Q: How do I host a website on my NAS?

2023-03-02

No matter if it is a personal blog, company website, or e-commerce website, ASUSTOR NAS's Web Server function lets you host your very own website right on the NAS. Furthermore, you can use App Central to download Apps for content management, database management, bulletin board systems and more, allowing you to easily set up all different types of websites in just minutes.

To host your website on your NAS, please follow the instructions below:

1 Enabling the Web server

STEP 1

• In ADM click on [Web Center]  [Web Server].
• Select a web server package and PHP package.
• Select [Enable Web server port] and [Enable secured Web server port].
• Select [Also enable EZ-Connect port forwarding] and click on [Apply].

• In order to check that the setting has been successfully applied, enter the ASUSTOR NAS's IP address into a Web browser and connect to it. You should be able to see the "Congratulations!" page as shown in the graphic below.

• This page is located in the ASUSTOR NAS's [Web] shared folder. In order to host a website on the ASUSTOR NAS, you must upload it to the "Web" shared folder of the NAS.

2 Enabling DDNS service

If you have subscribed for DDNS service, you can also create a unique hostname to use with your NAS. In the following example we will walk you through the process of enabling DDNS service on the NAS.

STEP 1

• In ADM click on [Settings]  [Manual Connect]  [DDNS].
• Select [Enable DDNS service].
• Select your DDNS provider from the drop-down list. You can choose to use the myasustor.com DDNS service if EZ-Connect service is enabled.
• If you haven't signed up for DDNS service you can select a provider and then click on the [Sign up now] to register.
• Fill out the rest of the required fields and then click on [Apply] once you are done. DDNS service should now be successfully enabled on the NAS.

After enabling the DDNS service, you are now ready to connect to your NAS using the internet.

• Enter https://YOUR_DDNS:ADM HTTPS port/ into your Web browser to connect to your NAS.

• Install ASUSTOR AiMaster or other Apps on Android or iOS devices to log in.

3 Adding a new virtual host (website)

You can use this feature to simultaneously host several websites on your NAS.

STEP 1

• In ADM click on [Web Center].
• Click on the Virtual Host and then click on the [Add].

STEP 2

• The Virtual Host window will now appear. Fill out the required fields and then click [OK] once you are done. Your website should now be successfully hosted on the NAS.
  • Host name: Setting the DDNS name of the ADM here. (For example: CloudID.myasustor.com)
  • Protocol: Selecting HTTPS or HTTP here. Please select HTTPS if using DDNS host with valid certificates.
  • Certificate: Select the valid certificate for the host name when using the HTTPS protocol. (Introduced in ADM 4.2)
  • Port number: Default is 80 or 443, you can set another port that is not already in use.
  • Folder name: Please select the folder which include your own web content or other shared folders on ADM.
    Note: Users don't need to setup virtual host for the web server apps installed on ADM, and can simultaneously open different web apps through ADM Web Center. (For example: WordPress, PhpMyadmin, and etc.)
  • Status: Enabled by default, can be modified to disable it.

• If there are other IPs on ADM that can set another DDNS name, then you can set different host name for virtual host.
• Different ports are needed for different virtual hosts with same host name.

• After enabling the virtual host, enter https://[YOUR_DDNS]:[Port]/ into your Web browser to visit the website of the virtual host.

If you encounter any problem when proceeding above configuration, please submit a support ticket in our support center to get further help:

support.asustor.com