Setting up my own private cloud

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Hi guys,
Over the last week or so ive been looking into using my server as a cloud server. Ive looked at tonido, owncloud etc and think that owncloud is a good route to go.

Although i currently have server 2008 running (doing very little) I am wondering if i should just go down teh route of installing the likes of ubuntu or even windows 7 and taking things from there.

Does anybody already have what im looking to achieve?

Im still pretty new to server technologies and what i want the end result is to be able to log on though a nice UI and access my data. Anywhere, anytime.

I have already signed up to the owncloud forum but getting very little constructive feedback.
 
Owncloud is pretty easy to set up, although not sure about running it on Windows (just preference). I dont know what the question is however - my recommendation would be just to do it, and see what you think.
 
So i decided to install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS an although the installation was successful from a bootable USB pendrive, upon rebooting it has asked me for my user name and password which is fine but does nothing there after (i,e, load to desktop desktop)

A couple of lines up it does tell me:

Graph this data and manage this system at https://landscape.canonical.com

A bit of help...Please

Also, if i want to shut the server down every night, when i switch it on the next day, do i have to log in each and every time. It would mean hooking p my monitor, keyboard and mouse each and every time.

I prefer remote management.
 
Owncloud is really easy to set up on Windows I even did a step by step guide somewhere ages ago on how to do it but can't find the link.

1.Install IIS with CGI support – enable IIS on your Windows machine.
2.Install PHP – Grab, download and install PHP.
3.Install MySQL – Setup the MySQL server manager and enable ownCloud to create an instance.
4.Install ownCloud – The whole reason we are here!
5.Configure upload sizes and timeouts to enable large file uploads – So that you can upload larger files.

http://doc.owncloud.org/server/4.5/admin_manual/installation.html#windows-7-and-windows-server-2008

(Hard to do if you havn't done web development or installations before)
 
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Being pedantic, the product might have the word "cloud" in the name but you're most definitely not setting up a private cloud!
 
what i want the end result is to be able to log on though a nice UI and access my data. Anywhere, anytime.

You would have to make the internal server (the owncloud one) public facing by nat'ing it through your firewall/router. Not a simple process for someone who is new to server tech. It will be easier to just use already existing online hosting and then upload your content, although if you plan to host a lot then i see why you want to do it internally.

If you set up the owncloud server and need help making it accessible from the internet let us know what router you have and if you need help.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

It does seem pretty straight forward when it comes to Windows 7 but i was really looking to use server 08 but it got a little bit complicated. I might try again though.

In regards to the os i have on as of last night (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS).

Upon boot up and entering my log details, the screen stays at the below: Why is it not going to a desktop?

8409307746_bc3e43fdb8_c.jpg
 
Enter 'startx'

You have the 'server' version. There is no desktop.... It's easier the server way anyway....

i'll load up the server after a while to see how i get on. I guess i though i was going to get a similar interface to that of server 08. Im due to start a large module shortly covering Linux so im very much looking forward to learning open software for the first time (hence my basic knowledge now)

After writing up what you have said mrbell, what should happen upon reboot?
 
Reboot? You shouldn't need to reboot.

What you need to once you have installed the server is ensure you install the components to ensure you have a working web server.

To be honest you should install ubuntu 12.10 server and start again not the LTS version with it been the latest version. When you install this version you can have it set up automatically in a few steps a working web server [L][A][M][P]. (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server (Download)
https://help.ubuntu.com/12.10/serverguide/installing-from-cd.html (Installing from CD)

You should look at the above guide and when you install the server from scratch you should see (Package Tasks) make sure you install LAMP because out of the box on install you will have a working core web server.
 
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Reboot? You shouldn't need to reboot.

What you need to once you have installed the server is ensure you install the components to ensure you have a working web server.

To be honest you should install ubuntu 12.10 server and start again not the LTS version with it been the latest version. When you install this version you can have it set up automatically in a few steps a working web server [L][A][M][P]. (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP)

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server (Download)
https://help.ubuntu.com/12.10/serverguide/installing-from-cd.html (Installing from CD)

You should look at the above guide and when you install the server from scratch you should see (Package Tasks) make sure you install LAMP because out of the box on install you will have a working core web server.

ok. The only reason i said reboot is that i thought i saw the last command showing restart or something. 12.10 seems the ticket, going to give the guides a read through here first.

Appreciate the help so far....By so far i mean im not done with you yet :D

But really though, I appreciate the help
 
ok. The only reason i said reboot is that i thought i saw the last command showing restart or something. 12.10 seems the ticket, going to give the guides a read through here first.

Appreciate the help so far....By so far i mean im not done with you yet :D

But really though, I appreciate the help

It said 'service restart' not reboot :P ...... with linux you get what the commands say.

It's hard but I would say within 4 hours you should be confident on a working web server and have owncloud installed.
 
One issue with running this on a home server - and one I'm trying to find a solution to - is that you won't be able to access it from both inside and outside of your network using the same IP address due to how NAT works. You can punch a hole through for access from outside with no issues, but you can't connect to your external IP from within a network that's already behind it.
 
One issue with running this on a home server - and one I'm trying to find a solution to - is that you won't be able to access it from both inside and outside of your network using the same IP address due to how NAT works. You can punch a hole through for access from outside with no issues, but you can't connect to your external IP from within a network that's already behind it.

In this case what I did was use the ip address for inside and domain outside. Not the best way of doing it but it works.

Another way is just to modify the host file on the said device so that the domain name points to the ip address. This also works fine.
 
In this case what I did was use the ip address for inside and domain outside. Not the best way of doing it but it works.

Another way is just to modify the host file on the said device so that the domain name points to the ip address. This also works fine.

I don't follow the first paragraph I'm afraid, but changing the Host file is ok if the machine isn't portable or an iOS device. Split DNS sounds like the way to go once I've figured it out.

This is what's stopping me from dumping Dropbox in favour of my own solution like this.
 
I don't follow the first paragraph I'm afraid, but changing the Host file is ok if the machine isn't portable or an iOS device. Split DNS sounds like the way to go once I've figured it out.

This is what's stopping me from dumping Dropbox in favour of my own solution like this.

I will have to look into split dns never used that before. Does that involve you having an internal dns server? It appears you do after a bit reading.

What I meant by the first part is basically inside the network use http://[ipaddress] rather than http://domainname.com.
 
I will have to look into split dns never used that before. Does that involve you having an internal dns server? It appears you do after a bit reading.

What I meant by the first part is basically inside the network use http://[ipaddress] rather than http://domainname.com.

Yeah, using the internal IP would work, but if you use a machine that goes in and out of the network it starts to get silly because you're changing settings each time.
 
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