As this book goes to press, more than two dozen Web servers run on Windows NT. Although covering all Web servers is beyond the scope of this book, this chapter covers three important Web servers: WebSite, Purveyor, and Netscape. (The Microsoft Internet Information Server is covered in the preceding chapter.) These Web servers were selected because they are three of the most widely used Windows NT Web servers and offer a lot in terms of features, performance, and ease of use.
Internet Information Server (IIS) is freely available to Windows NT users. As you will learn shortly, however, IIS lacks several features found in other Windows NT Web servers. Although IIS is a powerful server, it doesn't include the comprehensive Web site management tools offered by WebSite and Purveyor. IIS requires a few add-ons to do some of the tasks that can be accomplished easily with some of the Web servers discussed in this chapter. Therefore, the fact that you run Windows NT Server does not necessarily mean IIS is your best Web server solution. If you are using Windows NT Server, however, you still might want to install IIS because it is provided free, is integrated with Windows NT, and offers many advanced features. It's important to note that you are not limited to running only one Web server on an NT machine. For example, the test system used to write this book has five Web servers installed on the same machine. Each Web server uses a different TCP/IP port. By installing two or more Web servers in different ports, you enjoy the best of two worlds by being able to mix and match features of the various Web servers. Although this might seem to be rather complicated, it is not. More than one Web server can be used to serve HTTP documents at a Web site by installing them in two different ports. Although this does not make much of a difference when serving HTML documents, this capability is extremely useful when creating various advanced CGI, WinCGI, or ISAPI applications.
According to a Microsoft presentation at the 1996 Professional Developer's Conference in San Francisco, Microsoft will be releasing a less powerful version of IIS for Windows NT Workstation. Although information about this less powerful version of IIS was limited when this book went to print, it is likely that more information about such a server will be available at Microsoft's Web site by the time you read this. At the time of this writing, IIS is available only for Windows NT Server. If you wish to set up your Web site with Windows NT Workstation, such a limitation might concern you. The personal Web server included with NT Workstation is most likely only going to have a Web server-unlike IIS which also includes a Gopher and FTP server. However, the Workstation version of IIS will support ISAPI, just like IIS. All three Web servers discussed here, however, support both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server fully. For a discussion on using Windows NT Workstation or Server to publish information on the Internet, refer to Chapter 5, "Determining and Fulfilling Your Requirements."
Various aspects of installing, configuring, and using the aforementioned Web servers are discussed in the following sections. Note that the following sections are not meant to cover all aspects of these three Web servers comprehensively. For additional information about the various servers discussed in the following sections, visit their respective Web sites.
WebSite is a widely used Windows NT Web server that is not only rich in features, but also easy to use. WebSite can be installed and configured in just a few minutes to publish information on the Web. Because it is compatible with WinCGI (Windows Common Gateway Interface) and CGI (Common Gateway Interface), there are many server-side solutions available for WebSite. These server-side applications can be used to further enhance the capabilities of WebSite.
Note that there are two versions of WebSite: WebSite Standard
and WebSite Professional. This section is based on WebSite Professional.
In addition to features of WebSite Standard, WebSite Professional
supports the two major Web cryptographic security systems: Secure
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTTP) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
URL |
Information about the WebSite Web server can be obtained from O'Reilly's Web site: |
Before discussing the features of WebSite, the next section covers various issues related to installing and configuring WebSite in order to publish information on the Internet. Afterward, advanced features of WebSite are discussed, with an emphasis on how these features can be used to manage a Web site effectively.
It only takes a few minutes to install WebSite. To begin installing WebSite, simply run the setup.exe file. The setup program asks you for a directory to install WebSite, as shown in Figure 7.1. Use this dialog box to type in a directory and press the Next button to continue.
Figure 7.1: Selecting the destination directory for WebSite.
After clicking the Next button, you see a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 7.2. Using this dialog box, you can select the various WebSite components you want to install. The released version of WebSite Professional will likely have a few extra components, including an option to install Cold Fusion, which is an application that can be used to effortlessly publish databases on the Web. Unless you have already installed Cold Fusion Professional on your system, install the version of Cold Fusion shipped with WebSite. When installing WebSite, make sure that Server, Essential Tools, and Samples are selected for installation. Very little can be accomplished with WebSite without these components! If you have Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, or another preferred browser installed on your computer, you can deselect the checkbox next to Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic Browser. As you will see in Chapter 10, "Web Site Development Tools," HotDog is a powerful HTML editor. It is, however, a raw HTML editor. If you are only comfortable with WYSIWYG HTML editors, you may deselect the checkbox to install HotDog. If not, select to install it and give it a try. After selecting WebSite components to install, click the Next button.
