Friday 12:10 p.m.–12:55 p.m.

Turn Your Computer Into a Server

Karen Rustad, Asheesh Laroia

Audience level:
Novice
Category:
Systems Administration

Description

Learn how to let other people connect straight to your computer, so your Python web apps, email services, or anything else can be seen by the world. It starts simple, then explains when and how to use SimpleHTTPServer, ssh tunnels, Pagekite, and IPv6. You can use these tools for temporary connections, like sharing an in-progress demo, or for permanent connectivity for your home server.

Abstract

Many web programmers think they need to find web hosting before they can share their cool creations. Instead, in this talk, we show you how to let others connect straight to your computer. It's useful for briefly getting feedback on a new Flask app, and for setting up a permanent computer to serve your Internet things to the world. The Internet was created to connect all the computer networks -- it is the network between the networks. A key tenet was that every computer should be able to send messages to any other computer. That's still true today, but if you want to run your own web server at home, or let other people send email straight to your living room with no Google in the middle, there are a few things you'll need to know. The talk emphasizes visuals, to cement your knowledge, and will conclude with recommended resources on how to follow up on each of these techniques.