TUTORIAL DIY Website Hosting Walk Through

[bc12]

In this tutorial, I'm going to walk you through on how to set up a complete, fully featured website hosting server. If you have a old pc in the basement or a VPS somewhere, this is a great way to utilize it and maybe even make a few bucks off it.

A decent upload speed doesn't hurt either It'll help to keep your visitors from waiting too long while data is sent.

A little familiarity with linux is nice, but I don't think it is necessary. I'll go step by step and walk you thru it anyway.

A long, long time ago, I found myself in need of multiple websites & domains. Forums, Blogs, E-Commerce, Bit Bucket, classifieds, real estate, etc, etc...

I spent several months testing out various panels, and for one reason or another, this software seemed to be what worked best for me.

Aside from hosting your own domain, you can easily

• Create unlimited sub-domains. For example: panels.domain.com or hosting.domain.com, etc, etc...
• Host your own email server
• Create Client Accounts for domains
• Create or utilize Installation Scripts
• MySQL & some other DB I can't recall at the moment...
• Two factor authentication, certificate logins, brute force protection, and many other security features.
• Statistical Graphs galore! All the required Number of visitors, etc, etc fields charted!
• Integrated backup & restore feature...

I spent a few days writing this especially for the appsnscripts gang. Enjoy!

Anyway, let's get started:

Part 1:

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Part 2:

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[AfterLife]

id be interested in any more info like do we replace 192.168.0.10 webserver.example.com with our registered domain at the end for it to be accessible from with web as well as change the secondary nameserver im just thinking as i have a old dell server that i would like to use as a web server for hosting my own panels ?

 

[bc12]

id be interested in any more info like do we replace 192.168.0.10 webserver.example.com with our registered domain at the end for it to be accessible from with web as well as change the secondary nameserver im just thinking as i have a old dell server that i would like to use as a web server for hosting my own panels ?

Sorry, deleted previous note by accident...

Hi AfterLife,

Thanks for checking out the tutorial. Your old Dell server would be great I'd bet. Yeah, I personally use this software to host several panels I've found here so far. I'm still learning about panels & stuff, but this software is very robust.

192.168.0.10 is the local ip address for your new webserver on your local network only.
webserver.example.com is just an example to use at home.

You can leave the secondary nameserver blank and you can still host a live website.

I'll put together an example of setting up a live server for you shortly.

 

[AfterLife]

Sorry, deleted previous note by accident...

Hi AfterLife,

Thanks for checking out the tutorial. Your old Dell server would be great I'd bet. Yeah, I personally use this software to host several panels I've found here so far. I'm still learning about panels & stuff, but this software is very robust.

192.168.0.10 is the local ip address for your new webserver on your local network only.
webserver.example.com is just an example to use at home.

You can leave the secondary nameserver blank and you can still host a live website.

I'll put together an example of setting up a live server for you shortly.

ok pal thank you i really do want to make use of it as its just sat collecting dust lol and it may save me some pennys instead of using a paid for web host i understand i will have to install ioncube as well for some of the panels

 

[bc12]

id be interested in any more info like do we replace 192.168.0.10 webserver.example.com with our registered domain at the end for it to be accessible from with web as well as change the secondary nameserver im just thinking as i have a old dell server that i would like to use as a web server for hosting my own panels ?

If have finished the tutorial and you have a registered domain, you should be able to:

1. Click 'Create Virtual Server' in the top left pane.
2. Enter your full registered domain name in the 'Domain Name' field.
3. Give it a description
4. Give it a good administrator password
5. Automatic username will create a user based on the first part of your url. (ie: ibm.com would create a user called ibm.)
6. For now, I'd just accept the defaults settings & default plan, unless you want to delve further into these menus under System settings-Account Plans & System settings-Server Templates. Which I encourage you to at least look at to see the options available there.

- If your website uses a mysql database, then be sure to enable it in your available features.
(Note, for the panels I've encountered so far. sqlite is used, and my instructions include the installation of sqlite at the end.)

- If you are not sending/receiving email for that domain, you can deselect 'Accept mail for this domain?' & probably spam filtering.
- I really enjoy checking out the website statistics, so I leave the webalizer & AWstats.
- The webmin portion enables the created user to login to a user panel. Gives them a file manager, installer & all sorts of client tools.
- Personally, I don't touch the dns settings or ip settings. I let the software take care of it as I don't know enough about it.

