How do I make localhost:3000 available world-wide with my IP adress?

Question

Hello.

I have a Ruby on Rails application running on localhost:3000. I would like to make it available world-wide, using x.x.x.x:3000 (my IP address).

I'm on Windows XP SP3.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi Gabriel,

• Disable your firewall(s)
• Ensure you have port forwarding for your computer enabled in your router (if present)

Thats all! ;)

Answer 2

The key is to run it on the internet facing network adaptor, which might already be doing. You then need to to set up port forwarding on your ADSL or cable modem, if you are behind one (or a similar NAT device). Finally, get a friend to attempt to connect to you.

You might want to use a DNS service to alias your IP address, so people don't have to type it in by hand.

Answer 3

You answered your own question. IP addresses are unique over the internet. Just type in the x.x.x.x:3000 and you're there. If you want a human-readable address like yahoo.com, look into dyndns.com or other free domain-name services.

Answer 4

You would probably want to ensure that you have a static IP address to start with. You can apply to your ISP for one of these.

You then want to ensure that you have adequate security in place...there are tons of books etc about hardening your server.

Answer 5

If you are running Apache on Windows, there is a button in the Apache tray icon. I can not recall the name but is something like ''go live''. And of course you have to set up the firewall or port forwarding on your router.

Answer 6

If you have a static IP address, you'll need to turn off your firewall and you should be able to reach your machine. (Turning off your firewall isn't really a good idea, but that's a different question.)

If you have a dynamic IP address (you probably do if you're not sure), you need to look into something called "Dynamic DNS", as this will allow our computer to have a constant name, even if the IP address changes. Note that with all the technologies at play these days, your IP address locally is usually not the same one you see publicly. This can be a bit confusing if you're not sure what's going on.

All that being said, most people would opt for some sort of external hosting. This is much better from a security standpoint. Look at heroku for rails hosting. Their free option may be exactly what you need.

Answer 7

See article How to access website hosted in localhost from internet