# How can I access my apache server from laptop on wireless network?



## wellyfish (Aug 14, 2008)

Hi,

I've got a desktop and a laptop on a wireless network.

I've got apache/mysql/php - not WAMP - running on my desktop.

How can I access the server from the laptop?

Any ideas?

Thanks.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

Share whichever port Apache is running on.


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## wellyfish (Aug 14, 2008)

Thanks for replying.

Got a few more questions:

how do I find out which port it's running on? then how do I 'share' that port?

Once I've shared the port ...

if, for example, I've got a wordpress install on my desktop in afolder called wordpress, I simply type:

http://localhost/wordpress

in the address bar and I get to see the site ...

If I have a wordpress install on my laptop, what would I type in the address bar on the laptop?


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

Apache runs on port 80 by default. Just like every other web server out there.
To get to another computer on your network you can either use the computer name or the ip address.

http://computername
http://192.168.0.101


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## wellyfish (Aug 14, 2008)

Ok, so I can access the 'other' computer by name ... but

If I have a wordpress install on my laptop - but no apache install n my laptop, what would I type in the address bar on the laptop to get the equivalent of http://localhost on the desktop where apache runs?


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

Wordpress cannot run on any computer without 
1) A Webserver (Apache or IIS)
2) PHP needs to be installed as well.

I have no idea how you are getting Wordpress to work without it installed on your laptop.

Localhost means just that. Whatever computer you are on it will try to access the resource for that protocol on that computer.

If you need to access a resource on another computer you can do it one of three ways when you are on your lan.

1) computer name
2) IP address
3) If you have DNS setup then use the domain name.


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## wellyfish (Aug 14, 2008)

I'm not getting it to work on my laptop ... I was wondering if it was possible to share the Apache installation on the desktop and therefore get wordpress, for example, on the laptop to use the server on the desktop ... it seems that's not possible then.

thanks for clarifying.


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

Correct. Everything has to be installed on the one computer.
Well I guess technically you could have the database installed on another computer. But for wordpress to work, you would need Apache and PHP installed on the same computer as WordPress.


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## sijet (May 7, 2006)

it is possible, maybe you need to access your router and port forward all http requests (80) to your desktop, that you can now use your desktop's IP to access from your laptop. just imagine someone sent an http request onto your router and do not know which computer under his network is servicing http server


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

sijet said:


> it is possible, maybe you need to access your router and port forward all http requests (80) to your desktop, that you can now use your desktop's IP to access from your laptop. just imagine someone sent an http request onto your router and do not know which computer under his network is servicing http server


You are not understanding what the person's intent actually was. They thought they could install WordPress on one computer and Apache on another computer and still have Wordpress work correctly without Apache or PHP being installed locally on the computer wordpress is installed.


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## sijet (May 7, 2006)

Squashman said:


> You are not understanding what the person's intent actually was. They thought they could install WordPress on one computer and Apache on another computer and still have Wordpress work correctly without Apache or PHP being installed locally on the computer wordpress is installed.


i see, my bad


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