Figure 7.2: Various WebSite components can be selectively installed.
The next dialog box, shown in Figure 7.3, can be used to specify details about an existing Web you might have already set up on your server. This directory will become WebSite's "document root directory" after it is installed. As you can see in Figure 7.3, the document root directory does not have to be a child of the WebSite installation directory. It is recommended that you keep the two separate. Doing so will enable you to easily switch from one Web server to another. If directory browsing is enabled on the Web server, the contents of the directory "directory" are sent to the user when he or she enters a URL such as http://server.com/directory. Before this listing is sent out, the Web server checks the directory for an "index file." The index file is sent by default, if it is present, when a URL is given with a directory name and no filename. The same is true when someone looks up a Web site with the URL http://server.com/. If the server's index file is present on the Web server's root directory, it will be sent to the user. If not, the contents of the root directory will be displayed. The "Index doc" data entry field is used to specify the name of WebSite's index file. Usually, index.html is used as the index file of a Web server, and it is recommended that you leave the default value as it is. After typing in the two values, press the Next button to continue.
Figure 7.3: Existing Web information dialog box.
The next dialog box is used to specify if WebSite should be automatically started when you login to your NT Server. If you select it to be automatically started, WebSite will be added to your Startup folder. Note that this does not mean WebSite will not run as a Windows NT service. Shortly, you will be shown how to setup WebSite to run as a Windows NT service. If you would like to set up WebSite to function as a Windows NT service, select Manual Start and click the Next button. Otherwise, select WebSite to be added to the Startup folder.
Figure 7.4: Server Run Mode dialog box.
The installation program will then ask you for your Internet server's IP address. Type your Internet address and click the Next button. You will then be asked for the Web site administrator's e-mail address. This is usually Webmaster@your.company.com. Click the Next button after entering the e-mail address of the Web site administrator. WebSite will then install itself by copying all its files, updating the registry, and adding a new folder to your Start menu. The folder added to the Start menu is shown in Figure 7.5. Note that this section is based on a beta version of WebSite Professional. The released version of WebSite Professional, which will be available by the time you read this, is likely to have several additional icons.
Figure 7.5: WebSite start menu folder.
That's all there is to installing WebSite. WebSite can now be used to publish information on the Internet by adding files to the document root directory specified earlier during installation. Locate the WebSite Server icon in the folder shown in Figure 7.5, and double-click it to start WebSite. At this time, you can verify your WebSite installation by looking up http://localhost/wsdocs/readme.html with a Web browser. If WebSite was successfully installed on your system, you will see a Web page similar to the one shown in Figure 7.6. Use this Web page to test your WebSite installation and learn how to use some of its features. Select the Server Self-Test option to verify WebSite is successfully installed on your system. If you have Microsoft Access and Visual Basic Professional 4.0 installed on your system, be sure also to select the Access/VB CGI Sample option to discover how WebSite can be used to interface with Visual Basic applications.
Figure 7.6: Verifying WebSite installation.
Most aspects of WebSite can be customized using the WebSite Server application shown in Figure 7.7. The WebSite Server application can be launched by double-clicking the Web Server icon shown in Figure 7.5. The purpose of this section is to offer a brief overview of how WebSite can be configured to meet various needs. It does not cover all aspects of configuring WebSite. Instead, it demonstrates the customizability of the Web server by discussing several key configuration settings.
Figure 7.7: WebSite server application.
The WebSite Server Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 7.8, is used to configure various aspects of WebSite. Select Control | Properties from the main menu of the WebSite application shown in Figure 7.7 to invoke the WebSite Server Properties dialog box. The WebSite Server Properties dialog box can be used to configure several key aspects of WebSite. As you can see in Figure 7.8, the default port of WebSite can be changed by specifying a port number in the Normal Port data entry field. This feature is particularly useful when running more than one Web server on the same computer. When changing the default port number (80), it is recommended that you select a port number over 1024 because port numbers below that might already be used by other Internet services. By default, WebSite is configured to run as an application. The Run Mode drop-down list can be used to configure WebSite to run as a Windows NT Service or an application. If it is configured to run as an application, the Web server will only run if a user is logged on to the NT Server. This is not desirable for a Web server. It is recommended that you use the Run Mode drop-down list and configure WebSite to run as a Windows NT Service.
Figure 7.8: The General tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box.
