Topic: Dumb Question

[ssnow0016]

Hi, im new to webservers and that. i was told that i did not have to buy a domain that i could simply use a subdomain that i got from a friend. if thats true how would i set up sme to control the subdomain?. ive tried to use it and couldnt figure it out. i tried to set the subdomain(ssnow.maxisgamer.net) as the primary domain for sme and i wasnt able to get it to control the domain it was showing up as the files that were created with the subdomain. id appreciate all the help that i can get.

in other words i can access my server localy but not online. the only thing im able to access online is the orignal subdomain info.
shawn

[jonroberts]

I'm not sure why you wouldn't just want to buy your own domain.  In the UK a .co.uk domain costs about £5 to buy & gives you 2 years.  You would then have full control over your domain, rather than relying on a friend.

Having said that, your subdomain does resolve to a server somewhere as it displays a folder listing.  The IP is 66.197.205.245 and I'm guessing that that's not your server (its not the standard SME webpage).

If this is correct, then you need to make sure that the owner of maxisgamer.net has configured it so that ssnow.maxisgamer.net directs to your IP.

As a test, try accessing your SME server by your IP address only.  On a standard SME install, this should show you the "This web site is under construction" message (try accessing it internally by IP address to see what comes up).

If you can access your SME server by IP address, the problem is with the domain, so get you friend to configure it for your IP.  If not, then resolve that issue first (probably a firewall issue).

Jon

[ssnow0016]

ok thanks jon. and you are right thats not my server that shows up unfortunetly. but if i type in my internal ip address the page shows up. if i type in the external address(wan address) my router comes up. (i have it set up in my router as the server being a html server but it doesnt seem to be forwarding it) and i cant figure out any way to do that. the router is a actiontec gt-704wg(dsl modem and wireless router). anyone have any other ideas?  

thanks
shawn

[jonroberts]

Shawn,

Ok that's clear.  You need to (a) change the domain setting to your IP and (b) configure your router to pass web traffic to the SME server.

I've no experience with your router but generally you're looking for Port Forwarding or Services or Firewall Rules or similar.  You need to Port Forward Port 80 to the Internal IP address of your SME server.  

You may have a DMZ option on the router to forward all traffic to an Internal IP & you could set this to direct to your server, but if you go this, make sure the server is in Server / Gateway mode and you're forwarding to the Internet  facing IP of the server (sorry if I'm stating the obvious).

One last thing, your router may be set up to allow remote administation & that's why its listening on Port 80 instead of forwarding.  If so, either disable remote admin on the router or set the remote admin port to some number other than port 80.

Jon

[ssnow0016]

i tried to set up the router for dmz mode but it still doesnt apear to be working through the external ip. ive contacted the router company to see if they can help on how to do forwarding. thats the only other thing i can think of. thanks for all of the help and helping me figure out its my router and the site not being pointed to the ip. wich at this moment doesnt matter since its not accessible.

thanks again.
shawn

[ssnow0016]

alright,
i was finaly able to get the router to allow the webserver through. come to find out when i set up the router orginaly i had the wrong computer selected dummy me. and i did a manual reroute from my subdomain to my server and it seems to be working (from what others tell me) if i do it here just my stupid router page comes up but according to them the page under construction comes up.