content:en_us:6_web_server

Web Server

ClearOS includes the Apache web server – the same software that powers many of the world's largest web sites.

Installation

If your system does not have this app available, you can install it via the Marketplace.

You can find this feature in the menu system at the following location:

<navigation>Server|Web|Web Server</navigation>

Configuration

The web server comes with built-in SSL encryption for enhanced security. If your website requires a username and password for login, then it is a good idea to use encryption. For instance, if you have the webmail or groupware solution installed, you should access their respective login pages via the secure web server. In your web browser, you should use the encrypted https://your.domain.com instead of the un-encrypted http://your.domain.com (https vs http). When enabled, all communication between the web server and user's web browser is encrypted using a 128-bit security key.

General

Server Name

The server name is a valid name (for example, www.example.com) for your web server. This name is used on some infrequently used error pages, so it is not all that important.

SSL encryption requires a web site certificate. ClearOS automatically generates a default certificate that is secure. However, this certificate is not verified by one of the web site certificate authorities (it costs at least $50 per year to maintain a verified web site certificate). Your users will see the following warning (or similar) when connecting to the secure web server.

Web Sites

The web server includes support for hosting different domains, a feature that is sometimes referred to virtual hosting. For example, you can a default website for example.com along with a virtual web site anotherexample.com. However, the first thing you need to do is configure the default site.

Web Site

Specify the base domain for the web site, e.g. example.com.

Alias

You may want your web site to respond to other subdomains, notably:

  • www.example.com
  • blog.example.com
  • download.example.com

If that is the case, you can set an alias for your web site to *.example.com. Alternatively, you can have a list of aliases separated by spaces, for example:

  • www.example.com download.example.com

Using an explicit list instead of a wildcard '*' is handy if you plan on configuring web applications for a subdomain. For example, you may want to create a second web site blog.example.com which will have the WordPress blogging software installed.

Adding Dynamic Content to Your Site

There are many options for adding dynamic content to a website:

  • Perl and CGI
  • PHP
  • JSP
  • ASP

PHP and perl CGI are installed by default. The set-up and configuration of other engines are beyond the scope of this help document.

Uploading files to your Server

To upload files to your server, you can enable either FTP or File Server access to the site or you can use both. To allow file access to your default website or your virtual website, simply set the pull-down box to 'Yes' in either the 'Allow FTP Upload section' or the 'Allow File Server Upload' and click 'Update'.

FTP access

If your server is running the firewall you will need to open up ports to support access of the FTP server from the outside. The web server storage resides in a virtual FTP site. You will need to open the following ports to access the default FTP storage: 20, 21, 65000-65100

File Server access

Samba access of your web server is only available from networks with the LAN role in IP Settings.

File Server access using Windows

You can access the resource in Windows by running the IP address as a UNC in the Run dialog box.

\\ip_address

File Server access using Mac OSX

From Mac OSX, type Command+K in finder and type the address using the CIFS protocol.

cifs://ip_address

Custom Configuration

If you would like to customize the web server configuration, please review the following document:

Troubleshooting

ISP Blocking

Some ISPs are known to block web (port 80) traffic to residential broadband connections in an attempt to cut down on illegal sites hosted on their network. If you think your configuration is set-up correctly and you suspect your ISP is blocking HTTP traffic, try a remote port scan.

Firewall Rules

A web server listens to client requests coming in on port 80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS/secure). Did you remember to open the correct port(s)?

content/en_us/6_web_server.txt · Last modified: 2015/08/07 06:01 (external edit)