The Identity tab, shown in Figure 7.9, is used to specify various Web server identity settings. By default, the Web server's Internet address will be displayed in the space provided for Server Name. The identity tab is useful to host virtual Web sites with WebSite. By clicking the Multiple Identities checkbox, it is possible to configure WebSite to act as the Web server for two or more Internet addresses (such as www.abc.com and www.123.com).
Figure 7.9: The Identity tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box.
If you are using WebSite Professional, the dialog box in Figure
7.9 can also be used to generate digital certificates by
clicking the Certs... button. After installing a digital certificate,
WebSite can be used to conduct secure transactions over the Internet.
Consult WebSite documentation for more information about installing
digital certificates and using WebSite to conduct secure transactions
over the Internet. Visit the following Web site for information
about digital certificates and public key encryption.
URL |
For information about digital certificates and public key encryption, try this URL. |
The Mapping tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box can be used to create several different kinds of directory mapping aliases. By default, only information in subdirectories of WebSite's document root directory can be published on the Internet. The dialog box shown in Figure 7.10 can be used to create directory mapping to other subdirectories. After a directory mapping is created for another directory, information in that directory can be published on the World Wide Web with WebSite.
When a user types in a URL without a filename at the end, if the default document specified in Figure 7.3 is not found, a directory listing will be sent to the user. The format of this directory listing can be customized using the Dir Listing tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box (see Figure 7.11). This feature can be disabled by removing the checkmark from the Enable Directory Listings checkbox.
WebSite supports restricting access to various parts of a Web site using a username and a password. The WebSite user database can be managed using the Users tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box. As shown in Figure 7.12, the user database of WebSite is similar to that of Windows NT. Just like the Windows NT user database, WebSite users can be part of various user groups.
WebSite user groups can be managed using the dialog box shown in Figure 7.13. The Groups tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box can be used to create and select Authentication Realms. Afterwards, WebSite user groups can be assigned to the Authentication Realm that was selected or created.
Note |
A Realm is a set of usernames and group names associated with a directory or virtual path. Realms can be used to limit access to parts of a Web site. |
The CGI tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box can be used to configure how CGI scripts are executed by WebSite. The CGI settings configuration tab is shown in Figure 7.14. When entering this dialog box for the first time, WebSite warns you that any changes to made to various data entry fields can cause undesired results. Click OK to acknowledge this dialog box. If you place a checkmark on the checkbox in this dialog box, this dialog box will not be shown again. Consult WebSite documentation for customizing various CGI settings in this dialog box.
Access logging is an important aspect of a Web server. A Web server's access log file is the key to determining who accessed what from the Web server. As you can see in Figure 7.15, log files generated by WebSite can be extensively customized to allow Web server accesses. The Logging tab of the WebSite Server Properties dialog box can also be used to specify the format of the access log file and whether WebSite should perform DNS reverse lookups. If your Web server log analyzing program supports DNS reverse lookups, it is recommended that you turn off this feature because it will speed the time it takes WebSite to serve an HTTP request. Refer to Chapter 24, "Utility Applications for Your Server," for more information about analyzing access log files generated by Web servers. Chapter 24 demonstrates how a Web server log analyzing application can be used to perform reverse DNS lookups on IP addresses and generate graphical Web server access statistics.
The Publishing Control tab, shown in Figure 7.16, is used to restrict access to various URLs. A URL path can be typed in by clicking the New button and users and user groups can be assigned to it using the Add button. When the Add button is pressed, users and user groups can be selected using a dialog similar to the one shown in Figure 7.17. In addition, if you are running WebSite Professional and have installed a digital certificate, the Require SSL connection checkbox can be used to make sure information is encrypted before it is transmitted.
Users and groups can be selected using the Available Users & Groups dialog box shown in Figure 7.17. Note that unlike usernames, user group names are enclosed in square brackets.
Figure 7.17: The Available Users & Groups dialog box.
The Access Control tab shown in Figure 7.18 is handy for controlling various WebSite access settings. The Access Control dialog box can be used restrict access to part of a Web site, enable secure transactions, and to disable directory listings. Use the Require SSL Connection checkbox to configure WebSite to encrypt data using SSL before transmitting it by way of the Internet. Before a user can access a protected object, the user should provide a valid username and password, and should also connect from a host that is allowed to access objects served with WebSite. The logical OR users and class checkbox can be used to configure WebSite to enable a user to access a protected object if either criterion is met.
A number of very powerful tools are included with WebSite. These tools make it easier to publish information on the Internet using WebSite.
