Site: April 2003 Archives

So you have decided to put the effort into setting up your own web server using MS Windows 2000 Server and IIS 5.0. Please don't ask me about Apache web server installs as I haven't used Apache before. Please visit their site for documentation and help. I will say that I have tried to install it and us it with MT, but I wasn't about to figure it out.

Apache is the most secure web server out there, but not the easiest to use because it has always had it roots in the unix/linux world. As you may have found out on your own, is that the documentation is a little vague, ok a lot vague. It is really set up to meet the needs of the majority of the users of Moveable Type, the user with a hosting company. So if you want to install and operate MT on your own you are going to have to take the bull by the horns and dive in and figure it out for yourself.

It took me a little over a week and a half of frustration and a lot of soul searching as well as many hours on the support forums looking for clues as to where I should be looking at when I had problems. You will find that a lot of people haven't touched a server OS, let alone set one up for web serving. This is the purpose of this document, to pass on some of my knowledge so you won't have to travel this lonely road yourself.

Jian Shuo Wang from China has a article on installing MT on MS Windows XP Pro and IIS 5.0, but I think that there is enough difference between MS Windows 2000 Server and MS Windows XP Pro to still be releavent. So ok, onward and upward!

1.) Computer system. (The system doesn't have to be the most beefy of machines. I am currently running a custome white box that I built 4 years ago. It is a AMD K6-3 450mhz with 256mb of memory and a 30gb drive.

2.) Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. (You should be able to get a copy for a reasonable price if you do some searching on the internet or go through an academic resaler if you qualify.)

3.) ActivePerl 5.6.1 build 635 (It can be downloaded from ActiveState for free. You will need to fillout a simple form before downloading.)

4.) Moveable Type 2.63 (It can be downloaded from Moveabletype.com. Since this is your first install you will need the full version with libraries.)

5.) Winzip 8.1 (Winzip can be downloaded from Winzip.com)

When you install Windows 2000 Server make sure that you choose to install IIS 5.0 as you navigate the install questions. If you didn't happen to choose to install IIS 5.0 when you installed the OS, it isn't to late. You can add it by navigating to: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel-> Add/Remove Programs Then click on Add/Remove Windows Componets. See below:







Then you need to click and put a check mark in the box next to the Internet Information Services (IIS). When you click on the box and new window will pop letting you choose individual componets of IIS 5.0. See Below:




I would suggest that if you are new to IIS, then you are better off with the K.I.S.S. plan. (I.E. Keep it simple, stupid. Not that I am say that you, the reader is ignorant, but this is a complex beast we are trying to tame here.)

I run only the componets that I absolutely need. For the other services like FTP ect, I use seperate server apps to keep security as tight as possible. It seems that there are enough holes in IIS to sink a ship as it is. So I am trying not to tempt fate.

Here is Micro$oft's instructions for setting up IIS 5.0

Micro$oft Knowledge Base article 308192: HOW TO: Configure Windows 2000 as a Web Server.

After you have rebooted after finishing the installation, you will need to install all the service packs and sercurity updates. Please take the time to do this and keep on top of them because some of these security issues are very serious and can leave your site 'hackable.'

On to Part 2 of the installation.

Well I kicked the code around yesterday and last night and I am thinking that the site is coming along nicely. What do you think? I hope to be able to set up my web cam also and have a pic posted on the site so people can see the 'hood that I live in.

Please check out Kut's blog. He has the cutest kid! Well I am wondering how he has time to keep his site up and spend time with the kid and also with work demands. Hey Kurt, can you spare some of your energy?

Please bare with me as I am moving things around on the site. As you may well know, I strive to have a perfect web presentence.... ya right!