Re: Standalone WebServer for PHP

On 12/09/10 18:33, tedd wrote:

At 5:57 PM +0100 9/12/10, Ashley Sheridan wrote:

On Sun, 2010-09-12 at 12:55 -0400, tedd wrote:

Can a business have a server connected to the Internet but limit access to just their employees? I don't mean a password protected scheme, but rather the server being totally closed to the outside world other than to their internal employees? Or is this something that can only be provided by a LAN with no Internet connection?

Not entirely sure what you're asking, but could you maybe achieve something like this with a WAN using a VPN? Thanks, Ash

Ash: I'm sure this is an obvious question for many on this list, but I'm not above showing my ignorance. I guess what I am asking -- if a client wanted an application written (in web languages) so that their employees could link all their different computers together and share/use information using browsers, is that possible using a server that is not connected to the Internet? Look, I know that I can solve my clients problems by finding a host and writing scripts to do what they want -- that's not a problem. But everything I do is open to the world. Sure I can provide some level of security, but nothing like the security that can be provided behind closed and locked doors. So, can I do what I do (i.e., programming) without having a host? Can I install a local server at my clients location and interface all their computers to use the server without them ever being connected to the Internet? Maybe I should ask my grandson. :-) Cheers, tedd

If the network is set up (as most business and home networks are these days) to use Network Address Translation (NAT) at the connection point to the world, then you shold be able to achieve this. NAT is where you have an internal network using private addresses (often in the 192.168.xxx.xxx range) but all outgoing traffic appears on the internet to come from one public address. So you configure your web server to accept requests from only the internal addresses. With Apache you could do this on a per-directory basis, even, so the web server could have public content (visible to all client addresses) and then have private content in subdirectories which only accept clients on the internal network addresses. There is a possible loophole due to IP address spoofing, but I suspect that your gateway device (firewall, ADSL or cable router that connects you to the world) will block those sort of clients. -- Peter Ford, Developer phone: 01580 893333 fax: 01580 893399 Justcroft International Ltd. www.justcroft.com Justcroft House, High Street, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0AH United Kingdom Registered in England and Wales: 2297906 Registered office: Stag Gates House, 63/64 The Avenue, Southampton SO17 1XS