An image map creation tool is bundled with WebSite. It can be used to create image maps by drawing various shapes on an image as shown in Figure 7.19. After the image map is created, it can be saved in several different image map formats.
URL |
MapThis! can also be downloaded from the following FTP site: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/micro/msdos/win3/util/mpths110.zip |
WebSite ships with a database publishing application called Cold Fusion. Cold Fusion can be used to effortlessly publish databases on the Web. Refer to Chapter 18, "Publishing Databases on the Web," for more information about using Cold Fusion to publish databases on the World Wide Web.
WebIndex is an application that can be used to easily make a Web site searchable in a matter of minutes. Refer to Chapter 15, "Making Your Web Site Searchable," for more information about WebIndex and how it can be used to make a Web site searchable.
WebView is a Web site management tool that can be used to manage the contents of a Web site graphically as shown in Figure 7.20. WebView can be used to locate files to edit, graphically view how various files in a Web site are connected to each other, and invoke other WebSite tools. WebView is also handy for locating broken links at a Web site. WebView graphically displays the nature of various objects at a Web site. For example, broken URLs are marked with a cross, and links to external URLs are marked with a globe.
Although QuickStats is not very detailed, it can be used to obtain a brief summary of Web server statistics (as shown in Figure 7.21). QuickStats can be invoked by selecting Tools | QuickStats from WebView's main menu.
Figure 7.21: QuickStats can be used to obtain a brief summary of Web server statistics.
There are a number of reasons for selecting WebSite over other Web servers. Some features of WebSite that are not implemented well on other Web servers are listed next. If these features are important to you, you might want to consider obtaining a copy of WebSite and setting it up at your Web site either as a primary (installed on port 80) or secondary (installed on a port greater than 1024) Web server. For example, if you are comfortable with WebSite's database features, you might want to use it for publishing databases on the Internet.
A major advantage of using WebSite is the fact that it includes several powerful Web development tools. For example, a Web site published on the Web with WebSite can be made searchable in less than five minutes using WebIndex. In addition to that, a Web site hosted with WebSite can be easily made interactive using WinCGI (the CGI development environment of WebSite) and various development tools such as Visual Basic. WebSite is also well documented and includes a comprehensive instruction manual that details all its features.
Process Software's Purveyor is another powerful and feature-rich
Web server. It can be installed and used to publish information
on the Internet in a matter of minutes. This section discusses
various issues related to installing and using Purveyor to publish
information on the Internet. Be sure to visit Process Software's
Web site for the most up-to-date information about Purveyor.
URL |
Visit Process Software's Web site for the most up-to-date information about Purveyor Web server: http://www.process.com/ |
Purveyor can be installed in a few minutes by running the file setup.exe. When setup.exe is run, the installation program asks you for your name, company name, and the Purveyor serial number. If you have not yet purchased Purveyor, you can obtain an evaluation serial number from Purveyor's Web site and use it to evaluate Purveyor. Purveyor is tightly integrated with Windows NT. The Purveyor installation program installs several File Manager and Performance Monitor extensions. Therefore, be sure to close File Manager and Performance Monitor before beginning to install Purveyor. The File Manager extensions can be used to control various aspects of Purveyor and Performance monitor extensions can be used to monitor the performance of Purveyor. There are two versions of Purveyor, the regular version and the Encrypt version. The Encrypt version has all the features of the standard version and can, in addition, be used to conduct secure transactions over the Internet.
The Purveyor installation program first presents a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 7.22. This dialog box can be used to specify the directory Purveyor should be installed in. After specifying a directory, click the Continue button.
Figure 7.22: Selecting the destination directory of Purveyor.
The Purveyor installation program will then install Purveyor, register itself as a Windows NT Service, and display a dialog box as shown in Figure 7.23. When this dialog box displayed, although Purveyor is installed, it has not yet been started to serve HTTP requests. Click the Start button to start Purveyor. If you already have a Web server running on port 80, it is not recommended that you start Purveyor while the other Web server is running. Either stop the other Web server before Purveyor is started, or change Purveyor's default TCP/IP port as described shortly. In the latter case, click the Exit button.
Figure 7.23: Purveyor NT Setup dialog box.
After Purveyor is installed, a folder similar to the one shown in Figure 7.24 will be added to the Windows NT Start menu. Icons in this folder can be used to configure various aspects of Purveyor. The Link Browser and Log Viewer applications can be used to manage a Web site published with Purveyor. You will be shown how to use these applications shortly.
Figure 7.24: Purveyor applications.
