Hello everyone, today we will look at how to install and configure one of the popular local servers, Open Server. We will look at the basic capabilities of local Open server Server and test its operation. Open Server is a portable server platform and software environment created specifically for web developers. With the help of a local server, programmers can create their applications in server-side languages.

Download Open Server.

Here you go to the “download” page where you have 3 versions to choose from. These versions differ in the set additional programs. I downloaded the largest version, there is a lot useful programs that will make your work easier (pipette, Sublime Text, a set of programs for working with DBMS and much more).

Open Server is free. You can download any version of it for free, but you must understand that it is difficult to maintain and periodically update such a large project.
I realize this, so when I downloaded Open Server, I donated 100 rubles to them. This is not a lot, but if each of those who downloaded transfer 50-100 rubles, this will help the developers.

There are no torrents on the official website, so you will have to download through a browser.

After you have downloaded the installer, install the program itself. I installed Open Server on drive D, this is the drive with more space.

After installing the program, you will have a folder containing the following files:

In order to enable Open Server we click on one of the launch shortcuts. Depending on your system, you should choose the appropriate shortcut for yourself.

For example, I will create an index.php file in the folder. After creating a new project, update Open Server and launch the site through the My Sites tab.

Open Server is easy to learn and reliable to use. Everything here is made for people, you just need to practice.

In the future I will analyze Open Server. In other posts we will look at more advanced aspects of working with Open Server. You don't need it at this stage.

Learning to create websites is a painstaking, time-consuming task that requires many expenses. Even if you use usable CMS. And there is no way to master this business other than by trial and error. But for now we’ll try and make mistakes, it’s not necessary to pay for hosting services and throw it into the Internet space "unripe" material. Mature in your topic, look at the project format, look for domain name, you can decide on a promotion strategy and other subtleties of the process at a measured pace, simultaneously studying the functionality of the chosen CMS.

To do this, you need to create a website on your computer - on a local server. As such, organize in the Windows environment and introduce into it the popular CMS for blogging – we will consider all this below in detail. And as the server platform we will choose .

1. OpenServer: about the platform

Open Server is a software platform for web specialists that provides the creation and operation of a full-fledged server in a Windows environment. This is an assembly of all the necessary components, with which you can create websites of any complexity on your computer, using any chosen CMS. Sites created in this way will be subsequently (when ready) transferred to paid hostings.

Key benefits of OpenServer:

Free;
Portability, complete independence from Windows environment current computer and the ability to work with the server on external drives from any other device;
Functionality, in particular, support for two HTTP modules - Apache and Nginx;
A number of utilities for comfortable work with assembly components (MySQL, PHP);
Current versions of included components;
Convenient server management.

2. Download and install OpenServer

You can download OpenServer from the developers website:

We are offered 3 distribution builds to choose from: basic , premium And maximum . If we are talking only about creating and testing a website on , you can get by with a basic assembly, it contains the necessary components - Apache , PHP And MySQL. For the prospect of exploring new features and new software, it is better to immediately download one of the more functional assemblies.

Descriptions of the assemblies are given here, on their download page just below. If you refuse to donate, you will have to wait a long time for the platform to complete loading, more than an hour and a half for sure. So it’s better to organize this task at night or at other times when the computer is idle.

Unpack the downloaded archive to any location on a non-system disk partition. Or on a flash drive, if we work with the site on several computers.

After unpacking, follow the specified path and launch by using EXE-file for the corresponding Windows bit depth. A small window will appear to select the platform language.

Next we will be asked to install the environment Microsoft Visual C++ . In official distributions current versions In theory, it should be installed on Windows. But in any case, you can agree to the installation, it won’t get any worse.

3. Starting the server

After installation Microsoft Visual C++ the computer will restart. Let's start OpenServer again. Access to the platform's functionality will be available in the menu that appears on its icon in the system tray. The server is started using the option with a green checkbox "Run".

4. Possible problems when starting the server

Alas, we will not see a successful server launch in every case. The fact is that by default OpenServer is configured to use the latest versions of components, in particular, HTTP-module Apache 2.4 And PHP 5.5. The latter are incompatible with Windows versions, starting from Vista and older. Typical server startup problems include busy ports 80 And 443 .

