Running a building-only webserver

For things that just don't fit anywhere else.
atticusewig
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Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:48 am

Running a building-only webserver

#1

Post by atticusewig »

Is it possible to run a web server behind the
firewall so only people in the building would
be able to access it ?

The idea would be to have a intranet site that
would have digital ward bulletins, handouts for
classes being taught, and videos that could be
streamed locally.

Will it work with the new firewall rule being put in place
that mandates using church-only DNS servers, or would some
sort of forwarding DNS server be able to used ?

Finally, if a forwarding DNS server was used,
could you re-direct normally unfiltered websites
like espn.com to a local website that would
say something like "Sports on Sunday ? tsk tsk" ?
russellhltn
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#2

Post by russellhltn »

A webserver would be possible, but the problem is name resolution. Particularly since some meetinghouses have two or more IP pools. The devices on one pool don't get the broadcasts from the other.
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gregwanderson
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#3

Post by gregwanderson »

My question about such a system would be this: Would this be difficult for the average member to use? We're accustomed to just connecting our devices to LDSAccess and that's it. We connect to free Wi-Fi at any number of stores, restaurants, hospitals, etc. and it's simple. If what you're proposing requires users to go too deep into their devices' settings then I think most users would skip it.
russellhltn
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#4

Post by russellhltn »

mrrad wrote:My question about such a system would be this: Would this be difficult for the average member to use?
The server itself would act like a website. You'd just have to connect to the wifi and enter the webserver's address. But that address is the sticky part. You might have to enter the IP address. That's not going to go over well.
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marianomarini
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#5

Post by marianomarini »

russellhltn wrote:But that address is the sticky part. You might have to enter the IP address. That's not going to go over well.
Or write it into hosts file. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_file
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Mikerowaved
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#6

Post by Mikerowaved »

There's a group working on the feasibility of installing a network-attached storage (NAS) device to the LAN in meetinghouses. This would not be a webserver per se, but it very well could store "digital ward bulletins, handouts for classes being taught, and videos". The initial effort is to store the youth curriculum multimedia files and try to make them easily accessible for local streaming, but there's no reason it couldn't be used for much more, given the relatively low cost of hard drive space.

Let me be clear, this is only being studied.
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russellhltn
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#7

Post by russellhltn »

marianomarini wrote:
russellhltn wrote:But that address is the sticky part. You might have to enter the IP address. That's not going to go over well.
Or write it into hosts file. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_file
Are you volunteering to enter that in all the member's devices for them? :D

Because I doubt if most of them could do it.
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marianomarini
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#8

Post by marianomarini »

russellhltn wrote:Are you volunteering to enter that in all the member's devices for them? :D
Because I doubt if most of them could do it.
I've no problem at all, but I think that this will be a great "activity" for youth! :)
And this will be when local server will be in use in my unit.
oneil_d
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#9

Post by oneil_d »

I'm considering the following in my Church Building.

Utilizing LCD TV's with Roku devices and USB drives that would contain media downloaded at home ahead of time by the class teacher. This solution bypasses the internet bandwidth issue and any technical issues around general connectivity. The only limitation is it would be limited to the one device (the lcd TV). I do like the idea of a media server, and have considered something like a Synology drive, which can stream media to users and host websites.

I'm interested if anyone has anything they are currently using that is successful for delivering content? I wonder in a ward of 200+ what percent would utilize it? If half would, It would take a stronger device then was I was originally considering.
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johnshaw
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Re: Running a building-only webserver

#10

Post by johnshaw »

Sure would be good to hear from the Church, they are currently testing a solution for this... if you are going to buy any devices I'd go for the WesternDigital vs the Roku, but the Church even has some STB they might be branding for the future. First half of this year should be the initial test.

I'd wait... I realize that is just a sucky option, but two years late is better than nothing.
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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