As shown in Figure 7.25, the installation program adds a Purveyor icon to the Control Panel. This icon can be used to configure various aspects of Purveyor. The next section discusses how Purveyor can be configured to suit various needs by executing the Purveyor icon. Note that the Purveyor configuration application can be invoked using the Control Panel or the Windows NT Start menu.
Figure 7.25: Purveyor can be configured using the Control panel.
The purpose of this section is to offer a brief overview of how Purveyor can be configured to meet various needs. It does not cover all aspects of configuring Purveyor. Instead, it demonstrates the customizability of the Web server by discussing several key configuration settings. As shown in Figure 7.26, the Purveyor configuration application is broken down into several tabbed dialog boxes. The next few sections briefly discusses some of these dialog boxes.
Figure 7.26: The Main Setting tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box.
The Main Settings tab can be used to configure several key configuration settings. By default, Purveyor's TCP/IP port is set to 80. The default port number can be changed using the TCP/IP Port data entry field as shown in Figure 7.26. This feature is particularly useful for running more than one Web server on the same computer. The Server Control buttons can be used to stop, start, pause, and resume the Web server. Access to certain parts of a Web site can be restricted by clicking the Access Control button, which in turn invokes the Windows NT File Manager. Purveyor adds several icons to the File Manager tool bar. These icons can be used to restrict access to part of a Web site published with Purveyor.
A Realm is a set of usernames and group names associated with a directory or virtual path. Realms can be used to limit access to parts of a Web site. The Realms tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box can be used to create and delete Realms. Purveyor's user authentication system is extensible by creating DLLs to record user and group database information. An external DLL can be specified by clicking the Use External Authentication DLL checkbox shown in Figure 7.27 and providing the full pathname of the DLL. Refer to Purveyor documentation for more information about creating External Authentication DLLs.
Figure 7.27: The Realms tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box.
The Users tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box can be used to manage users. As shown in Figure 7.28, the Users tab can be used to insert, edit, and delete users. Users created with this tab can be assigned to various groups using the tab shown in Figure 7.29. Access to various parts of a Web site can then be restricted by users and user groups.
Figure 7.28: The Users tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box.
Figure 7.29: The Groups tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box.
Purveyor user groups can be managed using the Groups tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box. As shown in Figure 7.29, this dialog box can be used to create, edit, and delete user groups. Groups created with this dialog box fall under various Realms created in the dialog box shown in Figure 7.27. After a group is created, users can be added to the group by selecting them and clicking the Add button. After Realms, users, and user groups are created, the Purveyor | Edit Access control can be selected from the File Manager main menu to restrict access to parts of a Web site with a username and a password. Note that a Purveyor menu option is added to File Manager's tool bar by the Purveyor installation program.
The Virtual Servers tab can be used to configure Purveyor to host Web sites for several Internet domain names. As shown in Figure 7.30, this tab can be used to specify a host name and assign it a document root directory, and to specify a default filename. Directory browsing and CGI settings of virtual servers can also be configured using the Virtual Servers tab. Refer to Purveyor documentation for more information about managing virtual servers.
Figure 7.30: The Virtual Servers tab of the Purveyor Configuration dialog box.
Virtual Paths are aliases to various directories. Virtual paths can be used to create directory mapping to directories that are not part of the Web server's document root, as shown in Figure 7.31. In this case, a virtual path is created to a user's FTP directory. Virtual paths can also be used to shorten long URL names.
Figure 7.31: Creating virtual paths.
The CGI Mapping tab, shown in Figure 7.32, is useful for associating file extensions with various programs. This feature is handy for using CGI scripts that need to be interpreted by another program. For example, the CGI mapping example in Figure 7.32 demonstrates how the .pl extension is mapped to the PERL interpreter. After this is done, PERL scripts can be executed by simply using the PERL script name without giving out the location of PERL.EXE. If you use PERL scripts at your Web site, it is recommended that you create CGI extension mappings for them. CGI extension mappings can be used to avoid security breaches related to users abusing PERL for malicious intent. Users with malicious intent can hack PERL and execute various commands by passing complex arguments into PERL.EXE.
Figure 7.32: Creating CGI extension mappings.
The tab in Figure 7.33 can be used to log Web server accesses. Access logging is an important part of any Web server, and Purveyor supports several powerful access logging features. Purveyor can be configured to log only specific Web server accesses. For example, it is possible to exclude Web server accesses from certain IP addresses. It is also possible to use the Create New Log File pull-down list to configure Purveyor to create a new access log file every hour, day, week, month, or year. It is recommended that the Web server access log file be configured so that a new log file is created each week.
