And then came the server...

So, we started our hunt for the server. We're lucky, in that we have a few friends who really know what they are talking about when it comes to hardware. We were also lucky enough to find an excellent dealer on ebay with a great reputation, who was selling a server that met our needs to a T! And they were great to work with too. We called them, explained what we wanted to do, and they advised that the server would handle it easily.

We called our friend the programmer, and told him we had the server on order. He said he would start setting up a dummy server on his laptop at home to get the settings sorted out, so that by the time the server arrived he would be ready to go with (hopefully) no issues.

The server arrived within a week! And it was heavy! It was a 6U unit (U is a standard measurement for server height, based on how much space it would take up in a rack). 90lbs is a heck of a lot of weight to carry down a flight of stairs! Anyway, we got it into the basement and made a work station area for it.

Our programmer friend arrived a couple of days later and, sure enough, we hit glitch after glitch trying to set up Ubuntu with Apache server and MySql. But, eventually we (he!) got it done and everything was running smoothly.

While we were waiting for the server, we decided we needed a domain name. We chose anopenmind.ca because it really expressed what we were trying to achieve - it was a metaphor for being open-minded towards software usage, and it spoke to those who were already using open source or free software alternatives. We looked for a domain registrar and found one to register the name for $20! This will be an annual fee, and will increase as the value of the site increases - that's just a cost of doing business, so to speak. We also discovered that there are special rules that apply to .ca domains, and an extra registration process that must be completed before the domain is approved for use over the Internet.

So, we had the server, the domain registered, the software installed, and now we were ready to go, right? Well... not quite. More in the next installment... we know, you can't wait, right?

CUL8R