Setting up your home web server is a fairly easy thing to do and deals mainly with port forwarding. However, there are a few settings to be configured and programs to install before your web server can be up and running.

If you're running Windows Server Enterprise 2008, there's a few settings you need to make on the operating system. But first thing first, you want to register your IP address with a domain name. There's plenty of free DNS services offered for this, but one of the most popular and widely used is DynDNS.org.

To do this visit DynDNS.org, create an account, and create a new host. Make your hostname and choose a domain name for it. Check the "Wildcard" box and choose "Host with IP address" for Service Type. For your "IP Address" click the link right under it that says "Your current IP address is: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" to automatically link your IP address to this hostname. Once you've completed those steps, click Activate to .. activate your hostname. The next step is to download the DynDNS Updater. This program automatically updates your hostname with your connected IP address, because every so often your IP address changes, and will require a manual IP update without the DynDNS Updater. You can download the program here: DynDNS Client Updater.