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Home Web Server Instructions

notworking
Member

Hi. I posted this question in "Email Computing Hosting & Domains" and it's festered for a week. So I'm wondering if maybe I should have posted here...

 

Are there some instructions for setting up a home web server?

 

I have a LAMP server all good to go. I transferred one of my domain registrations to BT a week ago (obvs no sign of it on the Manage Your Services console yet, but I live in hope...).

 

What I (reasonably?) expect is just half page of instructions on how to then configure the smarthub6, point the domain at the static IP, and maybe even some tips on how to protect the rest of the LAN from the public traffic, let SSL through, etc. There are only a handful of reasons why someone would want a static IP and this is one of them.

 

Assuming this will tumbleweed now too  So I'm going to have to spend time on the phone, wasting everyone's time on what is basically a FAQ. Not an efficient way to do things really. Smiley Mad

2 REPLIES 2

RyanJames
BT Employee
BT Employee

Hi Notworking

 

Sorry this has taken so long to get back to you - I have been away so have not had a chance to really monitor the forum - apologies that no one else replied!

 

For this one I assume that the domain now shows on Manage Services. If so, you would log in and go to Manage Domains, and from there you can set your A records to point at your IP address by clicking into Manage Domain Names. If you had difficulty with that I would recommend contacting our DNS team who can also do that for you - you can speak to them via livechat at dnsforms.co.uk.

 

After that you would open port 80 on the SmartHub and whaetever your servers SSL port is (usually it is 443 - but can vary depending on the server, so best to double check that with whoever maintains the server). You can find a guide on how to open those ports here.

 

Hopefully that is of some help for you! Sorry again it has been such a wait (I imagine you have sorted it since) As I say if you have any issues, the DNS team are best to speak to about repointing, and our general livechat teams can help with the port forwarding side of things.

 

Regards

Ryan

notworking
Member

Thanks Ryan,

 

Yea sorted it now. Like I say, what you need is a half-page guide. The BT pages go round in a circle and barely describe the buttons on the page. They don't connect coherently. Ditto for the meandering support routes. I eventually got through to one of your knowledgeable colleagues who sorted it. But this wastes a lot of people's time and the best answers are only available 9-5. 

 

So yes, I set my webserver on a fixed internal IP on the LAN chosen to be below the 192.168.1.64 that the Hub DNS starts allocating from (is that documented anywhere? I worked it out from googling elsewhere). And then, for that fixed local IP, I opened ports 80 and 443, both External and Internal on the BT Business Hub Firewall (because I was forced to do both). Then I watched my server log files fill as ModSecurity blocked IP's from across the globe sniffing fresh meat. I swiitched off the server and had a wee think, and then I set the External ports on the BT hub to random undocumented ports so that, when I switched on the server again, users on my LAN machines were able to continue developing Wordpress sites etc. while the external traffic stopped. Once I am happy with my security I will open them all again. 

 

An example of the confusing documentation can be found on the page you link to. Halfway down it shouts:

What if I have a device assigned a Static Public IP address?

 

Scary question. I have a static IP. My hub is a "a device". My web server is "a device".  It certainly made me stop and think when I read it a few weeks ago. But I think that applies to CCTV servers etc assigned an external IP of their own, or multiple static IP setups? Its really quite alarming to the noob to be confronted with a question like that, halfway down the page, when they think they have already done the right thing. The text is too sparse and lacks context.  I assumed that the top half of the page described what I needed while the bottom was irrelevant. I moved on, but not with confidence. Also TCP/UDP? No advice - I guessed and added both...

 

Another example: on the Hub Manager, at Advanced/Firewall/Port Forwarding you get "To see a list of the most common port forwarding rules click the button." I assume this means the (not a button!) hypertext next to that prompt, so I click on that, but it takes me to the "How Do I Set Up Port Forwarding" screen, which screenshots through the mechanics of the UI, describing the buttons (which has some use, I suppose, but not to many of the people who would venture through to a screen found at the end of Advanced Settings/Firewall/Port Forwarding...). The problem for me is that this screen does NOT say: eg 1 for a home web server Do this, eg 2 for CCTV cameras do this, eg 3 for a game server do this. I think that's what "a list of the most common port forwarding rules" should look like. Does that sound crazy? I don't think there are many scenarios for people wanting a static IP. I suggest that 90%+ could be covered on 2 sides of A4. And that screen still does not describe "external" and "internal", and how you are forced to enter port numbers in both, and how you might choose port 100001 or whatever as a workaround if you dont want external traffic (did I make that up? It seems to work - that's the one piece of useful advice I think I'm posting here).

 

Anyway, thanks for getting back to me Ryan. I'm glad someone is back on the case. Not sure I'll be back here looking for answers - it seems a bit empty. But if you guys need a technical author to work from home, give me a call :-))