NEW TO ABYSS

[SpotsPhiLL]

Hello everyone.

I am quite new to Abyss (I'm actually new to web servers as well). My cousin told me about how he uses Apache as his server, but we discovered Abyss and deemed it good for me. Up until now, I've been paying an annual fee of $75 to get only 333MB of host space. I have my own domain and I wanted to start using my computer (200GB HD) and Abyss to host my site (using my domain name).

I've read through the user guide and I just wanted to know a little more from users of the software. My main concern is that I'm not an "expert" and some of the terms used go over my head. Essentially, i just wanted to set up Abyss on my computer, upload my website, and not have to tweak it several times a day.

Can people out there please give me some advice? Maybe the advice might be for me to continue paying for the 333MB because Abyss is too hard to learn/manage. Or maybe there is a tutorial kind of like "Abyss for Dummies."

Thank you in advance...

- PhiLL

[Moxxnixx]

SpotsPhiLL, welcome to the forums. :)

You've made the right choice in web servers. My advice is to take your time and
go thru the documentation to get a good understanding of how things work.

Also, you should take a look at the FAQ page for common questions that pop up.

These forums are an excellent source for any other questions you might have.

Other Abyss-related resources and tutorials are...
http://www.trustabyss.com/
http://www.abyssunderground.co.uk/

[pkSML]

Is there any specific help you're looking for?

I'm assuming you installed Abyss to "C:\Program Files\Abyss Web Server".
If so, you can copy your website files to "C:\Program Files\Abyss Web Server\htdocs\".

The management for the server is located at http://localhost:9999.
As a newbie a 1-1/2 years ago, I was able to configure the server quite easily.

Check out the server documentation at http://127.0.0.1:9999/doc/index.html, specifically Chapters 1 and 2. They should help you get your feet wet!
I have hosted my websites (http://stephen.calvarybucyrus.org - http://calvarybucyrus.org) with Abyss Web Server since March 2005 and couldn't be happier. This is the easiest of about 10 different web servers I tried!

These forums are here to help you, so if you can't find help in documentation and google, many people are ready to help you.
_________________
Stephen
Need a LitlURL?

http://CodeBin.yi.org

[SpotsPhiLL]

I've installed and copied my website to "C:\Program Files\Abyss Web Server\htdocs\"

How do I go about:
1) viewing the site
2) making that site accessible using my existing domain name

???

[pkSML]

There are a few steps to getting your website running on your domain name for the world to see.

1. View your site from localhost - http://localhost/
2. View your site from your IP address. Your IP address can be found in my sig picture below. Access http://YOURIP. I can access mine at http://24.145.130.71.
3. What is your domain name? Who is it registered with? Each domain registrar handles this in a different way to point your site to your computer.

*EDIT* IP address changed
_________________
Stephen
Need a LitlURL?

http://CodeBin.yi.org

[SpotsPhiLL]

OK, I was able to see my site from localhost.

Whenever I try to access my site using my IP address, I get my linksys site (router admin page).

My domain name is phill-d.com. I purchased it together with the host space. I don't even know if they are separate from each other. Maybe I can just purchase a different domain name.

Is there a domain registrar that you would recommend with easy website "pointing"?

[pkSML]

Getting your router admin page is a little unusual.

You'll need to forward port 80 to your internal IP.

If you're in XP, Start -> Run -> cmd.exe. Type "ipconfig" at the command line. This will tell you your internal IP address (probably 192.168.1.xxx).

I have a Linksys BEFSR41 router. If I go to http://192.168.1.1/Forward1.htm, I will see the port forwarding page. It has a bunch of ports already listed (21, 23, 25, 53, 69, 79, 80...). You'll want to forward port 80 to your internal IP address.
External port: 80, TCP, Internal port: 80, 192.168.1.xxx (internal IP address), Click enable checkbox, Click apply at the bottom of the page.

Then, access your external IP address, http://YOURIP.
_________________
Stephen
Need a LitlURL?

http://CodeBin.yi.org

[pkSML]

Regarding a domain name, you have some options.

Do you want a domain name or a subdomain name?

Some FREE Subdomain providers
http://yi.org - you could have phill-d.yi.org
http://dyndns.org - they have some 30 or 40 domains they let have subdomains (our church site is still functional at http://calvarybaptist.homedns.org, which came from this site)

Personally, our church website was signed up with http://no-ip.com. We also signed up for their NO-IP Plus Service when the domain was registered, which lets a person with a dynamic IP host a website from their connection. The price for the domain and NO-IP Plus is about $35/year.

Whichever you choose, you just enter your IP address in their database and your domain or subdomain will be pointed to your IP address.

For a great explanation of DNS servers and how websites are "pointed" to IP addresses, check out http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dns.htm/printable. For an explanation of how webservers work, check out http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-server.htm/printable.
_________________
Stephen
Need a LitlURL?

http://CodeBin.yi.org