{"id":185,"date":"2001-04-25T12:34:26","date_gmt":"2001-04-25T19:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/?p=185"},"modified":"2020-07-08T16:28:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T23:28:09","slug":"webhosting-with-free-software-cheat-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/2001\/04\/25\/webhosting-with-free-software-cheat-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"Webhosting with Free Software Cheat Sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jeffrey Carl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Boardwatch
Boardwatch Magazine, April 2001<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Boardwatch Magazine was the place to go for Internet Service Provider industry news, opinions and gossip for much of the 1990s. It was founded by the iconoclastic and opinionated Jack Rickard in the commercial Internet’s early days, and by the time I joined it had a niche following but an influential among ISPs, particularly for its annual ranking of Tier 1 ISPs and through the ISPcon tradeshow. Writing and speaking for Boardwatch was one of my fondest memories of the first dot-com age.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you want to run a webserver without paying a dime for software, eh? Or you want to make sure you have the source code to all your webserving applications in case you get bored and decide to try and port them to your networked office Xerox copier? Well, you\u2019re in luck; webhosting with free (open-source, or free as in \u201cfree speech\u201d) and free (no cost, or free as in \u201cfree beer\u201d) software isn\u2019t just possible, it also provides some of the best tools out there at any price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you\u2019re new to the game, or you\u2019re looking for alternatives to packages you\u2019re using now, the following is a brief guide to some of the more popular options that are out there. Trying to condense the features of any OS or application down to a couple sentences is inherently a dangerous thing; and I\u2019m sure that many fans of the software listed below will disagree with elements of my \u201cReader\u2019s Digest Condensed (Large Print Version)\u201d summaries. Still, the following \u2013 based on my experiences and those of others \u2013 should provide at least a basic idea of what\u2019s out there and why you might \u2013 or might not \u2013 want to choose it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operating Systems<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Linux vs. BSD:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These OSes show the characteristics of their development styles: BSD was developed by small teams, largely focused on server hardware. Linux has been developed by many more people with wider uses, focusing more on desktop\/workstation uses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BSD has been around longer and is (in some ways) more optimized for server use. Due to its hype, Linux has many more developers, and almost all new third-party software is available for Linux first. Linux has the edge in user-friendliness, because distributions are targeting new users; BSD is, for the most part, more for the \u201cold school.\u201d Linux has also been adopted by a number of server hardware vendors producing \u201cintegrated\u201d solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s a matter of what you feel most comfortable with. Either way, with commodity x86 hardware, your server components (RAM, drives, etc.) and network connection will affect your performance much more than your choice of Linux vs. BSD will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 FreeBSD<\/strong> (www.freebsd.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best known among the BSDs. Concentrates on x86 architecture, server performance, integration of utilities. Standout features include ports collection, sysinstall admin utility, Linux binary compatibility, frequent releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 NetBSD<\/strong> (www.netbsd.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BSD with a focus on porting it to as many platforms as possible and keeping code portable. Great for using old\/odd hardware as a server. Infrequent releases, not as popular as other BSDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 OpenBSD<\/strong> (www.openbsd.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BSD with a focus on security. Still in the process of line-by-line security audit of the whole OS. Infrequently released, utilities\/packages lag behind other OSes because of security audits, but it\u2019s the #1 choice if security is your primary concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Red Hat Linux<\/strong> (www.redhat.com) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number one U.S. distro, considered by many (rightly or wrongly) as \u201cthe standard.\u201d As a result, it\u2019s what many third-party\/commercial Linux apps are tested against\/designed for. Early adopter of new features in its releases; is on the cutting edge, but sometimes buggy until \u201crelease X.1.\u201d Standout features: Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) installation, third-party support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 SuSE Linux<\/strong> (www.suse.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number one European distro. Favored by many because its six-CD set includes lots and lots of third-party software to install on CD. Less \u201ccutting-edge\u201d than Red Hat. Standout features include the YaST\/YaST2 setup utility and the SaX X Windows setup tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Slackware Linux<\/strong> (www.slackware.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed for experts: Slackware has no training wheels, and is probably the most \u201cserver-oriented\u201d of Linux distros (maybe because of its close relationship to the BSDs). Not cutting-edge, few frills, but designed to be stable and familiar to BSD administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Linux Mandrake<\/strong> (www.linux-mandrake.com\/en)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A solid, user-friendly distribution with good (but not great) documentation. Standout features include the DrakX system configuration utility and the DiskDrake disk partitioning utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Debian GNU\/Linux<\/strong> (www.debian.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideological Linux \u2013 totally supported by users rather than a corporation, and free (as is the GNU definition) software only is included. This is \u201cideologically pure\u201d Linux \u2013 GNU-approved, but infrequent releases and not necessarily a good choice for beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Caldera OpenLinux<\/strong> (www.caldera.com\/eserver)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very user-friendly for new users. Standout features include LIZARD, its setup\/configuration wizard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Corel LinuxOS<\/strong> (linux.corel.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time you read this, Corel will have sold its LinuxOS product to someone else, but the distro should remain the same. Ease of use for Windows converts is stressed, includes great SAMBA integration. Good for new users. Focus is mainly on desktop use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Perl<\/strong> (www.perl.