![]() | Installation of the SimpleHTTPd |
Congratulation! If you can read this text by browsing it through the shttpd WWW server, half the way is done. One problem on installing a WWW server is the creation of a first configuration. This first configuration is already up and running.
Note:
It is absolutely necessary to change some of the initial parameters, in order
to prevent easy hacking from outside! The most import parameters are those
users (and passwords), who shall have administration privilege. The WWW server
is programmed to ask for a first user name and password for a WWW
administrator, when the administration tool is called the first time. Remember
this user and password settings, because you need it for further
administration! The best is, to enter the administration section now (by
clicking the icon below), set a user name and password and return then to
the home page and this section.
![]() | Administration of the WWW server |
When planning a WWW system you should think about various things. The most awful for users is to wait for information. Therefor the most important point is system power. Depending on the number of users, the amount of data to be accessible and the response time, the server has to work a lot. Your first step should be the setup of the hardware. Don't try to save money by using cheap hardware! For small tasks and personal testing, an old Intel 486 system with EIDE hard disks may fit your needs. For massive access, a multi-processor system with Intel Pentium Pro or II or Sun Ultra Sparc Enterprise server with SCSI RAID hard disk subsystems. And don't forget to dimension the interface right! The interface to the local-area network or internet should not become a bottle-neck. As you might know, Internet currently doubles its size each 6 months. So be aware of growing access rates!
This WWW server is currently only for small WWW systems. I'm sorry to say that I can't test and optimize it for middle or large systems. You may try it on your own risk. But I think, the server is good for first steps towards WWW and small/home office use.
The next step is the installation of the WWW server and the setup of the directories. The WWW server and its modules should be put in one directory. This directory contains the WWW server configuration file, too. On a system with access restrictions (IBM OS/2 with HPFS386 (LAN Server), Microsoft Windows NT or Unix-like OS), you should restrict access to this directory to the user, the WWW server is running under. It is recommended to create a new user for running the WWW server. This user has as less access rights as possible - so if one can hack your WWW server, he isn't able to manipulate other data! Another directory may be created for CGI scripts (CGI = Common Gateway Interface, scripts, called by the WWW server for creation of dynamic HTML pages), if needed. Further, you should prepare one or more directories (which may contain sub-directories) for HTML page files and images (GIFs). These directories shall be accessible for the WWW server for reading, but should not be for writing (hack prevention). Limit access to such directories and the directory for CGIs to only a small number of persons, who shall administrate those things (annotation: The persons administrating CGI scripts should be selected from trusty persons, since you can do anything within CGIs, especially on systems with no or low access restrictions!).
The directories for CGIs and HTML page files are mapped in the WWW server's configuration. If you have a URL (Uniform Ressource Locator) like http://www.mysystem.nul/doc/hello.htm, that means
/doc/ --> /usr/local/www/pages/ (Unix-like) /doc/ --> e:\www\pages\ (OS/2, Win95/98/NT/2000 - local) /doc/ --> \\server2\www\pages\ (OS/2, Win95/98/NT/2000 - UNC)the file hello.htm will be search in the proper directory. I.e. the virtual path /doc/ is mapped to a path in the local or remote file system.
If you want to use several directories for HTML page files, you have to set up for each directory such a mapping, where the virtual path should be unique to one directory. Be aware of the order in which mapping entries exist. The first matching mapping will be used for translation of the virtual into the local/remote file system path.
When first running this WWW server, a default configuration is used, where the mapping is as follows:
What? | Virtual Path | Local Path |
---|---|---|
WWW server executable, modules, configuration | - | shttpd/bin/ shttpd\bin\ |
CGI scripts | /bin/ | shttpd/bin/cgi_bin/
shttpd\bin\cgi_bin\ |
Images (GIFs) | /gif/ | shttpd/doc/ shttpd\doc\ |
HTML page files | / | shttpd/doc/ shttpd\doc\ |
Note:
Mapping URLs to modules follows other rules, so there is a dash on the cell
above. (Modules are directly mapped to a certain URL, not only to a path.)
| ©. 1998-2000 by Dirk Ohme |