Own web server = suicide?

[peterb]

We use FreeBSD

I know - but its almost as good!

http://www.freebsd.org/about.html

SCP would. It's a hell of a lot better.

They both use ssh as the authentication/confidentiality mechanism, but the SFTP protocol is more versatile and based on the ftp protocol, while SCP is based on the rcp copy protocol.

SFTP allows the one connection to be used to list (and change) remote directories; SCP requires a separate connection to do functions other than copy.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/filetransfer/compare.html

[latrosicarius]

Well, whats the difference between SFTP and FTPS then?

[aidanjt]

Well, whats the difference between SFTP and FTPS then?

FTPS uses SSL to provide a layer of encryption underneath an FTP session. SFTP uses an SSH tunnel to exchange commands to provide an FTP-like session, but it's really just an exchange of shell commands emulating the FTP protocol.

The latter is more secure.

[Ben Rogers]

I've been running a web server at home for the past 5 years or so now under different Windows OS' 2000, XP and 2003 server, the software I use is called EasyPHP, it has a newer build of PHP installed. I have used IB Server before which was pretty similar and WAMP is practically the same. I liked IB Servers logged file as it said the google search used which the client used to get to the site.

I have never been hacked but have multiple port scans carried out most days I think. One thing to remember is that if you have a dynamic IP you will need to use some program for translating the IP to the hostname, I use DynDNS for this and have registered a domain with them that is then web forwarded to from my main domains control panel.

I have tried setting up Sun's VirtualBox with Ubuntu Linux and hosting that way but I could never get it working due to the ethernet configuration in the settings not being correct I think.

Good luck with it!

[lego batman]

Is ubuntu a lot easier to get to grips with than FreeBSD then, just in terms of setting up a server?

[KowShak]

Ubuntu is pretty easy to set up probably easier to install and get running than any Microsoft O/S, assuming your hardware is supported.... The BSDs are not famous for being user friendly. Ubuntu can be run from a live CD so you can have a play with it and find out what its all about, it'll run pretty well on very basic hardware too.

If you decide to go the Ubuntu root (or Debian for that matter), have a read about apt-get, if you want to install / upgrade the software on an Ubuntu / Debian box it makes things pretty easy.

[Jay]

I have done work for a few ISPs and a lot of them use CentOS.

[Steve]

FreeBSD's probably harder than Ubuntu, at least to install. Its ports system is pretty good though for installing stuff and there is a wealth of help on the net, much like Ubuntu.

[peterb]

I use Fedora 6 (currently - just about to go to FC 10) for mine, but I usually compile Apache and PHP myself (rather than use the bundled versions) That is so I can cut out any modules I don't need and - more importantly - apply any patches/updates as soon as the become available. (I did try compiling MySql from scratch under FC 6 - but couldn't get it to work! - I suppose I ought to try again!)

[lego batman]

Ok thanks everyone, I'm going to try both CEntOS+Apache and Windows+WAMP both in virtualbox and choose one.
I'll probably be back here soon with more questions!