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CGI to simple administration tasks, Perl scripts can cover a lot of territory. Perl is a must, and is practically part of Unix now. Check the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (www.cpan.org<\/a>) to find modules to extend Perl\u2019s functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Perl\u2019s cgi-lib.pl<\/strong> (cgi-lib.berkeley.edu) and\/or CGI.pm<\/strong> (stein.cshl.org\/WWW\/software\/CGI)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are also \u201cmust-haves\u201d for CGI scripts, whether you\u2019re writing your own or using scripts found \u201cout there\u201d on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Sendmail<\/strong> (www.sendmail.org) or Qmail<\/strong> (www.qmail.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free mailservers. Sendmail has the history and the documentation (a good thing, since its internals are famously complex), but Qmail has a less-complicated design, and a strong and growing band of followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 wu-ftpd<\/strong> (www.wu-ftpd.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant improvement in features over the classic BSD FTP daemon \u2013 for both BSD and Linux. Despite an older security flaw that was recently exploited by the \u201cRamen\u201d Linux worm, it\u2019s a very good program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 OpenSSH<\/strong> (www.openssh.com\/)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this day and age, Telnet has become a liability for security reasons. There\u2019s no reason not to migrate users who need a shell account to SSH. See www.freessh.org for a list of clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web Servers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Apache 1.3.x<\/strong> (www.apache.org\/httpd.html)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current king of web servers. Very good performance, stable enough to run on mission-critical systems. Very user-friendly to install and configure (due to comments in httpd.conf), but not always as easy as it should be to debug problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Apache 2.x<\/strong> (www.apache.org\/httpd.html)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still in beta development, but may be final by the time you read this. It probably shouldn\u2019t be used for mission-critical systems until it\u2019s had a few months of time \u201cout there\u201d to find bugs after its final release. Version 2.0 will be much easier to add new protocols into (like FTP or WAP), and should have significantly better performance because of its multi-threaded nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Roxen<\/strong> (www.roxen.com\/products\/webserver)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roxen is much more than just a simple webserver \u2013 it includes its own web admin interface, secure server, and more. Used by real.com; shows promise but doesn\u2019t have the acceptance level yet of Apache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secure Web Servers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/em>: You may receive a \u201csecurity warning\u201d in most web browsers about your secure certificate if you generate your own secure certificate (free). For a non-free certificate created by an authority that most web browsers will accept without a warning, see VeriSign (www.verisign.com\/products\/site\/ss\/index.html), Thawte (www.thawte.com), Baltimore (www.baltimore.com\/cybertrust), ValiCert (www.valicert.com\/), Digital Signature Trust Co. (www.digsigtrust.com) or Equifax (www.equifaxsecure.com\/ebusinessid) for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 ApacheSSL<\/strong> (www.apache-ssl.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focused on stability\/reliability, and lacking in \u201cbells and whistles\u201d features. It\u2019s simple and it works, but it lacks some features of mod_ssl and it isn\u2019t updated very often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 mod_ssl<\/strong> (www.modssl.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally based on ApacheSSL, mod_ssl is now largely rewritten and offers a number of extra features, plus better documentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Web Compatibility<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 FrontPage Extensions for Unix<\/strong> (www.rtr.com\/fpsupport)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On one hand, it allows you to host sites built and published with FrontPage on a Unix server. On the other hand, it\u2019s possibly the biggest piece of junk Unix software ever created. Use it if you have to; avoid it if you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Improved mod_frontpage<\/strong> (home.edo.uni-dortmund.de\/~chripo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addresses a number of problems with mod_frontpage (www.darkorb.net\/pub\/frontpage), with extra security and documentation, support for Dynamic Shared Objects (DSOs), better logging, as well as (unverified) claims of increased performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Apache::ASP<\/strong> (www.nodeworks.com\/asp)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alternative to the very expensive ChiliSoft or Halcyon ASP Unix solutions, using Perl as the scripting language for ASPs. Requires the Apache mod_perl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 asp2php<\/strong> (asp2php.naken.cc)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As its FAQ says, \u201cASP2PHP was written to help you correct the mistake of using ASP.\u201d Converts ASP scripts to PHP scripts for use with Apache\/PHP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application Building<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Zope<\/strong> (www.zope.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A complete tool for building dynamic websites; there\u2019s a (somewhat) stiff learning curve that may be too much for basic needs. Zope offers incredible functionality, and is well-suited to large projects and web applications; it may be overkill for simple scripting that could be done with PHP or Perl CGIs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 PHP<\/strong> (www.php.net)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The favorite open-source tool for building dynamic websites, and the open-source alternative to ASP. Reliable, uses syntax that seems like a cross between Perl and C, and features native integration with Apache. Version 4 is thread-safe, modular, and reads then compiles code rather than executing it as it reads (making it much faster with large, complex scripts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Database Software<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/em>: for a more in-depth comparison, I highly recommend the O\u2019Reilly book MySQL and mSQL<\/em>, as well as the article \u201cMySQL and PostgreSQL Compared\u201d (www.phpbuilder.com\/columns\/tim20000705.php3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 MySQL<\/strong> (www.mysql.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cRed Hat\u201d of free relational database software. Well-documented, and its performance for most users is excellent, designed around fast \u201cread\u201d rather than \u201cwrite\u201d operations. It doesn\u2019t offer \u201csubselect\u201d functionality, and tends to buckle under very heavy loads (more than 15 concurrent users per second), but is very fast and reliable for most sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 PostgreSQL<\/strong> (www.postgresql.