Building a permanent web server is pretty easy with today’s tools. All you need is a computer capable of running Linux, which is pretty much any computer 10 years old or less, and a copy of Linux. I recommend Ubuntu Linux for beginners, because there are endless tutorials and pages about setting up Ubuntu on the net.
However, starting with a server version of Ubuntu instead of the desktop version can be the smarter choice since performance will be better on a single-purpose machine like a web server.
- Download Ubuntu Server and burn the image to a DVD
- OR – Use Unetbootin to create a bootable USB drive
- Follow these instructions to setup a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server. You can use any tutorial you like. If you find a better one, please leave a comment below!
To remotely administer your server, you can connect to it over the SSH (Secure Shell) Protocol using PuTTY for Windows/Mac/Etc..
- Install and configure SSH on your Linux server
- Download the PuTTY client for Windows (Get the .zip version)
In the end, you want to be able to show me a fully configured server, hosting the CMS of your choice.