[97479] in RedHat Linux List
Re: web server on school unix account
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Michael Jinks)
Tue Nov 3 10:50:53 1998
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 15:30:38 +0000
From: Michael Jinks <michael@twopoint.com>
To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Resent-From: redhat-list@redhat.com
Reply-To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Nelson Little wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I just wanted to know if it's possible to set up a personal web server from
> a unix account where I dont have root access? ie my college shell account.
> Could anyone point me in the right direction?
Are you sure there isn't already a web server running on that machine?
If there is, then there might be a site policy that allows you to make a
directory structure off of your home directory (called something like
public_html), and the web server will pick it up and serve it under your
username. Do this:
$ ps auxww | grep httpd
Or, if your machine uses the SysV-style ps,
$ ps -de | grep httpd
If those give you back anything, then all you need to do is find out how
to post pages.
If there isn't a web server running, your next step is to contact the
sysadmin of the machine which houses your account. Some sites forbid
users from running automatic processes at all, and web servers can
sometimes get out of hand and start sucking resources, so don't risk
your account. On the other hand, the sysadmin of your host machine
might be amenable to setting up a server if you ask nicely. It all
depends on the site policy.
If they won't set up a server but they give you permission to do so,
then heck, it seems worth a try. Just make sure you read up thoroughly
on Apache. I don't know of anything in Apache that _must_ run as root,
and I do know that Apache is pretty flexible about where it runs, where
its logs are, and where it serves from, so it can't hurt to try. One
caveat is that you have to be root in order to bind to port 80, so
you'll have to specify a port somewhere up in the stratosphere -- 8080
will probaby work, for example -- and anybody who wants to hit your web
site will need to specify the port in the URL since default 80 won't be
there. You might also have to do a little tinkering to make Apache find
its initial configuration file someplace other than in /etc/httpd/conf/,
since I doubt that you have write access to that directory. That might
mean editing a source file and recompiling.
Good luck. If you do this, I'd be interested in hearing about your
results.
--
Michael Jinks
mailto:michael@twopoint.com http://www.twopoint.com
Systems Administrator, Two Point Conversions, Inc.
"Never interfere in a boy and girl fight." -- W. S. Burroughs
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