| |
James' Forum
Re: Web Server - A to Z - Step 2
Posted By: James In Response To: Web Server - A to Z - Step 1 (James)
Date: Sunday, 23 January 2005, at 1:30 p.m.
Now here's the next step.
You will need to get a copy of Linux server software.
Linux is an operating system, just like Microsoft's Windows OS, only it's free, but you can buy it if you wish.
There are several different companies that make their own versions of Linux and for this purpose we are going to use the Mandrake version 10 of Linux.
You can buy the complete version of Mandrake Linux on line or you can go to your local software store (Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Depot, Staples) and buy it there or you can download a free version.
To download the free version you need to be connected to the Internet with a broadband connection.
The PC you are using right now needs some space on it's hard drive because the three files you are going to download are about 700 megabytes each.
These are three large .iso files and it will take some time to download them, perhaps a whole day for each file. Some attempts to download will fail and you will need to be persistent until you have all three files. You can only download them one at a time.
Once you have downloaded them you will need to burn these three files onto 3 blank Cd's, so you also will need a CD recorder. Label the Cd's with a permanent marker so that you don't mix them up.
To get the free version on Mandrake Linux please click on the links below. Save them to your desktop.
One at a time!
- Mandrakelinux-10.1-Official-Download-CD1.i586.iso
- Mandrakelinux-10.1-Official-Download-CD2.i586.iso
- Mandrakelinux-10.1-Official-Download-CD3.i586.iso
Save these three files to your desktop.
There's no sense going any further until you have all three of these files so take as much time as you have to.
The link at the bottom of this page is to the Mandrake site that has a listing of the different servers all over the world that have the 3 files that you need.
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3
The only rule is that you must download the three files from the same site, because the folks who are making these files available to you for free don't always have the same exact files that the other good folks are making available.
They might not match up if you get one file from a server in Korea and another file from a server in Indiana and the third file from a server in Saudi Arabia.
Also, there are other faster ways to get Mandrake Linux and if you understand how to do this with Bit Torrent, go right ahead, but for the sake of simplicity I am going to describe one method that I believe is easiest the easiest for me to relate to people who are not experts.
The one last part of this that is important is that there are older versions of Mandrake Linux and there are other old and new versions from other companies, like Red Hat Linux, that are distributed for free on line just like the Mandrake version.
If the PC you are planning to use as your server is really old and very slow you might wish to search for older versions of Linux.
Version 8 is a good version for old machines.
Your server PC should have at least a Pentium processor with at least 64mb of memory and a 5gig hard drive.
The bigger the hard drive the better, but for learning purposes the hard drive does not have to be brand new or really big.
Once you have done this tutorial and gotten your server and forum up and working you may want to go out and buy two big identical hard drives (one for your backup) and put them in your server and reinstall Linux.
As with all OSs, the rule is that you learn them well only through the repetition of the tasks.
Practice makes perfect.
Here's a pic from a prettily painted place on the beach.
The day I took this and many of my other photos was a bit cloudy, but there was this one dark cloud that followed me up the beach and would often pour some rain down.
Even if this photo looks dark and cool it was also very warm and sunny.
| |
James' Forum is maintained by james with WebBBS 5.12.