i should be working (but i'm fixing my computer).

So, I decided it was time to get a web server running. This was brought about by the [potential] need to stream some video, which was brought about by a relative having a new baby boy (congrats!).

...

I installed apache, but of course, I did not do it correctly, so it didn't work. Then I found a FAQ at OpenSUSE and followed it, installing apache via the "pattern" in YAST, which installed a lot more apache than the first time.

So, now I had a server running on the local machine. But, it could not be seen on my LAN. Whaaaa!

After some trouble-shooting, the kind where I try everything except the correct something, I noticed that I could ping ethernet connections but not wireless ones on my LAN.

So, I reconnected the server via ethernet. Guess what, now the LAN could see the server. "It Works" being the noble statement received.

Now to get it to go through the RG (residential gateway) firewall. Presumably, you add "web server" to the firewall exceptions for the server machine and good to go.

Only, not.

You were expecting things to work the way the equipment says they work? You were expecting a status screen that says it is working to actually mean it is working? Naaaa...

More hours of web research. Hint one: lan connected devices will cannot see the external address.

Okay, so we need to check via an outside source. grc.com is a good choice, as it checks security. Whoopie! I'm in full stealth mode!

Oops, I do not want to be in full stealth mode. I want Port 80 exposed. What Now???

Hint two: the UVERSE 2wire router is a finicky beast. Now, you would think that if you wish to run a web server, it would be best to put it on a static IP, right? Nope, wrong. As it turns out, the router is only server-friendly IF it assigns the IP via DCHP. The clue here was that I was getting some erroneous IP information in the router's network info screen, I guess.

Okay, so now Gibson Research reports I have "failed" the security test, Port 80 is wide open. But -- I need a computer that is not on the lan to check to see if the website is active.

I know ... try the Blackberry. (Not the first thing to jump to mind, as I do not get a very good cellular signal at home.)

Except -- Blackberry suddenly has no "service books." I do not know what service books are, but I cannot browse the web without them it appears. Now, I have known for some time that the Blackberry has to be "re-set" occasionally, by removing the battery. But, nope, this does not work.

So, call to Verizon tech support. Oh, it turns out that the Blackberry network has been down nationwide for 4 days or something. But, Verizon has a "workaround". I do not know how any of this works -- or for the moment, doesn't work -- but I dutifully run the re-set, which is (I think) a call to *228 and then option 1, for those of you who don't wish to be on hold to Verizon for a chunk of your day. Well, it might have been *223 or *226 -- naturally, I didn't write it down and have already forgotten. But I'm going with *228.

(Although - tech-guy asked for the blackberry PIN, so there may be something that has to be done at the Verizon end to make this work, in which case you can't avoid the tech call.) And get this, he said they are correcting the problem on a "one-at-a-time" basis! I don't want to complain too much, because I like my Verizon cellular service, but this seems a rather odd way to provide customer support. "We know it's broken, but let's not fix it until they call to complain..."???

Anyway, the update worked, though it remains unclear whether there will be some other re-set necessary when Blackberry fixes its network, as this is allegedly a "workaround." If my explanation sounds vague, that's 'cause the tech guy was vague, too.

In any event, browsing to my public IP, "It Works."

Which, in the long run, was all I wanted to know for now. Lots of work to go in terms getting video out there. I've read that this can be handled by VLC. I'm also looking at "Zoneminder", which appears to be an interesting package that can handle multiple cameras, such as if I wish to keep tabs on my home when I am traveling.

BTW, Google Chat looks like a quick way to get a two-way video going to say hi! to the baby (and new parents) -- but, Google has not gotten around to making this feature Linux friendly. (Right along with Google's failure to make the Chrome browser available for Linux.) Oh, well. We Linux users are the poor step-children of the not-free world.

Thank you for visiting and have a pleasant tomorrow!