hooked up to an 8 port Airlink101 Agiga gigabit switch. This was added is to maximize the data throughput of my home network since the webserver also funtions as a NAS appliance. I am looking to replace this machine with a Dell Poweredge server if I hit jackpot in Megamillions. ;P
The Software Package
Thanks to open source, I got XAMPP loaded. It is a complete package to cater a webserver function.This version contains: Apache, MySQL, PHP + PEAR, Perl, mod_php, mod_perl, mod_ssl, OpenSSL, phpMyAdmin, Webalizer, Mercury Mail Transport System for Win32 and NetWare Systems v3.32, Ming, JpGraph, FileZilla FTP Server, mcrypt, eAccelerator, SQLite, and WEB-DAV + mod_auth_mysql. Most of it, I am scratching my head on how to figure out, but I am getting in there little by little.