What You Need to Set Up an Intranet

To properly set up an intranet, you need the right tools. Here's a list of requirements:

• A network: An intranet doesn't require its own cabling; it can operate on your existing network.

• A server computer that's dedicated to the intranet: Make sure that this computer has plenty of RAM (at least 2GB) and gigabytes of disk space (at least 100GB). Of course, the more users your network has and the more information you intend to place on the server, the more RAM and disk storage you need.

• Windows Server 2003 or a Linux operating system: Web server software requires one or the other.

• Web server software for the server computer: You need to install a Web server, such as IIS (for Windows servers) or Apache (for Linux or Windows servers).

• Programs to help you create Web pages: If you're the type who dreams in binary, you can create Web pages by typing HTML codes directly into text files. In that case, the only program you need is Notepad. Alternatively, you can use a program designed specifically for creating web pages, such as Microsoft FrontPage, or perhaps something fancier, such as Adobe Dreamweaver. If you're going to develop transaction-based applications, you need additional tools.

A Webless intranet

The correct way to set up a proper intranet is to set up a Windows-based server running IIS or a Linux-based server running Apache or some other Web server. However, you can create a rudimentary intranet without going to the trouble of setting up an actual Web server. Here's how:

1. Set up a share on a file server that will hold the HTML files that make up your intranet.

2. Create an HTML file for the home page of your intranet and save the file in the location you create in Step 1.

   I recommend that you name it index. html.

3. Create any other HTML files that your intranet needs.

   The index.html file should include links to these pages.

4. Point your Web browser to the index.html file at the shared network location.

For example, if the server is named iserver and the share is named intranet, enter this information into your browser's address box: \\iserver\intranet\index.html. Voilà!- you have an instant intranet without the fuss of a Web server.

This rudimentary intranet works without a Web server because a Web browser can display HTML files directly, without the need for a Web server. However, without a Web server, your intranet is limited in what it can do. In particular, all its pages must be static (their content is fixed). For dynamiccontent, which users inter act with, you need to set up a Web server.