Home server test

I am trying to see if I can configure my home computer to host my picture files and have them available for posting. If it works, I will be happy and explain how it works.

Test picture of me in front of one of the waterfalls we saw while touring the Tracy Arm Fjord near Juneau, Alaska.
http://hafflys.linkpc.net:8008/Alaska2017/Tracy_Arm_Stephen_waterfall.jpg

Hopefully, it will work.

It did not embed the image, but it provides an easy link to get the picture.

Procedure (Note: I am using Fedora Linux):

Install httpd (Apache web server)
Enable web server "systemctl enable httpd.service" "systemctl start httpd.service" and check with "systemctl status httpd.service"
test by opening web browser and seeing if the Apache test page is visible http://localhost
In the /var/www/html directory, create your index.html file. This may or may not be needed depending on how you intend to use your server.
Create subdirectories to contain your files. For the example above, I created the "Alaska2017" directory and placed the image file there.

Modify your system's firewall to allow access to port 80. In my case, I do not want my system to display port 80 to the general public so that the script kiddies will not keep trying to hack my system. I modified my router to listen for port 8008 and forward that to my system's port 80. That is what the ":8008" means.

In your router settings, set up port forwarding to forward all requests for port 8008 to port 80 on the computer hosting the picture files. It is also necessary to set a static IP address for that system so that when the computer and/or the router is rebooted, the IP address does not change.

The key to this is to use a dynamic DNS service such as the free one from DNS->Exit to create a friendly name (hafflys.linkpc.net) that can be used. It translates the dynamic IP address the Internet Service Provider uses to a name and provides a client to keep the dynamic address updated so that as it changes, the name will keep pointing to the updated address.

Admittedly, this is not something most people would want to do. I did not want to sign up for a picture hosting site where I did not like the conditions under which my pictures would be stored and shared. This will let me keep control of my pictures and share them here without giving control over to a third party.

Methinks it is on your end. My bandwidth for down and uploads is adequate for the task.


I'm open to a second opinion when your bandwidth isn't so bogged down.

Thanks. For the forum, I had been downsizing pictures for my mods. Since this was a test, I had not done so, but used the original size. For future posts, I will downsize them to minimize bandwidth requirements.

Here's another test shot:


It looks like reducing the image size is what was needed to get the picture to display.

This one was taken from the White Pass and Yukon Route excursion train ride from Skagway, AK to White Pass. On the return trip, clouds had moved in and there was rain which limited my ability to take more photos.

I call that one my calendar shot. 

I would call this test a success. I now can host my own picture files.