Figure 7.33: Logging Web server accesses
The Logging Templates feature can be used to further customize Web server access log files. The tab shown in Figure 7.34 can be used to specify the log file format of the access log file and also various parameters that should be included in it.
Figure 7.34: Access logging templates.
The tab in Figure 7.35 can be used to configure Purveyor to function as a Proxy server. This is a powerful and unique feature of Purveyor. A Proxy server is typically set up at a firewall between a local Intranet and the global Internet. Purveyor provides Proxy services for HTTP, FTP, and Gopher. As shown in Figure 7.35, Purveyor can be configured so that only certain IP addresses can use HTTP, FTP, and Gopher services provided by the Purveyor Proxy server.
Figure 7.35: Configuring a Proxy server.
Note |
Purveyor can be configured to function as an HTTP, FTP, and Gopher Proxy server. |
The MIME Types tab, shown in Figure 7.36, is handy for creating and editing various MIME types. MIME types are used by clients connecting to a Web server to determine the type of various objects transmitted by the Web server.
Figure 7.36: Specifying MIME types.
Purveyor includes a number of useful tools that can be used to manage a Web site. Some of these tools are discussed next.
Purveyor is shipped with the Verity Topic search engine. Although it is powerful, the Verity Topic search engine is not as easy to use as the search engine supplied with WebSite because it isn't GUI oriented. However, the Verity Topic search engine is more powerful than the one supplied with WebSite and is highly customizable-although it might take you a while to learn how to use it. Refer to Chapter 15, "Making Your Web Site Searchable," for more information about how the Verity Topic search engine can be used to make a Web site searchable.
Link Browser is a handy application for finding and repairing broken links at a Web site. As shown in Figure 7.37, Link Browser displays graphically how Web pages at a Web site are connected to each other.
Log Viewer can be used to analyze Web server access log files generated by Purveyor. As shown in Figure 7.38, Log Viewer is ideal for viewing the contents of a log file. The Report and Query menus of Log Viewer can be used to analyze Web server access log files and obtain various statistics about the log files being viewed.
The Database Wizard can be used to easily publish databases on the Web using Purveyor. Any ODBC-compliant database can be published on the Web with Database Wizard. Refer to Chapter 18, "Publishing Databases on the Web," for more information about how Database Wizard can be used to publish databases on the Web.
Purveyor is a powerful Web server that can be used to publish information on the Web easily. Its ease of use complements its powerful features. Purveyor also includes a Proxy server. Therefore, in addition to serving HTTP requests, Purveyor can also be used to provide HTTP, FTP, and Gopher Proxy services to users on your LAN.
Purveyor supports ISAPI, which is a powerful CGI programming interface developed jointly by Microsoft and Purveyor. ISAPI does not have some of the drawbacks of CGI because ISAPI applications, unlike CGI applications, are loaded to memory only once.
Purveyor is shipped with several powerful Web publishing tools such as the Database Wizard, Verity Topic search engine, Log Viewer, and Link Browser. These tools compliment Purveyor's advanced features and make it an ideal Web server solution.
The Netscape server is one of the oldest servers available for Windows NT. As this book goes to print, a new line of Netscape servers is being developed by Netscape. This section is based on Netscape Enterprise Server that should be released by the time you read this. Among other features, the Netscape Enterprise Server includes SSL 3.0, client-side certificates, MKS Revision control, WYSIWYG Web page editing through Netscape Gold, Verity search engine, and advanced access control. If you are familiar with Java or JavaScript, the Netscape Enterprise Server supports Java and JavaScript applications.
The Netscape Enterprise Server is part of a suite of new Netscape
servers that provide search, mail, news, proxy, and advanced scripting
services. If you do not need the advanced capabilities of the
Netscape Enterprise Server, such as SNMP management, Revision
Control, integrated Verity full text search engine, and database
connectivity, you might want to consider the less expensive FastTrack
Server. Visit Netscape Server Central for the most up-to-date
information about various Netscape servers.
URL |
Try the URL for Netscape Server Central: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/server_central/index.html |
The Netscape Enterprise Server can be downloaded from Netscape's Web site. After downloading it, copy it to a temporary directory and execute the distribution file. You will then see a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 7.39. This dialog box is used to specify the target directory of the Netscape Enterprise Server.
Figure 7.39: The target directory selection dialog box.
After clicking the Next button, the Server Setup application displays your Internet address. If the address displayed is correct, click the Next button. If not, correct it and press the Next button. You will then be presented with a dialog box that can be used to select an administration username and a password. This username and password will be used later to configure the Netscape server. After typing in a username and a password, as shown in Figure 7.40, click the Next button.
