These days, most webservers are big hefty rackmount rigs with roaring fans in giant datacenters. [naDDan]’s webserver is altogether more humble, as it runs on a single Commodore 64.
The C64 is running Contiki OS, an operating system for 6502-based computers. It’s built with an eye to networking, requiring ethernet hardware for full functionality. In [naDDan]’s case, he’s outfitted his C64 with an ETFE network adapter in the cartridge port to get it online. It serves up the HTML file off a 1541C floppy drive, with the drive buzzing away every time someone loads up the page.
The page itself is simple, showing some basic information on a simple blue background. There is some scrolling text though, as is befitting the 8-bit era. It’s also available in four languages.
[naDDan’s] server can be found here, according to his video, but at the time of writing, it was down for the count. Whether that’s due to a dynamic DNS issue or the simple fact that an 8-bit 6502 isn’t up to heavy traffic is up for debate. Regardless, try for yourself and see how you go. Video after the break.
I have several c64s. I would love to use one to run the web server for my shop. It’s a simple small engine shop, so it’s a simple site, currently running on a libre (pi-like) single board computer.
As a matter of fact… I’ve got an Atari XL, too…
It doesn’t cache it seems, read from disk (floppy!!;), which is … Awfully slow, and disks are prone to break, I don’t think have any other use than academic, or internally in your home for something that you know that slow is not a problem, like storing configuration to read from other system ?
Hackaday hug of death incoming… Rip 1541. ;) Nice job!
NOT FOUND
indeed.
“404’d!” “ow! my browser!”
So- an so you can use a VIC-20…or PET.
It was working this morning (7am), I connected to it from the UK :-) ! Well done!
is it a fake? the powerled of the C64 is off!
Kuddo’s to the programmer. Coincidently this weekend I’m heading to X (https://www.scs-trc.net/x2023/) which is a C64 demo party. Wondering what is showed there
On the website it is written something like “todo: fix the power LED”.
Leave it dead, that will provide more power for the rest of the system.
B^)
Somewhere around 3 minutes he points at the light and says it doesn’t work.
*6510.
…not that it really matters, it just added an IO port and the ability to tri-state the bus to share the RAM with the VIC-II.
Seems like a perfect application of an REU to cache the content and save wear on the drive.
The network adapter is already using the cartridge port that the REU would plug in to. Could they both be multiplexed with a multi-port expander?
What a awesome pc, I spent a lot of time up late with mine when I was a kid? It can already do the calculations for a fleet of ships going to the lunar surface at Crater Lake and back and now, almost a web server.
Simpsons already did it : http://atari130xe.ddns.net/
It seems that both run on the same OS Contiki.
Who’s going to be the ‘one upper’ that does this from Datasette (cassette) storage?
Worked for me! On mobile, nonetheless.
Reminds me of when I ran a BBS on a SX64 back in the late 80’s. Had 3 1541’s daisy chained together. Ah yes, the good old days.
I’d ask what can’t the 64 do but I don’t think there is an answer.
It’s really easy to set this up with Contiki and a 64NIC from Jim Brain’s shop. I’ve got a Commodore 64 set up as a web server too, but I don’t keep it online all the time. While it works, it’s of course very slow and doesn’t work well if more than one visitor at a time is using it. It’s a fun thing to get working if you’re a nostalgic tech geek like me, but it’s not really practical for anything. :)
Maybe i could set up one to bounce off of between my pi400 and my xp machine.
I successfully logged into it
Its very amazing to realise that you can still run things on just 64K of RAM on an 8-bit CPU. Awesome work man and thanks to the community of @Hackday Editors to bring this to my mailbox. :) (:
Wonder if it’s the same person who this back in 2007. Also running Contiki, which has its own web server:
https://web.archive.org/web/20071016055908/http://www.c64web.com:80/
Or this other one from 2013 (referenced from a 2011 Reddit post):
https://web.archive.org/web/20130830042236/http://120.146.162.194/
Always great to see these running on old school computers and cool to see the process documented.
Came here to see if anyone remembered this. It was on Slashdot at the time.
Very cool, nonetheless :-)