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Foundations of Novell Networking Section 26

Learn how web servers work and explore installing and configuring the NetWare Enterprise Web Server in NetWare 6, including support for iFolder and iPrint.

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    (Self-Study) Identify How to Implement a Web Server The following objective will be tested: ■ Identify the Process of Installing and Configuring NetWare Enterprise Web Server In this section you learn about web servers and the process of installing and configuring the NetWare Enterprise Web Server provided with NetWare 6. Objectives ■ Identify How a Web Server Works ■ Evaluate Commonly Used Web Servers ■ Identify the Process of Installing and Configuring NetWare Enterprise Web Server Introduction Web servers play a critical role in delivering content over the Internet. Each web page you sec in your browser is delivered from a web server installed on a host computer that stores the page and its objects. S E C T I O N 2 6 Web servers also provide technology for supporting other types of content and services such as i Folder and i Print.

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    The Digital Airlines CIO wants each office to set up a web site on its NetWare server to handle local business needs. As the network administrator for your Digital Airlines office, you have a CD with the basic web site to install. You also have instructions to install and use a web server to handle the web site. However, before you can install the files, you need to know more about how web servers work, what kinds of web servers arc available, and how to install and configure a web server. Objective 1 Identify How a Web Server Works To identify how a Web server works, you need to know the following: ■ What a Web Server Is ■ How a Web Server Labels Content Types ■ How a Web Server Delivers Content ■ Technologies Used to Deliver Content over the Internet For more on the function of a web serverand how it works, see hltpitfwebcompare.inlemel.com/webbasics/index.hlinl. W/iat a Web Server Is A web server is a software program that runs on a host computer (such as a NetWare, Linux, or Windows Server) and delivers files over the Internet that arc stored on the host computer. Web servers let you publish Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents over the Internet. HTML is the primary language used to create content pages on the web.

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    Web servers can also distribute many other types of files, such as programs, videos, audio, graphics, and compressed ZIP files. Because the delivery of content is over the internet or intranet, the host computer running the web server must be physically connected to a TCP/IP-based network. How a Mfefc Server Labels Content Types Web servers were developed to deliver simple H TML documents and images to a client (such as a web browser). However, web servers can now deliver more than HTML pages. To correctly identify and display other types of documents, a web browser relies on a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) header sent by the web server. The Ml MEL header tells the web browser what type of document is being sent and what program or plug-in is required to display it. These types include hundreds of different kinds of documents. For example, more than 360 MIME types arc included with the Apache Web Server in the MIME.TYPES configuration file. The configuration file also includes variations on file extensions (such as MPEG, MPG, or MPE for files containing MPEG video content). How a IVe£? Server Deflvers Content A web server works in a client-server relationship with a client program, such as a web browser. The client program requests information, and the web server program supplies it. These requests and transfers use HTTP,, which is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols.

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    Commands and data arc passed as plain text to port 80 (the default web server port) through a TCP connection. Web browsers submit HTTP requests; web servers use II ITP to respond by sending the requested file through port 80. The following helps you understand this process: ■ How a Web Server Delivers an HTML Page to a Web Browser ■ How a Web Server Kinds a Requested File ■ How HTML. v 1.0 and HTML v I . I Use Connections How a Web Server Delivers an HTML Page to a Web Browser To understand how a web server delivers content, you need to understand how an HTML, page is delivered to a web browser. For example, suppose you arc looking for documentation for NetWare 6 at the Novell web site. When you select a Product Documentation link, your web browser sends the following URL to the Novell web server: http://www.novell.com/docs/index.html The URL points to an IN DEX.HTML file on the web server’s host computer. The INDEX. H TML file is an HTML document that includes links to all available Novell product documentation.

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    The web server receives the URL through port 80 and maps it to the INDEX.HTML file, loads the file from disk, and then delivers the I ITML page across the TCP/1 P network to your web browser through port 80, as shown in the following: Figure 26-1 Web Server How a Web Server Finds a Requested File The web server uses a specified directory in the file system to store all files it provides to clients. All the files in the directories and subdirectories below that specified content directory are also available to clients. For example, suppose the INDEX.HTML file your web browser requested is stored in the SYS:\NOVONYX\SU1TESPO'DDOCS directory on the Novell host server (NOVELL.COM) where the web server operates. As you browse through the list of documents on the INDEX.HTML page in your web browser, you find a NetWare 6 link. When you select the link, your web browser submits the following URL to the web server:

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    http://www.novell.com/docs/nwG/i ndcx.html The web server receives the URL and maps it to the INDEX.HTML file in the NW6 subdirectory under DOCS. After you receive the new INDEX.HTML file in your web browser, you can then select other links for specific NetWare 6 HTML documents stored in subdirectories under NW6. The following illustrates this example: Figure 26-2 How HTML v1.0 and HTML v1.1 Use Connections In HTML vl.O, the web server delivered the requested content and then closed the connection. A connection was made for each object the browser wanted to download. As Web pages became more graphic intensive, establishing a connection for each graphic on an HTML page slowed the transfer process considerably.

