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Sorry if this is in the wrong place.I don't really know anything about server-related things, but I'm really curious about this.

On my mac I figured out how to make a simple web page viewable via the local ip address or computer name on the LAN, and also how to hook it up with a free hostname from dyndns.com.

So the dyndns hostname points to something, how can I access it directly?

Typing in the global ip address (of the router) doesn't work, but if it did, how would it know which computer to point to?

There must be some way of directly accessing what dyndns hostname points to by typing in some number, right?

Sorry I don't really understand how it works.

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This is a question for SuperUser, and involves port forwarding from your router to your macbook. I'll put in a vote to get it migrated there, so it should move once enough people flag it! – Mark Henderson Oct 9 '09 at 2:49
Can't you answer it anyway if you know? – Mk12 Oct 9 '09 at 2:58
Thanks for editing it. – Mk12 Oct 9 '09 at 3:02
Hey Mk12, i would answer it but I'd need to know a LOT of specifics about the situation, such as the router, DHCP range, etc, and then I'd have to research exactly how to navigate through that model of router, etc. The superuser guys usually know this stuff off the top of their heads. – Mark Henderson Oct 9 '09 at 3:15
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migrated from serverfault.com Oct 9 '09 at 5:03

This question came from our site for system administrators and desktop support professionals.

2 Answers

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Basically, you will need to expose your Mac to the Internet, via the router. Before you do this, you should be clear of what you are doing. There is a reason why you router does not allow this by default - to protect the internal machines.

You will need to set your router to forward port 80 to your Mac. That's it. How to actually do it depends on the router.

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My router is airport extreme. I'm not actually making a website, I'm just curious. I had already found out about port 80, so, anyway, forwarding port 80 is safe? Also, is there a way to do it like 10.0.1.1/10.0.1.9 (number on left router, on right local ip) to access the specific local ip without having to make the router forward it? Except using a slash doesn't work. – Mk12 Oct 9 '09 at 3:12
If you were able to access the local IP, you'd essentially be forwarding. That's the way to do it. It's as secure as the underlying network system and the service running on that port. – jtbandes Oct 9 '09 at 5:15
So if only port 80 is forwarded, and web sharing (apache) handles that, is it secure? Is there any possible way someone could hack into that? – Mk12 Oct 18 '09 at 19:20
The moment that you are open to the internet, you can definitely get hacked. There is no 100% secure solution. However, with only port 80 exposed, the entry is limited to exploiting apache weaknesses. So, you are limiting your exposure. – sybreon Oct 26 '09 at 6:50
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up vote 0 down vote

This might work for you: http://wiki.getdropbox.com/TipsAndTricks/HostWebsites

The files are always in your computer but the webpage is served from the internet.

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What I'm trying to do is make my mac the server. – Mk12 Oct 15 '09 at 19:51
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