Mac Mini Public Web Server with website

[Nick Soares]

Hello all, for the life of me I cannot find a single successful person/thread/site that is running a Mac Mini Server with a public website/file share. Is it not possible?

I am trying to set a live website up that can be accessed by anyone, we were able to do this on a PC for testing purposes but we want this to work on the Mac Mini for many reasons.

The idea is that we can have our own server of which we can host websites to the public. Again, this was successful via PC but we cannot seem to get this to work on our mac.

Has anyone had any experience with a successful Mac Mini Server?

 

[brdeveloper]

Hello all, for the life of me I cannot find a single successful person/thread/site that is running a Mac Mini Server with a public website/file share. Is it not possible?

I am trying to set a live website up that can be accessed by anyone, we were able to do this on a PC for testing purposes but we want this to work on the Mac Mini for many reasons.

The idea is that we can have our own server of which we can host websites to the public. Again, this was successful via PC but we cannot seem to get this to work on our mac.

Has anyone had any experience with a successful Mac Mini Server?

Well, what exactly is the problem you're facing? There's no reason why setting up a file/web server on a Mini will be harder than on a PC. Try pinging it by IP address and check the MacMini's firewall configuration. If you're serving pages with Apache, don't use the built-in one since it's harder to upgrade and maintaining. Install MacPorts so you'll always get the latest (and safer) GPL software.

 

[Nick Soares]

Well, what exactly is the problem you're facing? There's no reason why setting up a file/web server on a Mini will be harder than on a PC. Try pinging it by IP address and check the MacMini's firewall configuration. If you're serving pages with Apache, don't use the built-in one since it's harder to upgrade and maintaining. Install MacPorts so you'll always get the latest (and safer) GPL software.

Currently when we "locally" go to 10.2.9.x it works just fine, but when we try to view outside the local network its just says a default "cannot connect to server" Your reply has given me a glimps of hope though, so please let me know your thoughts, or anyone else with this experience. I am checking out MacPorts now

 

[chrfr]

If you're serving pages with Apache, don't use the built-in one since it's harder to upgrade and maintaining. Install MacPorts so you'll always get the latest (and safer) GPL software.

This isn't necessarily true, and in any case, isn't the root of the problem here.

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Currently when we "locally" go to 10.0.0.x it works just fine, but when we try to view outside the local network its just says a default "cannot connect to server" Your reply has given me a glimps of hope though, so please let me know your thoughts, or anyone else with this experience. I am checking out MacPorts now

Skip the MacPorts options for now. This is almost certainly a network issue, not a web server issue.
Your router needs to be configured to forward that internal address to the internet, as you can't access a 10.x.x.x address from the internet. Note that if you are already running a web server internally, you won't be able to forward the Mac web server's port without breaking access to the existing web server.
Some internet providers block access to port 80 so you may not be able to host a web server from this account whatsoever.

 

[blanka]

I had one with Mamp, only to find out a Raspberry Pi worked as well. That little critter is hard to match for 35 bucks. So I run the websites on a Pi now.
Only problem: Wordpress without caching is slow as hell. But WP is bloatware anyway.

We will replace it with a Intel Celeron machine though. Linux is much faster than OSX with Apache, and the new Ivy-bridge Celerons are passive cooled and pretty fast. 4x SATA ports, gigabit, up to 16GB ram, quad core processor, only costing 70 bucks for board and CPU.

 

[Nick Soares]

This isn't necessarily true, and in any case, isn't the root of the problem here.

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Skip the MacPorts options for now. This is almost certainly a network issue, not a web server issue.
Your router needs to be configured to forward that internal address to the internet, as you can't access a 10.x.x.x address from the internet. Note that if you are already running a web server internally, you won't be able to forward the Mac web server's port without breaking access to the existing web server.
Some internet providers block access to port 80 so you may not be able to host a web server from this account whatsoever.

So here is the thing, right now we are using a wireless modem straight to the computer, no ethernets, no router. Should I get one or the other?

 

[chrfr]

So here is the thing, right now we are using a wireless modem straight to the computer, no ethernets, no router. Should I get one or the other?

The wireless modem is likely working as a router if your IP address is a 10.0.x.x address.
If you go to a site like whatismyip.com, try accessing your web server externally using that address.
Really, though, we need many more details about your network.

• Are you running a web server elsewhere on your internal network?
• Do you know if your ISP allows web servers to run on your connection?
• Do you have control over your modem to make network changes or is that only done by the ISP?

 

[Nick Soares]

The wireless modem is likely working as a router if your IP address is a 10.0.x.x address.
If you go to a site like whatismyip.com, try accessing your web server externally using that address.
Really, though, we need many more details about your network.

• Are you running a web server elsewhere on your internal network?
• Do you know if your ISP allows web servers to run on your connection?
• Do you have control over your modem to make network changes or is that only done by the ISP?