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    In HTTP v l . l , the web server opens a multiple, persistent TCP connection that transmits the HTML document and then causes the connection to deliver each image using the same connection. This makes data transmission much faster and more efficient. To support hundreds or thousands of concurrent connections al a lime to a web site, web servers often use multithreading and multiprocessing. Technologies Used to Deliver Content over the Internet The following arc standard technologies other than TCP/IP that arc used by web servers and web clients to request and receive additional types of content (such as dynamic content) over the Internet: ■ Common G a t e w a y Interface (CGI). Dynamic content on a web page is content that changes each time you access the page (such as stock quote data). CGI is the oldest and most common standard for delivering dynamic content. CGI defines how a web server should run programs locally and transmit content through the web server to a web browser that is requesting dynamic (customized) web pages or content. ■ Practical Extraction and Report L a n g u a g e (Perl). Perl is a programming language designed for processing text. Perl is one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts. Because it is a high-level language, you can use it to quickly build and test simple programs. ■ Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL is a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents over the Internet. SSL works by using a public key to encrypt data that's transferred over the SSL connection. URLs that require an SSI. connection start with https: instead of http:.

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    SSI. provides users with a channel for safely submitting sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) over the Internet to the web server. Active Server Pages (ASP). These are web pages that use ActiveX scripting (usually VB Script or J script code). These pages have an ASP extension. When a web browser requests an ASP page, the web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser. ASP pages are similar to CGI scripts, but you use Visual Basics instead of Perl for development. Javae. Javaa is a high-level programming language with features designed specifically for use with the web. Small Java applications, called applets, can be downloaded from a web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Other Java applications, called servlets, run on the web server and help applets deliver content to your web browser. Javascript . This is a scripting language developed by Netscape to help web page authors design interactive sites with limited dynamic content. Although some Javascript features arc similar to Java, the 2 languages are not related. Javascript is supported by browsers from Netscape and Microsoft, though Internet Explorer supports only a subset, called J script.

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    Objective 2 Evaluate Commonly Used Web Servers Although all web servers deliver HTML and other types of content to a web browser ever the Internet, some provide limited services for basic needs, and others arc developed specifically for high-end, commercial use. '['here arc 3 basic types of web servers: ■ 'ITiosc that arc freeware or shareware products ■ Those that arc bundled with an operating system or platform ■ 'ITiosc sold commercially as a separate application The following arc examples of commonly used web servers: ■ Apache Web Server ■ NetWare Enterprise Web Server ■ Microsoft HS Web Server ■ i Planet Web Server Enterprise Edition The Apache Web Server is an example of an enterprise-level server that is freeware. NetWare Enterprise Web Server and Microsoft IIS Web Server arc examples of web servers provided with an operating system. iPlanct™ Web Server Enterprise Edition is an example of a commercially available web server with high-end features designed to provide maximum security and manageability of content delivery. For more on popular web servers, see hltp:.' , . , &eTverwatch.intemeL.coTn , webservers.html.

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    Apache Web Server Apache Web Server is a free, open-source web server originally developed by the nol-for-profit Apache Group. It is used by most web hosting companies, and and it is extremely stable. Apache Web Server is a high-end enterprise-level server for UNIX, OS/2, and Windows 95/98/NT platforms. A NetWare version is installed by default with NetWare 6. Apache Web Server for NetWare is an integral part of Novell Web Services and is used by services such as NetWare Remote Manager, NetWare Web Manager, and i Folder. The keys to Apache's popularity over products such as Netscape SuiteSpot™ and Microsoft US lie in its extensibility, its freely distributed source code, and active user support for the server. Originally based on NCSA's free HTTPd server, Apache's strongest features include the following: ■ Cross-platform support ■ Protocol support ( HTTP v I . I ) ■ Modularity support (API and ISA PI) ■ Logging and security features ■ Public distribution of the source code ■ Quick response with security patches ■ Overall performance Apache distributes a core set of modules that handle everything from user authentication and cookies to typo correction in URI.S. Many other custom modules have been developed by the Apache user support community.

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