Build your own web server in a few simple steps
Self Made
© Pavel Ignatov, 123RF.com
If you want to learn a little bit more about the communication between a web browser and an HTTP server, why not build your own web server and take a closer look.
Programming your own web server might seem like a difficult and unnecessary undertaking. Any number of freely available web servers exist in the Linux space, from popular all-rounders like Apache or NGINX to lightweight alternatives like Cherokee or lighttpd (pronounced "lighty").
But sometimes you don't need a full-blown web server. If you just want to share a couple of HTML pages locally on your own network or offer people the ability to upload files, Linux on-board tools are all it takes. A simple shell script is fine as a basic framework that controls existing tools from the GNU treasure chest. Network communication is handled by Netcat [1], aka the Swiss army knife of TCP/IP.
Getting Ready
With a project like this, the best place to start is at the root. Because a web server is still a server at the end of the day, it needs to constantly listen on a given port and respond appropriately to requests. Usually, web servers listen on port 80 for normal requests, and port 80 generally only accepts HTTP requests without encryption. The web server I'll describe in this article listens on ports 8080 and 8081 and communicates without encryption. If you are using a firewall and want to test the server on the local network, remember to allow these two ports in the firewall.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.