1- Negative, this is the only one.
2- They have no restrictions and they have port 80 open
3- I do not believe I have control over the modem

 

[brdeveloper]

This isn't necessarily true, and in any case, isn't the root of the problem here.

I'm glad there is someone wiser for helping here.

 

[chrfr]

1- Negative, this is the only one.
2- They have no restrictions and they have port 80 open
3- I do not believe I have control over the modem

Ok, then you'll need to talk to your ISP about having them configure the modem so that port 80 is forwarded to the local 10.x.x.x address to which your Mini is set.
Did you try putting the Mini online and accessing it via the external IP address you found from whatismyip.com?

 

[Nick Soares]

Does anyone know if maybe the direct IP needs to have more info? For example, 10.0.0.9/~user-name

I feel like I read that somewhere but I cannot seem to find it or figure it out, please help

 

[jg321]

Does anyone know if maybe the direct IP needs to have more info? For example, 10.0.0.9/~user-name

I feel like I read that somewhere but I cannot seem to find it or figure it out, please help

The 10.0.0.9 address will only work inside your network. You'll need to go to the "public" IP to access it from the internet, which is why chrfr suggested you go to whatsmyip.com.

Note - you'll need to port forward TCP 80 to the Mini's 10.0.0.0 address. Also, be aware that you may not be able to get to the "external" address from within the network - i.e. you may need to test this from another Internet connection altogether. Depends on the modem/router.

 

[Nick Soares]

Ok, then you'll need to talk to your ISP about having them configure the modem so that port 80 is forwarded to the local 10.x.x.x address to which your Mini is set.
Did you try putting the Mini online and accessing it via the external IP address you found from whatismyip.com?

Ok, i checked whatsmyip and its something like 71.1.49.xx.x but that didnt work either, am I suppose to be giving the people outside my local network the mac IP or modem IP? Even if we figure that out, Im still stuck

 

[Nick Soares]

The 10.0.0.9 address will only work inside your network. You'll need to go to the "public" IP to access it from the internet, which is why chrfr suggested you go to whatsmyip.com.

Note - you'll need to port forward TCP 80 to the Mini's 10.0.0.0 address. Also, be aware that you may not be able to get to the "external" address from within the network - i.e. you may need to test this from another Internet connection altogether. Depends on the modem/router.

jg321, thank you so much! We got it to work! I spent three days straight of testing and researching this, and could not find anything. Many thanks to you and this amazing forum.

The reason we are setting up our own server is because we are allowing our clients of www.distribber.com to upload directly using our custom php and protocol scripts, but the only thing missing was a server that we can manage.
Now that is taken care of and I give you many thanks!

Now, I just need to figure out how to remote manage the Mac Mini Server

 

[jg321]

That's excellent news, thanks for posting back and letting us know you got it sorted.

Hopefully your external IP address (the 71.1.x.x) is static, or "sticky", and won't change if you lose connection. If things stop working in the future, I'd double check that whatsmyip.com shows the same external address, and if not, you'll need to update things.

If the address changes frequently, you'll need some kind of "dynamic DNS" service, or alternatively, your internet provider may be able to add a static IP to your account.

All the best

 

[Nick Soares]

That's excellent news, thanks for posting back and letting us know you got it sorted.

Hopefully your external IP address (the 71.1.x.x) is static, or "sticky", and won't change if you lose connection. If things stop working in the future, I'd double check that whatsmyip.com shows the same external address, and if not, you'll need to update things.

If the address changes frequently, you'll need some kind of "dynamic DNS" service, or alternatively, your internet provider may be able to add a static IP to your account.

All the best

Thanks! I have comcast and I when I accessed the modem through the login details they gave me to forward 80, I saw something that allows my to create a permanent IP address, should i do that?

 

[jg321]

Thanks! I have comcast and I when I accessed the modem through the login details they gave me to forward 80, I saw something that allows my to create a permanent IP address, should i do that?

That'll be for the "internal" 10.0.0.0 address, which you should probably make "permanent" also.

The external will be a comcast setting. It may or may not be an issue - I'm over in the UK, and we use DSL a lot, which for us tends to have dynamic addressing. You'll have to check with comcast if your external is static - either that, or just wait and see if it breaks. It may only be if you turn your modem off for over an hour that you end up having the external address change.

 

[blanka]

I have 2 ISP's that officially don't have fixed IP addresses (you can pay for one), yet it is more and more default to have a static one. Many services rely on this for safety like Facebook, Paypal, etc. If they see too many IP number changes, you will face trouble accessing these services. I think it is the reason many ISP's keep the numbers the same nowadays.

And it is very important to fix the mapping on your modem DHCP server! You should be able to set that up. Type the router IP number in your browser (you see it under network preferences in OSX). If it is impossible, put a second router behind it as only connecting device and let that one handle the devices in your house.

 

[brand]

My concern here is that when someone has this much trouble setting up a simple web server that they don't have a clue providing ongoing security and maintaining the server. These types of servers are hackers dreams.