Figure 7.40: The administration username and password selection dialog box.
The Netscape Enterprise Server is administered using Netscape Navigator. As you'll see shortly, this is done by connecting to a certain port on your computer. The dialog box in Figure 7.41 can be used to select this port. By default, the installation program randomly picks a port that is not being used. If you wish, you may pick a port number over 1024 that's easier to remember, as shown in Figure 7.41.
Figure 7.41: Choosing an administration port.
The Netscape server administration program runs as a certain Windows NT user that can be specified using the next dialog box. If you would like to use the default local system user account, simply click the Next button. Otherwise, select a different user and click the Next button. The next two dialog boxes can be used to select the Web server's document root directory and its port. The document root directory does not have to be a child of the Netscape server directory. By default, Netscape server listens on port 80 for incoming HTTP requests. If you would like to use the Netscape server as a secondary server, enter a different port, as shown in Figure 7.42.
Figure 7.42: Changing the default port of Netscape server.
Netscape Enterprise Server is configured using Netscape Navigator. This is a useful feature, especially if you need to administer the Netscape server remotely over the Internet. After installing the Netscape server, connect to it using the port specified in Figure 7.41. For example, if the server's Internet address is your.server.com and the administration port specified in Figure 7.41 is ier">1500, the server can be administered using the URL http://your.server.com:1500/. When first connecting to the administration server, you will be asked for a username and a password as shown in Figure 7.43. Note the how the dialog box displays the server address and the port number of the administration server.
Figure 7.43: Validating the administration username and password.
Note |
The Netscape Enterprise Server can be remotely configured using Netscape Navigator. This feature is particularly useful if you do not always have ready access to the NT machine running Netscape Enterprise Server. |
After the administrator username and password are validated, a Web page similar to the one shown in Figure 7.44 will be displayed. This Web page can be used to administer the administration server as well as the public Web server. The Administration Server is used to administer various aspects of the administration server as well as the public server. The public server is used to distribute information on the Internet. The Install a new Netscape Enterprise Server button can be used to install a new server. The Remove a server from this machine button can be used to remove an exsiting server installation. The Configure Administration button is used to configure various aspects of the administration server. The Netscape Administration Server can be configured so that only users connecting from trusted domains can connect to the administration server and make changes to the Netscape Server configuration.
Figure 7.44: Netscape Administration Server Web Page.
Note |
The Netscape Administration Server can be configured to allow only users from trusted domains to administer the Netscape Server. |
As described earlier, a new Netscape server can be installed on a different port by clicking on the Install a new Netscape Enterprise Server button. When this button is pressed, a Web page similar to the one shown in Figure 7.45 will be displayed. This Web page can be used to specify various settings of the new server, including its identifier name and port number.
Figure 7.45: New server installation Web Page.
Default settings of the administration server can be changed by clicking on the Configure Administration button in the Web page shown in Figure 7.44. Once this button is pressed, the Web page shown in Figure 7.46 can be used to configure various aspects of the administration server. This Web page is particularly useful for controlling which computers can connect to the administration server. In addition, SSL can be enabled to make sure an unauthorized person does not take control of the Netscape server using an intercepted username and password.
Figure 7.46: Administration server configuration Page.
The Enterprise Server configuration Web page, shown in Figure 7.47, can be used to administer all aspects of a Netscape Enterprise Server. This Web page can be invoked by selecting a server from the list of servers shown previously in Figure 7.44. The Server Manager will then display the server configuration page for the selected server. This Web page can be used to start and stop the selected Netscape server. As you can see in Figure 7.47, the Enterprise Server configuration Web page is highly customizable. It uses frames to display various server settings and makes it easier to select various configuration options. The next few sections discuss a few useful Netscape server configuration Web pages to demonstrate how the Netscape server can be customized to suit various needs. Consult Netscape server documentation for additional server configuration information.
Figure 7.47: Enterprise Server configuration Web page.
The Web page shown in Figure 7.48 can be used to customize several key settings of the Netscape Enterprise Server. This Web page can be used to view various server settings and make modifications to them. A setting displayed on this Web page can be modified by clicking it with the mouse.
Figure 7.48: Configuring server settings.
The System Setting option of the main menu can be used to fine tune the Netscape server for performance. The Web page shown in Figure 7.49 can be used to increase performance by caching DNS entries. The DNS caching feature used by the Netscape server enhances performance by remembering DNS lookups and not performing a DNS lookup for a certain client several times unnecessarily. The values shown in Figure 7.49 can be used to increase the performance of a high-traffic Web site hosted with the Netscape server.
