This years computer expo has a new name, Computing Connections 2000. It will be held from Tuesday, July 25th, through Saturday, July 29 at the San Diego Convention Center. This page describes Bob's Saturday presentation on Linux based Web hosting. This seminar takes the whole day, due to the amount of material needed to be covered. I am posting this Web page to give people an idea of what's going to be covered and to act as a point for feedback about what you are interested in having covered in this complex subject. Please email me, with any questions or ideas for this seminar.

The Web is run on multi-tasking/multi-user operating systems. Linux is a Unix clone for the most part, and works well with unix processes or tasks. Hosting your own Linux server allows you become your own ISP. Most ISP's provide a connection to the internet, provide email services, and host Web sites. All of these things can be done in Linux, BSD, SUN Solaris, and even Windows(NT,2000). Linux is a lot cheaper than Windows. Free from the internet, or very inexpensive distributions like Red Hat, Durban, and Caldera. The software costs can add up very quickly especially on a large number of computers, like server farms, or Web developement work groups.

Linux has proven itself to be very stable. Systems stay up until you shut it down (every year or so, for upgrades). For hosting internet services a large number of ISPs currently use Linux and other open source software (DNS/bind, sendmail, pop3 deamons, and a whole lot more).

Serving Web pages, email, and corporate databases are straight forward to implement using Linux. Understanding Linux based Web hosting is our goal in this seminar.

Setting up a Linux based system requires some basic parameters. Because Linux has so much to offer. One of the biggest problems is where to start. Try to limit your view to just a few services to start, you can always go back later and add something. Always start simple in design. First, it has better chance of working, and it often makes trouble shooting a whole lot easier.

Software requirements. What services are you going to need to get the job (The real work) done. How many TCP/IP address will be needed? What services will the hosting ISP provide? What services could you host that your ISP may also want to use (buy back from you)?

Hardware requirements. Fitting the server hardware to fit the software systems requirements (see above). Will special hardware be required to do the job. Memory, network, and disk requirements. How much of a load will the system need to withstand?

PCs based servers vs real servers.
Processor/Bus - Intel, AMD, RISC, etc.
(SMP - how many processors, or computers.)
Disk I/O - SCSI vs. IDE. partioning tricks for speeding up
disk access. SCSI Raid systems.
Network interface cards. - PCI bus requirements.
Protocols, and setting up drivers.
Console or headless operation.
Remote access methods, Backups,
UPS's and other important stuff.

Open Source Software - The real power of the internet. All of the software covered is available directly from the internet. The actual program source code is available to modify as you need. Is some cases, you will need to compile the source code to install the running software! Your ISP knows about it, and is running some open source software right now. Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut? Windows based systems require you to wait and hope a bug will be fixed (before the fix is called an upgrade).

Basic remote hosting guidelines.
Where will the server live?
Is there a UPS for power line protection?
If remote hosted at an ISP's, what other internet services
are provided? Things like DNS services, a backup mail server,
a high speed telco connections (T-3's)

Working with your service providers.
Adding value to your ISP. Using your ISP as an way to extend your own Linux based server services. If you can provide stable backup services for your ISPs work load, it can turn into a win-win, for you and your ISP.

Linux basic console commands. ls, cat, ps aux, chmod, chgrp, navigating terminal session under X windows GUI desktops, etc..

Linux file system basics. Mounting your world, with no drive C: to hold you back.

Linux processes. Why multi-tasking is very important on the Web. The Web waits for no one. Every time a internet user opens your Web page, it starts a process to serve that web page to the user's browser. This is just one sample of the thousands of processes running on your Linux system.

Services and ports. Select your needs from a cast of thousands. Your Web browser asks to use port 80 on the web server pointed to by the browsers URL (Universal Resource Locator) line.

System directories. Under Linux most of the important stuff is kept in the ./etc directory.

System start up. Just as DOS has CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Linux has a complex set of things to start up when the system is first started. Most services have to be started through the inetd start up file.

Linux based Internet Services. Using open source software to keep the price low and the chance for success high (it been done before by many people in many places). TCP/IP plumbing, how you get connected to the Web.

Plumbing - TCP/IP protocol basics. Connection basics. Types of TCP/IP addressing and protocol usage.
Tools covered - ping, ifconfig, and traceroute.

TCP/IP Services. TCP/IP routing (IP masquerading), and DHCP services (or PPP for dial up). The use of modules to extend the basic Linux system.

Tools covered - lsmod, depmod, insmod, rmmod, command line option for loading Linux modules. Compiling the kernel for your needs.

Hosting DNS services. - Your internet road map. How a internet domain is actually set up. Software covered - DNS and bind. DNS - Theory of operation. DNS Record types and why.
Tools covered - nslookup, dig, and whois.

Hosting FTP services. - Sharing files with the world. Software covered - ftpd, remote access to your host, will include Linux security issues in general.

Hosting email services. (SMTP and MTA (Mail Transfer Agents)) Software covered - sendmail, pop services, MIME protocol, pine, elm, and IMAP.

Email clients covered - Netscape, Internet Explorer, and Endora.

Hosting Web pages. Software covered - Apache configuration, extending basic Web services with Apache modules.

Over view of Apache operation.

Apache configuration files.
Apache log files.
Apache default document directory. Where your Web page lives.
Apache Global server options. Setting parameters for users, and locations.
Handling High server loads.
Defining files processing types.

Adding virtual hosting to your Apache server.

Adding security to your Apache server. SSL extention for Apache.

Using CGI scripts, and forms.
Using Java script, Java beans, and Java Applets. How each fits your site needs.


Hosting Data Bases. Software covered - MySQL, Oracle, DB2, what's open source and what is not. Extending basic data base services with MySQL modules.

Server based Apache allows you to provide a wide range of Web services, like CGI scripts, SQL data base access, email based forms generation, shopping chart system, and more.
Apache is often used as the middle layer of a three-tier architecture. The first layer being the user's web browser. The second layer is the apache server servicing the user's browsers requests, and the third being a SQL data base, or any other process running on the same or another dedicated server.

Setting up Server side includes, Digital certificates, SSL extensions. Security related processing SSL/Digital certification.

Hosting On-line data bases using open source MySQL data base. Server based data bases for Web servers. C++, Java DBC, and PHP extensions.

I will try to leave a fair amount of time at the end for questions. If I have done my job, you should have a greate many. I just hope I'll have the answers. See you there...