OpenServer will notify you of these and other reasons for the inability to start with a notification in the system tray. In this case, we can go to the platform settings section and correct some things. In the tab you can experiment with other versions Apache, PHP And MySQL.

If the server does not start due to a busy port HTTP 80, you need to close Skype. But you can do it differently - in the settings tab, assign a different port to the platform. The same must be done if one of the programs occupies the port HTTPS 443 .

Another difficulty in the operation of any local server is blocking by firewall and antivirus. When a firewall message appears on your screen, you must allow OpenServer to run. You can deal with the antivirus by adding the platform unpacking folder and its workflow to exceptions. For example, in Windows 10 Creators Update with a full-time Defender this is done as follows.

5. Install WordPress

So, the server is started. By the way, its functionality can be checked by entering the following into the address bar of your browser:

localhost

If everything is fine, we will see a test welcome message "Open Server Panel is working ;-)".

Next in the OpenServer installation folder "OSPanel" open the subfolder. Here we create new folder and call it. If you have a domain name, enter it as the folder name. If the process of creating a website is in its infancy, you can choose some technical name like "site1" . By the way, in the OpenServer menu it is implemented quick access to the folder with server sites.

There is no need to unpack the distribution archive. You can simply copy its contents. Among its standard arsenal, Windows contains ZIP -archiver, so we can open the archive with the CMS distribution even in Explorer. You don't need to copy the folder, but only what is inside it.

We paste what we copied inside the site folder created above.

Note: There should not be an intermediate “wordpress” folder inside the site folder, otherwise its name will hang out in the addresses of the site pages.

6. MySQL database

The next stage is creating a database MySQL site. In the OpenServer menu click "Additionally", choose . The web application interface will open in your default browser window. In the authorization form you only need to enter your username:

root

Leave the password field empty. Click "Forward".

In the form that opens:

Fill in the username field (identical to the site folder name) ;
Fill in the password and confirmation fields (you can use the button below "Generate" to generate secure password) ;
Check the boxes for the proposed database options;
Check the box "Mark all" global privileges.

We save the username and password somewhere in TXT-file or password manager. Click "Forward".

Base MySQL created. Her name is identical to her name account. We can close the browser tab with the web application.

7. Editing the WordPress Configuration File

Now you need to edit the WordPress configuration file. We go to the site folder and look for the file there:

wp-config-sample.php

Rename it and remove it from the title "-sample". The result should be a file:

Open this file using any program like notepad, for example, Notepad++. From the three columns, as shown in the screenshot below, we remove the default values. And instead of them we substitute our values ​​- the data of the database created in the previous step MySQL :

'DB_NAME'– database name;
'DB_USER'- account name (identical to previous value) ;
'DB_PASSWORD'- password.

Next, we go down to changing the WordPress key values. Follow the link to generate them, copy the values ​​in the browser window and paste them into the appropriate fields in the notepad, as shown in the screenshot below.

Save and close the file.

8. Launch the WordPress admin panel

It will open in the default browser window during the initial site setup. Here we indicate its name, come up with a username and password admin-WordPress panels. Check the box to prevent the site from being indexed by search engines. Click.

Using the username and password you just entered, log in admin-WordPress panel. That’s it – the site has been created on the local server. Next comes the specifics of working with the most blogging platform.

Before you launch your website on the Internet, you need to create it and test it on a local server. How to deploy a working website on home computer? The local OpenServer server will help us with this. This article describes step-by-step steps for installing OpenServer on a local computer. Essentially, OpenServer is an analogue of Denwer; you can read about installing Denwer in this article.

What is better Denwer or OpenServer? Personally, I worked with two, and I give preference to OpenServer, I’ll tell you why:

1. This local server is portable and does not require installation; you can put it on a flash drive and always carry it with you.
2. By the way standard features local server, it contains a bunch of useful utilities that will make your head spin, about 40 portable programs(PHPMyAdmin, Notpad++, FTP clients and this is not the whole list).
3. It is very convenient to change server settings, and in general it is very easy to use.

But where there are pros, there are also cons. The only downside is the size; the most basic version (Basic) takes up about 303 MB when downloaded and 2.79 GB when unpacked. The maximum version (Ultimate) weighs 6.54GB when unpacked.

InstallationOpenServer step by step.