Figure 7.49: Performance tuning Web page.
Usually, if an error occurs when processing an HTTP request, the Web server displays a rather crude and unfriendly error message. The Web page in Figure 7.50 can be used to create customized Web pages for various error conditions. Rather than assigning HTML files for various error conditions, it is also possible to execute a CGI script and display its output. This is a very powerful feature. For example, a CGI program can not only display an error message, but keep track of the number of unauthorized accesses made by a user. The CGI script can then either send an e-mail message or page the Webmaster-with all the details-if a user is attempting to breach the security of the Web server.
Figure 7.50: Customizing error responses.
The Access Control menu option can be used to restrict access to parts of a Web site with a username and a password. After users are created, access to certain areas of a Web site can be restricted with a username and password by using a Web page similar to the one in Figure 7.51.
The encryption menu option can be used to configure Netscape to encrypt information before it is sent over the Internet. By installing a digital certificate and enabling Encryption, the Netscape server can be used to carry out secure transactions over the Internet using the Web page shown in Figure 7.52.
Figure 7.52: Encryption settings Web page.
URL |
This is the URL for the Verisign Web site: http://www.verisign.com |
The Netscape server includes several utilities that can be used to manipulate and analyze Web server access log files. The Web page in Figure 7.53 demonstrates how the Netscape server administration program can be used to view the access log file of the Web server.
Figure 7.53: Server statistics Web page.
The Netscape Server has been gone through several years of development and has been optimized for performance. This makes Netscape an ideal Web server solution for a high-traffic Web site. In addition to its high performance, as demonstrated earlier, the Netscape server is also highly customizable. The fact that Netscape Navigator can be used to administer all aspects of the Web server from anywhere on the Internet complements its customizability.
Netscape is ideal for developing custom Web applications because it supports Java, JavaScript, and LiveScript. These scripting languages can be used to create customized Web pages and leverage capabilities of Java and JavaScript to server-side Web applications.
Netscape also includes several tools that can be used to easily enhance the capabilities of a Web site. For example, the built-in search engine can be used to make a Web site searchable in a matter of minutes. Refer to Chapter 15, "Making Your Web Site Searchable," for more information about how the Verity Topic search engine, which is included with Netscape Enterprise Server, can be used to make a Web site searchable.
The Netscape Server is a feature rich, powerful, and highly customizable Web server that is ideal for hosting high-traffic Web sites.
Regardless of what various Web server vendors claim, there is no single right Web server that is ideal for all purposes. Each Web server has its own strengths and weaknesses, just as each reader who reads this chapter has different needs and expectations. A few things you might want to consider when selecting a Web server follow:
Both WebSite and Purveyor are easy to use and are shipped with several Windows-based Web site development tools. Select either of these Web servers if you are looking for an easy-to-use Web server that uses familiar Windows dialog boxes to administer and customize various aspects of the server.
On the other hand, the Netscape server offers remote Web server administration through the Netscape Navigator. This is a useful feature because the Netscape server can be administered from anywhere on the Internet using either a Windows-, Macintosh-, or UNIX-based workstation. Generally, if you will be managing a large Web site, the Netscape server is a better solution because it is part of a larger suite of Netscape Internet servers. The Netscape server has been in development for a relatively long period of time and has been optimized for performance. At the time of this writing, the Netscape server does not support ISAPI. This is a drawback if you wish to develop ISAPI applications to customize your Web site. As mentioned earlier, however, because it is possible to install Web servers on different ports, it is possible to mix and match features of various Web servers.
The previous sections provided a brief overview of three feature-rich and widely used Web servers that are available for Windows NT. The best way to select the right Web server for you is to download a trial version of a server and try it out. All Web servers discussed in this chapter offer extended trial periods. You can then put the Web server into use and decide if you are comfortable with its features and capabilities.
Choosing the right Web server is an important aspect of setting up your Web site. In the past, Web servers did few other tasks besides serving HTTP requests. This trend, however, is changing. Web servers are increasingly being equipped with powerful new features that can be used to effortlessly publish information on the Internet. Some of these features include database publishing wizards, built-in search engines, and various site management tools.
Security is an important aspect of any Internet server. Windows NT is a modern operating system that is built with security in mind. Most of these security countermeasures, however, are of little use if they are not used. The next chapter discusses various issues that relate to securing an Internet-connected server against unauthorized access.