Best way to build my own simple web-based map server

Question

I've got a requirement for a project where I need some relatively simple mapping functionality on a web page. I'm familiar with the Google Maps APIs but unfortunately this is a project that will be hosted on a closed network with no internet access.

Is there a relatively straight-forward way to host my own map server with the following functionality (preferably on Windows but I would consider Linux):

1. I only need to cover a map area no bigger than the size of Texas
2. I don't need streets, terrain, or any other complex layers. At most I would needs outlines of the counties in the region with a few text markers for large cities.
3. I need to be able to display custom data driven markers on the map when it is rendered (I don't care if that is on the server side or if I need to do it in javascript on the client)
4. 2 or 3 levels of zooming would be great, but no necessary

I've tried SUAS server v3 with XAMPP and ran into numerous issues, including low-level PHP errors.

Answer 1

Sounds like a perfect scenario for OpenLayers and an image layer for your base map. Get a nice high rez image generated and you can host it on a simple http server (apache/iis/etc...).

e.g.: http://openlayers.org/dev/examples/image-layer.html

And then in OL you can set the extend bounds so you your users don't pan outside of texas,

http://openlayers.org/dev/examples/restricted-extent.html

and set the zoom levels so they don't try to drill down too low since you don't have the detailed info at all.