I would like to turn my computer into an internet server so as to have my domain names (myname.com's) point to my home computer. Can I download unix from sun.com and do this with that os?
Also What is apache, ( I'm new to unix and server things) Is this needed to turn my computer into a server. Any other help you think I need Please add it to the post.

To run a UNIX based web server, you will need a type of UNIX, and Sun's Solaris will work wonderfully for the operating system. You will also need a permanant Internet connection like DSL or a cable modem. You will also need a web server application, which is where Apache comes into the picture. You can either download and compile it, or I beleive it is installed by default with Solaris 8 (or RedHat 7.x). Once you have your web server built and you can pull up a page in a browser by entering http://localhost in the address bar, you then need a DNS entry to point requests to that domain name to your local IP. You can install and run your own DNS servers, but there must be 2. Another option is to use someone elses DNS, I have used http://www.zoneedit.com with success.
Good luck. You will learn a lot, but it will be worth it when finished.

Don't forget security... There's nothing worse than being cracked into because you didn't know what was running on your machine.

I was in the same situation. I went out and bombarded my ISP's tech support with questions, and this is what I got:

All domain names are registered with Network Solutions, the "big daddy" over the internet. Network solutions pairs up DN's with IP address's: yahoo.com = 26.244.189.12

To keep the IP current, you must have the same IP all the time. This is called a Static IP, as opposed to a dynamic IP, in which you get a new IP address every time you connect to the 'net.

You would also want 24-7 hookup to the 'net, so your pages won't go down. Once you have these two things, you can host all the domain names you want.

Hearing these requirements, I attacked my local cable provider with gusto. Since a cable connection is always on, (hence a static IP), why couldn't I serve files off a cable connection? Thats alot faster than T1, which is what my ISP uses!!

The answer is that cable service is designed for downloading. The only thing going upstream is going to be requests for information. Once you start uploading HTML files to your viewers, you will be found out. Its somewhere in the contract.

I am attempting to host my own web/email/telnet/bbs server. As part of this plan, I am getting linux this week. If you find more info, tell me.

Have fun, and may the penguin be with you!!

I will let you know how it works out. One question is linux a type of unix or is it an os of its own and is a bit like unix?
Also , my cable company supports unix does that mean that they support linux?
I beleive that my cable modem will be connected to a net work card. If so would I just have to configure linux to the network card.
thanks for your input!