Mark's Serving Suggestions

My Linux-based web server is Apache. Apache is the most popular web server in use today, is very robust, and has very nice features. If you run a Linux box, you undoubtedly already know about Apache. The good news is that Apache now runs under Windows too.

My Windows-based web server is a simple web server called fnord! which was written by Brian Morin. For reasons unknown to me, fnord! is no longer being distributed or supported. Fnord! supported CGI and was distributed with the complete source code. If anyone knows why fnord! is no longer available, please drop me a line and let me know. I may switch to Apache soon but since I rarely run Windows anymore ...

If you want to run your own web server under Windows, I recommend Apache. The latest Win32 binary at the time of this writing is located here. Other inexpensive options may be found at Tucows. Tucows is a repository and marketplace for freeware and shareware software for Windows 3.x, 95/98, NT, OS/2, Macintosh, BeOS, PDAs, and Linux.

The above options may require a little knowledge and patience. If you lack either, you may want to opt for one of the commercial packages such as O'Reilly's Website or Microsoft's Frontpage. I used to recommend Netscape servers but their status isn't clear to me since AOL acquired Netscape. It appears that Netscape and Sun have formed an alliance called iPlanet that sells web servers. See the iPlanet product page for details. Commercial servers are usually expensive but they are sometimes more user-friendly and fuller-featured and sometimes offer better support. Commercial servers may also have better security (except when compared to Apache) and may provide you with a scapegoat if something goes wrong.

One thing that Apache doesn't provide is Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL provides a facility for secure web transactions, like credit card orders, over the web. U.S. law is currently preventing the Apache developers from incorporating SSL in Apache. More information is available here. If you need SSL, you'll have to purchase a commercial product. Many vendors offer web servers incorporating SSL technology but not all commercial web servers provide SSL.

If none of these suggestions suit you, try following this link to Yahoo's repository of Windows web server links.

Return to Mark's Home Page.