Setting up an offline server involves creating a server that is not connected to the internet.

This
setup is useful for local networks, secure environments, or private testing purposes. Here's a step-
by-step guide on how to create an offline server:

1. Prepare Hardware

 Choose Hardware: As with an online server, you need a computer or device to act as
your offline server. This could be an old PC, a Raspberry Pi, or a dedicated server
machine.
 Network Setup: Since the server will not connect to the internet, ensure that your
hardware is set up on a local network (LAN), which can be isolated from the outside
internet.

2. Install the Operating System

 Choose an Operating System: Select a server operating system for your server.
Common choices include:
o Linux (Ubuntu Server, CentOS, etc.) is often used due to its stability and free
nature.
o Windows Server is a good choice for users comfortable with the Windows
environment.
 Install the OS: Install the operating system of your choice, either by booting from a USB
drive or DVD. During installation, ensure that the network settings are configured for a
local IP address (since it won't need internet access).
 No Internet Access: Disable any settings related to internet access during the
installation. This can be done by either not connecting the server to a router or manually
disabling DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) in your network settings.

3. Set Up Networking for LAN

 Static IP: Assign a static IP address to your server within your local network. This is
important so that devices in your LAN can always reach it at the same address.
o Example for Linux (Ubuntu): You would configure the static IP in the
/etc/netplan/*.yaml or /etc/network/interfaces file (depending on your
distribution).
o Example for Windows: Set a static IP through the "Network and Sharing Center"
→ "Change Adapter Settings" → right-click on your network connection →
"Properties" → select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and set a static
IP.
 LAN Router Configuration: Ensure that your server’s local IP is within the same subnet
as other devices on your network but outside the range of the DHCP server if using static
IP addresses.

4. Install the Necessary Software

  Depending on what services you plan to run on the offline server, you need to install the
necessary software. Here are some common setups:
o Web Server (Apache, NGINX, etc.): For hosting websites or internal
applications.
 Apache (Linux):
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install apache2
 NGINX (Linux):
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install nginx
o Database Server (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.): For hosting databases.
 MySQL (Linux):
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install mysql-server
 PostgreSQL (Linux):
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install postgresql
o FTP Server (for file transfer):
 Install vsftpd for FTP file transfer:
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install vsftpd
o Local DNS Server (if needed for resolving local domain names):
 Install Bind9:
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install bind9

5. Set Up Local Services

 Web Hosting: If you want to serve websites locally, you can create a directory to host
the files. For example, if using Apache:
 sudo mkdir /var/www/html/your_site
 sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/html/your_site

Place your HTML, CSS, and other files in that directory.

o For NGINX, you'll create a server block configuration and point it to the local
directory.
 Database: If using MySQL or PostgreSQL, you can configure them for local access. For
example, you would create databases, users, and tables for your applications to access.
 FTP: If you want to share files, you can set up an FTP server for local file sharing.
o After installing vsftpd, you can configure /etc/vsftpd.conf to allow local
connections only.

6. Configure Firewall (Optional)

 Local Firewall: You may choose to configure a local firewall to control what is allowed
to access the server from within the LAN. For example, using ufw (Uncomplicated
Firewall) on Linux:
  sudo ufw allow 22/tcp # SSH access
 sudo ufw allow 80/tcp # HTTP access (for web hosting)
 sudo ufw allow 443/tcp # HTTPS access (for web hosting)
 sudo ufw enable
 Router Firewall: If your server is connected to a router, you may want to ensure that the
router's firewall prevents any external internet access to the server.

7. Configure Server Access

 SSH (for remote access): Set up SSH to remotely access and manage the server from
other computers in the LAN. For example, on Linux:
 sudo apt install openssh-server
 sudo systemctl enable ssh
 sudo systemctl start ssh
 Accessing the Server Locally: Use the server's local IP address for access from other
computers in your LAN. For example:
o In a web browser, enter http://<server_local_ip> to access your locally
hosted website.
o Use ssh <username>@<server_local_ip> to access the server remotely via
SSH.

8. Test Your Offline Server

 Web Hosting: Ensure that other devices in the LAN can access your server using the
local IP.
 File Transfer: Test the FTP server by connecting to it from another device within the
LAN.
 Database: Test database connections locally using database management tools (like
phpMyAdmin for MySQL or pgAdmin for PostgreSQL).

9. Security Considerations

 User Permissions: Ensure that users on the local network have appropriate permissions.
For example, you can set file permissions for websites or directories you want to share.
 Encryption: Even if the server is offline, consider setting up encryption for sensitive data
(e.g., using SSL for local web services, encrypting database passwords).
 Backup: Set up local backups to ensure data is protected. For example, use rsync or
other backup software to automatically back up data to another local device or hard drive.

10. Ongoing Maintenance

 Updates: Periodically check for software updates manually if the server is offline. For
Linux systems, you can use:
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt upgrade
 Monitoring: You may want to monitor the server for performance using tools like htop,
dstat, or netstat.
Conclusion

An offline server is ideal for secure, local environments or testing purposes, where you don’t
want the server to be exposed to the internet. Setting up such a server follows many of the same
principles as an online server but ensures that all communication remains within a local network.
The key difference is that you won’t need to worry about external access or configuring internet-
facing services like DNS or SSL certificates.