• Ultimate
• Prenium
• Basic

Actually, for normal work it will be enough basic version, but if you want “full stuffing”, then download the Ultimate version with all possible bells and whistles.

1. After you have decided on the version, enter the code from the picture, select our version, click “Download”

   

2. Then we will be asked to make a voluntary donation to the project, this is at your discretion (the minimum contribution is 100 rubles). We click “No, thank you, I just want to download”, then another attempt will follow to receive donations, but the minimum amount is 79 rubles, we click again “No, thank you, I just want to download”, after which we are given the opportunity to download the file.

   

3. We launch the downloaded file (for me it was called “open_server_5_2_6_ultimate.exe”), we will be asked to select the unpacking path. We indicate the path convenient for us. After installation, you will need to restart your computer.

   

4. We go to the folder that we specified earlier and run the file depending on the bit depth of your system (I have x64, respectively the file “Open Server x64.exe”).

   

5. An icon in the form of a red flag will appear in the tray (in the lower right corner, where the clock is).

Click on it with the mouse and the program menu will open. At the top, click on the option with a green checkbox “Run”, the red flag should change to green.

1. Next you need to check the operation of OpenServer. There are two ways, essentially the same thing:

As a result, we should see a greeting and a message that everything is working.

OpenServer - working

Actually, that's all, congratulations on installing OpenServer. If something goes wrong, read on.

"Something went wrong..."

Everything seems to be installed, but the icon remains red? No problem, click on our flag and select the “View logs” option.

In most cases, the answer to the question “what’s wrong?” It will be in the logs.

Here are a number of errors you may encounter:

1. File C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts not writable.

Most likely, you do not have enough rights to change the “hosts” file; it may be blocked by an antivirus or firewall. Try allowing editing of the file or disabling your antivirus.

You can give permissions to the file by opening “CMD” (win + r buttons) and run the command: attrib.exe -s -r -h -a C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

1. Apache could not start or the port is busy.

Most likely some other program is sitting on the port, it could be Skype or VMware, usually the log says what process is occupying this port, try disabling it.

That's all. Good luck to you in your endeavors!

Includes: Apache, nginx, PHP, MySQL, phpMyAdmin, FileZilla FTP server.

Russian version: yes.

OpenServer occupies almost 50 MB, which is three times the volume of other kits, and at the same time contains a rather impressive set of components. For example, there are two web servers at once: Apache and nginx, and also two different versions PHP and MySQL.

Installation

Although the downloaded file is executable, in fact it is a 7-Zip archive; when you launch it, you specify the folder where the files should be unpacked, and this completes the entire installation before it even begins. In reality the kit is not installed as separate program, but is portable, so it can be unpacked anywhere, including a flash drive.

Starting the web server

After unpacking the files, you should run Open Server.exe; the download of the kit is indicated by an icon with a flag that appears on the taskbar. When you click on the flag, a convenient menu opens (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. OpenServer menu

• Start - start the web server.
• Restart - restart the web server.
• Stop - stops the web server.
• List of sites - list of local sites.
• Additionally - launch PhpMyAdmin, quick access to web server configuration files, PHP and MySQL.
• HTML folder - open the folder containing local website files.
• View logs - open the viewing panel HTTP errors, PHP and MySQL.
• Settings - window for configuring programs.
• About the program - a window with the kit version, copyright and a link to the site.
• The exit is to terminate running processes and exit the program.

After starting the web server, the http://openserver page should be available, which lists the parameters for connecting to the database, FTP server, and other useful information(Fig. 2). If this page opens, then the kit is installed correctly and is working.

Rice. 2. Openserver home page

At the same time, OpenServer is quite demanding system settings. For correct operation, you need administrator rights, access to the file c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts, a free port 80. It is quite possible that the kit will not work in conjunction with Skype, which also uses port eightieth for operation, as well as with a firewall or antivirus. Many web servers running Windows face these problems, so they are quite well known and solutions have long been found. In the OpenServer help (http://open-server.ru/help.html) all typical questions are discussed and answered, so if the web server does not load, you should look at the server logs and look at the help.

Local sites

To create a local site, just create inside the folder html folder with the domain name, and in it the folder www. To avoid conflicts with existing sites, the first-level domain can be replaced with ..lc\www. After creating the necessary folders, you should restart the web server or start it if this has not already been done.