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has an active developer community, especially popular among the \u201cGPL-only\u201d crowd. Offers advanced features that MySQL doesn\u2019t (subselects, transactional features, etc.), but traditionally wasn\u2019t as fast for common uses and sometimes suffered data corruption. New versions appear to have remedied most of these deficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 mSQL<\/strong> (www.hughes.com.au) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of the bunch, but appears to have fallen behind. More mature than MySQL or PostgreSQL, but may not have all of the features of its rapidly developing brethren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Administration<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Webmin<\/strong> (www.webmin.com\/webmin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fully featured web-based administration tool for web, mail, etc. Offers excellent functionality, but can present a potential security risk (I get really nervous about anything web-accessible which runs with root permissions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Java Servlets<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Tomcat<\/strong> (jakarta.apache.org) and JServ<\/strong>\/mod_jserv<\/strong> (java.apache.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomcat is an implementation of the Java Servlet 2.2 and JavaServer 1.1 specifications that works with other browsers as well as Apache. JServ is an Apache module for the execution of servlets. The two work together to serve JSPs independently of Apache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website Search<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 ht:\/\/Dig<\/strong> (www.htdig.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ht:\/\/dig is relatively simple to set up, and (with a few quirks) offers excellent searching capabilities. Easily customizable, and has a good \u201cratings-based\u201d results engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 MiniSearch<\/strong> (www.dansteinman.com\/minisearch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simple Perl search engine, which can also be run from the command line. Not as fully featured as ht:\/\/dig, but good enough for basic needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web Statistics<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 analog<\/strong> (www.statslab.cam.ac.uk\/~sret1\/analog)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analog is extremely fast, reliable and absolutely filled with features. Its documentation is a bit confusing for beginners, however, and it takes some configuration to make it pretty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 wwwstat<\/strong> (www.ics.uci.edu\/pub\/websoft\/wwwstat)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A no-frills, simple statistics analysis program that delivers the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Goodies<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Configuration Scripts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Install-Webserver<\/strong> (members.xoom.com\/xeer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Install-Qmail<\/strong> (members.xoom.com\/xeer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Install-Sendmail<\/strong> (members.xoom.com\/xeer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shopping Carts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Aktivate<\/strong> (www.allen-keul.com\/aktivate)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aktivate is an \u201cend-to-end e-commerce solution\u201d for Linux and other Unixes. It is targeted at small-to-medium-sized businesses or charities that want to accept credit card payments over the Web and conduct e-commerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 OpenCart<\/strong> (www.opencart.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OpenCart is an open source Perl-based online shopping cart system. It was originally built to handle the consumer demands of Walnut Creek CDROM, was later expanded to also work with The FreeBSD Mall, and was finally developed to be used by the general public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Commerce.cgi<\/strong> (www.careyinternet.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commerce.cgi is a free shopping cart program. Included is a Store Manager application to update program settings, and you can add\/remove products from the inventory through a web interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Message Boards:<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 WaddleSoft Message Board<\/strong> (www.ewaddle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WaddleSoft is a message board system that includes polls, user registration, an extensive search engine, and sessions to track visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 MyBoard<\/strong> (myboard.newmail.ru)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBoard is very easy and light-weight web messageboard system. It also has some extended features such as search and user registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 NeoBoard<\/strong> (www.neoboard.net)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NeoBoard is a Web-based threaded message board written in PHP. It includes a wide variety of advanced features for those comfortable with PHP.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 PerlBoard<\/strong> (caspian.twu.net\/code\/perlboard)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PerlBoard is a threaded messageboard system written in Perl. It is very easy to use and set up, and has been time-tested for the past several years on the site it was originally written for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 RPGboard<\/strong> (www.resonatorsoft.com\/software\/rpgboard)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RPGBoard is a WWWBoard-style message board script. It includes a list of features as long as your arm, and is well worth checking out for those who need a rather advanced message board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes from the Underground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you see a favorite package here that I\u2019ve overlooked, or would like to offer comments on any of the package descriptions, e-mail me at me@schnell.net<\/a>. I\u2019ll update this list with more information for a future column.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jeffrey Carl Boardwatch Magazine was the place to go for Internet Service Provider industry news, opinions and gossip for much of the 1990s. It was founded by the iconoclastic and opinionated Jack Rickard in the commercial Internet’s early days, and by the time I joined it had a niche following but an influential among … Continue reading Webhosting with Free Software Cheat Sheet<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,66],"tags":[26,29,27,36,37,35],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boardwatch-writing","category-tech","tag-apache","tag-bsd-unix","tag-linux","tag-open-source","tag-perl","tag-webhosting"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bwatch.gif","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions\/296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffcarl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}