so, i have one posotively working pc, all i'd need to do is install some linux distro, and i'd be able to start up an in-house webserver.
now, i'd have it up and running right now, but i lack the expertise in actual webhosting to have it running smooth and safe. here's how i was thinking of going along with the process:
1) install linux on the pc. preferably one that is windoze user friendly (not too hard to learn) and isn't a performance hog (so i get the most performance out of the webserver).
2) it has an old-ass hard drive in it, so i'm gonna need to find a better storage method. i still don't even know exactly how small the hard drive is though, so i'll play it by ear. it has a cd drive i could use if i had to anyways.
3) find the server's MAC address and add a static ARP entry into my router for it, hopefully keeping the server from getting a different IP from the DHCP pool/
4) forward port 80 (HTTP) and if necessary, the HTTPS and FTP ports as well, to the server's IP. because i do it like this, i need to make sure the server keeps a specific IP all the time, so if it crashes, i don't have someone accidentally accessing my pc over the web instead of the server.
5) install apache and any other necessarry programs for the web server to function correctly.
6) create web pages and upload them to the server.
ok, i have the process outlined, but I don't know how to do all of that. I'd probably need some help with the linux install, and i'd also need help setting up apache correctly. and i need to find a good way to make sure that the server will always have an IP address specified by me, as well as keeping other computers from accidentally being assigned this IP.
can anyone help me?