Basically, I leave everything as default, except mysql in my situation.

Then click 'Create Server', and you may have to scroll down the output, but there will be a finished msg/button at the bottom.


Now, once you have done all that. You should be able to visit your domain's registrar and point their name server to your public IP address. (You can visit whatsmyip to find your public ip address)


Please Note: I'm no expert on DNS settings.
The * record is a wildcard for all sub servers. ie: abc.google.com, xyz.google.com will resolve to the same IP address.

Setup your A records to point to your public IP. I have two A records, my domain registrar's panel looks like this:



That's it. It will take a bit of time to trickle down to other name servers on the internet... Hard to say exactly how long... Usually it is complete within 24 hours if not sooner.

Hope that helps get your domain up & running. It's actually a lot of fun once you get into it.

Any problems, just let me know and I'll try my best to help.

 

[AfterLife]

Thank you pal

 

[bc12]

Thank you pal

No problem, you are welcome.

 

[AfterLife]

In this tutorial, I'm going to walk you through on how to set up a complete, fully featured website hosting server. If you have a old pc in the basement or a VPS somewhere, this is a great way to utilize it and maybe even make a few bucks off it.

A decent upload speed doesn't hurt either It'll help to keep your visitors from waiting too long while data is sent.

A little familiarity with linux is nice, but I don't think it is necessary. I'll go step by step and walk you thru it anyway.

A long, long time ago, I found myself in need of multiple websites & domains. Forums, Blogs, E-Commerce, Bit Bucket, classifieds, real estate, etc, etc...

I spent several months testing out various panels, and for one reason or another, this software seemed to be what worked best for me.

Aside from hosting your own domain, you can easily

• Create unlimited sub-domains. For example: panels.domain.com or hosting.domain.com, etc, etc...
• Host your own email server
• Create Client Accounts for domains
• Create or utilize Installation Scripts
• MySQL & some other DB I can't recall at the moment...
• Two factor authentication, certificate logins, brute force protection, and many other security features.
• Statistical Graphs galore! All the required Number of visitors, etc, etc fields charted!
• Integrated backup & restore feature...

I spent a few days writing this especially for the appsnscripts gang. Enjoy!

Anyway, let's get started:

Part 1:

*** Hidden text: cannot be quoted. ***

Part 2:
*** Hidden text: cannot be quoted. ***

Hi again pal is there any chance you can DM me please as i have decided to use a spare server for a web host but need some advice and would like to ask you a few questions please

 

[bc12]

Hi again pal is there any chance you can DM me please as i have decided to use a spare server for a web host but need some advice and would like to ask you a few questions please

Hmmm...

As odd as it seems, I can't see to find any DM options anywhere... Follow/Ignore is about it. Maybe its a VIP perk or maybe I'm too dumb to find it... lol

You can DM me if you're able to.

 

[AfterLife]

Hmmm...

As odd as it seems, I can't see to find any DM options anywhere... Follow/Ignore is about it. Maybe its a VIP perk or maybe I'm too dumb to find it... lol

You can DM me if you're able to.

i carnt find it either pal i was wondering if you have heard of vestacp or hestiacp and if so have you played around with either of these to have your own web host

 

[bc12]

i carnt find it either pal i was wondering if you have heard of vestacp or hestiacp and if so have you played around with either of these to have your own web host

I haven't heard of them before.

I googled them and they look interesting. I might setup a VM and test them out... Thanks.

I also googled "top 10 control panels" and got a couple interesting links:

5 Best Open Source Web Hosting Control Panels | RiansTech

Are you shifting to a VPS or a Dedicated server but don't want to spend on control panels. Let's explore 5 Best Open Source Web Hosting Control Panels.

www.rianstech.com

Best Open Source Hosting Control Panels - RoseHosting

Best Open Source Hosting Control Panels - RoseHosting

www.rosehosting.com

Both had the Vesta CP listed (and Virtualmin as well).

The first link preferred Vesta & Cent OS web panel over the other control panels. I must admit, the Vesta panel looks nice and simple to operate. Not so overwhelming.

