hi d4,

DISCLAIMERISH THING: before attempting to run an IRCd you should be familiar with the basics on how IRC networks and servers work, so that you can understand what you need to do in the process, as each server can be unique with it's own problems and so on...
you will need to understand everything from the basics of compiling a program to knowing what a Y:Line is and be able to deal with problems involving these. if you think you can do all this, go on.

anyhow, moving on. the first thing you need to do is choose a server daemon. there are several out there, all with different features and so on.

UnrealIRCd is probably the newest most feature-packed server, but it's a little different to running a normal IRCd so I wouldn't be a great amount of help with setting this up, but you can check it out at: http://www.unrealircd.com/

Some of the more typical IRCd's are those such as:

 - Bahamut (The DalNet IRCd): http://bahamut.dal.net/
 - ircU (The Undernet IRCd): http://coder-com.undernet.org/
 - and my personal favourite, UltimateIRCd: http://www.shadow-realm.org/

Now, once you've downloaded these, you'll want to extract them into the directory you want to run IRCd from... so let's make that first.


and then we need to get the daemon. I'm going to use UltimateIRCd for this example:


Extract it:


And now it's time to do a little bit of configuration with it....


THE SHORT GUIDE... straight from the UlimateIRCd Documentation:

Installing UltimateIRCD 3.0.0
==============================

All commands should be issued from the IRCd root directory
unless otherwise stated.

1) Issue: "./configure" (issue "./configure --help" for a full list of supported options)
2) Issue: "make", in the event of errors (warnings can normally be ignored)
   please consult the FAQ or check the support forums at http://www.shadow-realm.org/
3) Issue: "make install"
4) move to your installation directory, ~/Ultimate by default.
5) Edit etc/ircd.ini and create the file etc/ircd.conf from etc/ircd.conf.dist
6) Optionally edit the etc/networks/temple.network to your liking.
7) If you are setting up the IRCd with SSL enabled ports and do not have a SSL certificate,
    you will need to enter the bin/ directory and run the ./ssl-cert.sh script.
    This step will create a SELF SIGNED SSL certificate.
Run the ircd by using the ./ircd script or by launching the binary directly
   by bin/ircd. In case of problems, read the FAQ


THE LONGER GUIDE... straight from my sleep-deprived mind.

Go into the newly extracted directory, and run the following command:


The program will ask you some questions about how you want to run your IRCd. If you are unsure how to answer them, it may give you a default option, and you should use that.

When that's all over and done with, time to compile it. If you've used Linux before with compiling and so on, this should cause no problems:


And wait a couple of minutes... da da da da da... done.

Okay.

You've now pretty much _installed_ your IRCd, BUT it is not ready to run. You need to configure it to work

In the etc/ directory under your IRCd's directory, you'll find a file called "ircd.conf.dist". This is your template configuration file, and you'll need to open, edit and save it as ircd.conf for the program to work.
It's laid out in an easy to understand format, so just follow all the examples to create the lines you need.

For example, the first type of line, the "M:Line" tells your server what to run as:


So for example, you'd add something like:


And so on until you get to the end

Save it, and move onto the next configuration:

The Network Configuration.

Now, if you plan on linking to a currently established network, you may be able to find the network configuration preset in the etc/networks/ folder. Have a look before you get going, otherwise open up template.network and get editing, then save it as a proper network file, forexample, mynetwork.network.
Yet again, the file is pretty easy to understand and setup, so it shouldn't be a problem

Finally, The Second IRCd Configuration?

ircd.ini contains some extra options that need to be setup, such as where to find the network file and so on... and YET again, you guessed it, it's easy to understand so you can do that on your own.

Now, you need to setup some MOTD files and so on... a.k.a. Message of the Days...

They are located in the etc/ directory as well and are the messages displayed to users when they connect to your server. There are a few of them, and they all have names like...

 - ircd.motd
 - ircd.opermotd (displayed to operators)
 - ircd.rules (displayed when users request the rules)

and so on


After you've done that, you'll come to be able to sigh with relief at knowing you've finished the configuration!

Now, just start her up...

Go back into the main IRCd directory and type ./ircd.
This may be in another folder though, most likely bin/, so go...


And hopefully you'll get some nice messages, and IRCd will launch into the background!

Just fire up an IRC client, and connect to a port you specified and see if it works

Hope this helps,

James