After closing the program and restarting it, the list of sites is displayed in a special menu (Fig. 3), through which you can quickly open the site in the browser.

Rice. 3. List of local sites

Kit settings

The main settings for managing the program are located in the “Settings” menu, where you can set the letter virtual disk, autorun, PHP version, MySQL, etc. (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. General settings

• Server autostart - allows you not to load the web server manually, but to do it automatically when you start the Open Server.exe program.
• Clear logs when the server starts - information about requests and errors will not accumulate, but will be deleted each time the web server is started again. You can view this information in the “View Logs” menu.
• Quick start- the correctness of starting services is not checked. It is not recommended to enable this option; it is needed only when conflicts arise between ports.
• Virtual disk letter - you can specify a letter that will be automatically used when the kit is launched. The default is W.
• Server IP address is the local address at which sites are accessed.

In the “Module Settings” tab (Fig. 5), you select which web server to use (Apache or nginx), PHP and MySQL version.

Rice. 5. Module settings

The remaining tabs - “Email Settings” and “Encoding Settings” are rarely used.

Please note that once the web server is running, the settings cannot be saved, so you must first stop it and only then configure it.

Resume

OpenServer is perhaps the best kit today for creating and testing local sites for Windows. A convenient menu, launch system, simple creation of virtual hosts, attention to detail make it easy for novice web developers to work, and the included components will suit professional programmers. It’s nice that all this can work on a flash drive and does not require installation, which allows you to quickly transfer your entire projects from one computer to another. Of course, not everyone will need this feature, but it’s good that it exists.

Despite the practicality and comfort of work, the kit also has some disadvantages. It runs only under Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7 with administrative rights. There may also be incompatibility with other installed programs, which will require separate debugging. I also didn’t really like the redundancy of the kit; two versions of PHP and MySQL are definitely useless, and you can’t specify your preferences at the download stage. I hope that someday a lighter version of the kit will appear, but if not, then the unnecessary components can always be removed manually.

If you have Windows installed and have administrative rights, which is a common thing on a home computer, then you should definitely install and use OpenServer. This is the best solution for developing and testing local sites.

OpenServer is a set of programs, a platform for local work with sites. Includes:

• Apache;
• Nginx;
• MySQL;
• MariaDB;
• MongoDB;
• PostgreSQL;
• PHP;
• PHPMyAdmin.

And a number of components and scripts with the help of which a full-fledged website is created. Then the site is transferred to hosting. The OpenServer platform is also suitable for web developers.

Where can I download Open Server?

On the “Download” page you need to select the required edition (to check backup copy or install the CMS “Basic” will do), enter the captcha and click on the download button.

Virtual website hosting for popular CMS:

Click “Download” and save the file. The download will take up to 60 minutes.

So it’s better to wait an hour or two than to spend the same 2 hours cleaning operating system from “suddenly” installed unnecessary programs.

Install OpenServer.

Go to the folder with the downloaded installer and run the file:

Select the folder into which the program will be unpacked, click “OK”:

We are waiting for the archive to be unpacked:

Now the program can be launched.

Setting up and starting OpenServer.

After the installation process is completed, you can go to the specified folder and run the program. Depending on the bitness of the operating system, select either “Open Server x64.exe” or “Open Server x86.exe”.

After launch, select your desired language:

An OpenServer icon will appear in the tray with a notification of successful launch:

If you are starting the program for the first time, you may be prompted to install patches for Microsoft Visual C++. For basic work with the program, you don’t have to do this. If you are not sure whether you have these components installed, install them:

Windows Firewall and OpenServer.

If access to the program is blocked by a firewall, check where the distribution was downloaded from. If the program was downloaded from the official website, there is nothing to fear; we allow access.

Checking the operation of the Open Server after installation.

After installing all the necessary components, you need to run the program. To do this, click on its icon in the tray and select “Run”.

OpenServer may not start at the same time as Skype, because... both programs use the same ports. Therefore, before starting the server, turn off Skype. You can change the default ports in one of the programs later.

Let's launch:

In the browser we type “localhost” - if the program was installed correctly, we will see the following message:

This completes the installation, now you can use any program components.