Both links have some other interesting options out there I wasn't aware of...

 

[AfterLife]

I haven't heard of them before.

I googled them and they look interesting. I might setup a VM and test them out... Thanks.

I also googled "top 10 control panels" and got a couple interesting links:

5 Best Open Source Web Hosting Control Panels | RiansTech

Are you shifting to a VPS or a Dedicated server but don't want to spend on control panels. Let's explore 5 Best Open Source Web Hosting Control Panels.

www.rianstech.com

Best Open Source Hosting Control Panels - RoseHosting

Best Open Source Hosting Control Panels - RoseHosting

www.rosehosting.com

Both had the Vesta CP listed (and Virtualmin as well).

The first link preferred Vesta & Cent OS web panel over the other control panels. I must admit, the Vesta panel looks nice and simple to operate. Not so overwhelming.

Both links have some other interesting options out there I wasn't aware of...

im struggeling with setting them up with a domain so if you can figure it out please let me know pal then you maybe able to help me out please

 

[bc12]

im struggeling with setting them up with a domain so if you can figure it out please let me know pal then you maybe able to help me out please

I installed it (Vesta CP) using a FQDN, re-configured my routers firewall and then logged into the admin login page using the FQDN previously mentioned.
I was able to add a new domain and open it as expected. (Nothing fancy, but it did work. )

​

Don't forget to forward your router's HTTP & HTTPS ports to the server...

 

[AfterLife]

I installed it (Vesta CP) using a FQDN, re-configured my routers firewall and then logged into the admin login page using the FQDN previously mentioned.
I was able to add a new domain and open it as expected. (Nothing fancy, but it did work. )

View attachment 1103​

Don't forget to forward your router's HTTP & HTTPS ports to the server...

Did you have the domain pointing to a website already pal ?? As i tried and it wasn't propergating i also opened the routers ports to the server but that didn't work either

 

[AfterLife]

I installed it (Vesta CP) using a FQDN, re-configured my routers firewall and then logged into the admin login page using the FQDN previously mentioned.
I was able to add a new domain and open it as expected. (Nothing fancy, but it did work. )

View attachment 1103​

Don't forget to forward your router's HTTP & HTTPS ports to the server...

also did you point the domain to the nameservers in the vestacp panel as thats what im struggeling with the most pal

 

[AfterLife]

I installed it (Vesta CP) using a FQDN, re-configured my routers firewall and then logged into the admin login page using the FQDN previously mentioned.
I was able to add a new domain and open it as expected. (Nothing fancy, but it did work. )

View attachment 1103​

Don't forget to forward your router's HTTP & HTTPS ports to the server...

is there any chance you can try hestiacp and help me out pal im stuck at pointing the domain to the nameservers of the panel also cloudflare dont seem to want to add a website at the moment for me to use there dns servers but i have put in a ticket to them to see if it can get fixed also hestiacp has the option to choose diferent php versions which i like as i prefer to use php7.4 and so have added sourceguardian and ioncube plugins to it ready for when i can get it running with my domain

 

[bc12]

Did you have the domain pointing to a website already pal ?? As i tried and it wasn't propergating i also opened the routers ports to the server but that didn't work either

Sort of... After I registered my domain name, I had setup their name servers to point to my public IP address. This can take up to 24 hrs to propagate to other name servers.

 

[bc12]

also did you point the domain to the nameservers in the vestacp panel as thats what im struggeling with the most pal

No. all I did in Vesta was add a domain.

 

[bc12]

is there any chance you can try hestiacp and help me out pal im stuck at pointing the domain to the nameservers of the panel also cloudflare dont seem to want to add a website at the moment for me to use there dns servers but i have put in a ticket to them to see if it can get fixed also hestiacp has the option to choose diferent php versions which i like as i prefer to use php7.4 and so have added sourceguardian and ioncube plugins to it ready for when i can get it running with my domain

You can check to see if their nameservers have propagated by pinging your URL. If your public IP address shows up, it is working.

I'll take a look a hestiacp asap.

 

[AfterLife]

You can check to see if their nameservers have propagated by pinging your URL. If your public IP address shows up, it is working.

I'll take a look a hestiacp asap.

ok pal thank you hope i can get my own web host up and running without any issues