Table of Contents

Introduction
Launching
Logging
HTTP Protocol Support and Server-Side Includes
Rock Solid Security
Extensions
Scripting
Other Features
Protocols
Platforms
NCSA Compatibility

Introduction

PowerWeb Server++ has been written in C++, implemented with the latest design patterns philosophy.

It is operating system and GUI independent and abstracts the notion of multiple protocols to allow multiple services to share a single server and a single code base.

Dynamic thread management using our SCREAM performance object technology brings you unparallelled performance, and takes full advantage of multiple CPU servers.


Launching

32-bit Multi-threaded:
32-bit Multi-threaded architecture which requires no forks.

Dynamic Threads:
Limitations of inetd are surpassed through dynamic thread launching. PowerWeb's thread manager avoids forks, multiple processes and unnecessary system overhead by allocating threads on a demand basis, keeping a cached dynamic pool of threads to service requests.

Multi-Homed Server:
Different directory roots for different IP addresses provides for a multi-homed server.

Logging

Multi-Threaded Logging:
Multi-threaded logging for individual services overcomes traditional Unix syslog and NT event log limitations.

Common Log Format:
The CERN/NCSA common log format is supported.

Rotating Logs:
Log files can be cycled or archived on request.

Customised Logs:
Normal (hit) log entries can be customized through API scripts.

Multiple Logs:
Multiple logs can be used for different types of hits or for output in different record formats.

Non-Hit Log Entries:
API scripts can generate non-hit log entries such as comments.

API Logs:
API scripts can create their own log entries.

Performance Logs:
Dynamic Performance measurement logs can be queried at any time through your browser.

HTTP Protocol Support and Server-Side Includes

Browser Cache Optimisation:
Automatic response to If-Modified-Since allows browser cache optimisation

Browser Feature Optimisation:
PowerWeb Macros serves different documents or changes actions based on User-Agent header, for browser optimisation.

Dynamic Serving:
PowerWeb Macros serves different documents or changes actions based on Accept header, or URL for dynamic document serving.

Server-Side Includes:
PowerWeb Macros provides a Superset of server-side includes.

HTML Future Protection:
PowerWeb Macros based on HTML comments prevents conflicts with future HTML extensions.

Force Processing:
The Powerweb Server++ can force the processing of server-side includes.

HTTP Headers:
Automatically include any HTTP headers for HTML or non-HTML documents (without using CGI).

Access Server Variables:
Access to server state variables from CGI, API scripts, and Web Macros.

Server Push:
Send dynamic documents or images with server push.

Proxy Server:
PowerWeb Server++ can act as an HTTP proxy server on your firewall, or as a normal HTTP server, or both.

Rock Solid Security

Templates
Unified Security:
PowerWeb Server++ unifies the management of secure access to multiple-protocols through a centralised user interface, to simplify administration and ensure consistency.

Templates:
Administrators use templates to allow reuse of security rules across many resources.

Level Security:
Selectively Enable/Disable all levels of security.

Resources

Resource Security:
Security rules are applied to a resource, which can be defined as disks,directories or individual files that match wildcard patterns.

Resource Definition:
Resources are protected uniformly regardless of the protocols used to access them

Pervasive Security:
Can allow/deny based on physical paths inside or outside the document hierarchy.

Authentication

Dynamic Management:
User databases and authentication realms can be dynamically managed without restarting services.

Validated Authentication:
Security is enforced by requiring a matched user name and password.

Multiple Security Realms:
Protect sites through multiple user databases and authentication realms.

Access Control

Rule Ordering:
Security rules can be any combination, in any order, of allow and deny.

Rule Combinations:
Deny or allow access by any combination of username, domain name and/or IP address.

Restrict Hosts/Domains:
Deny or allow access by host and/or domain name.

Restrict IP Addresses:
Deny or allow access by IP address.

Hierarchies:
Security Rules are applied to both document and data hierarchies based on any of the above conditions.

Customisation:
Customise file-level security through scripts.

Inherited Security:
Hierarchical permissions model with inheritance; can specify separate permissions for each method/URL combination, and URLs inherit default permissions hierarchically.

Restrict Access Method:
Allow/deny access according to protocol, access method, and sub-method.

Filtering:
All requests can be filtered by a script to which any kind of security can be added.

Location:
Security rules and databases can be kept inside or outside of the protected directory.

Extensions

Multi-Page Forms:
Consolidates data entry across multiple forms in multiple documents.

Automatic Forms:
Processes form submittal automatically, storing the results in a database, or forwarding them to another server for processing.

Forms Data Entry Processing:
PowerWeb Server++ automatically creates server variables, integrated into Web Macros and APIs, for easy processing of forms without writing scripts. PowerWeb Server++ decodes all the data entry fields for you. There is no need to decompose the POSTed arguments, or to decode the escape sequences.

Wizards:
Create documents based on templates and styles with wizards.

Built-in Imagemaps:
Processes image maps internally, avoiding the overhead of CGI-based image map programs, without requiring any changes to existing HTML documents.

Imagemap Configuration:
Supports directly specifying Imagemap configuration files within the URL, avoiding the need to maintain a global configuration file for all imagemaps.

Long Document Names:
Store documents with long filenames, or with FAT 8.3 filenames. Users specifying a long filename automatically access the equivalent FAT 8.3 file if PowerWeb Server++ is running on a FAT partition.

Slashes in Document Names:
Path names can use either Unix style / or DOS style \ to separate directory names.

Scripting

Unique Flexibility:
With PowerWeb, you can write extensions in CGI, API libraries, or in Web Macros.

Language Independence:
CGI and API scripts can be written in any language, such as Perl, C, C++, Rexx, Visual Basic.

API Scripts:
API Scripts extend PowerWeb Server++ as though part of the original product. The high performance and tight integration encourages the development of advanced server systems such as Web servers coupled with a database.

Other Features

Browser Interfaced:
GUI-based setup, configuration, administration and maintenance.

Easy Installation:
Quick-start easy installation without editing complex configuration files.

Local or Remote:
Any server configuration, administration and maintenance can be run locally or remotely, while the server is running.

Performance Measurement:
Real-time performance and throughput measurement tools.

File-type Customisation:
Apply script or actions based on output file type, either through server configuration or through Web Macros.

MIME-type Customisation:
Apply script or actions based on MIME content-type through Web Macros.

Automatic URL Correction:
Automatically corrects directory and welcome URLs without a trailing slash.

Protocols

Protocols supported:
HTTP
HTTP Proxy
POP3
FTP

Protocols to be supported:

SMTP
Gopher
Search Engines

Platforms

Platforms supported:
OS/2 Warp

Platforms to be supported:

NT 3.51x
AIX 4.1x
Solaris
OS/400 3.1x
MVS Open Edition 5.1x

NCSA Compatibility

PowerWeb Server++ supports the features of the UNIX NCSA httpd server, including:
HTTP Standard:
Compatible with Web browsers using HTTP/1.0.

CGI Compatibility:
Supports forms through CGI/1.1 and CGI/1.0 with both METHOD=GET and METHOD=POST.

Directory Indexing:
Provides automatic on the fly directory index generation in a variety of styles.

Imagemaps:
Imagemaps are fully supported (also sometimes called clickable images).

Access Control:
Documents are subject to access control.

Audit Trail:
An audit trail is kept of all accesses.

Aliases:
Aliases allow users to see a unified directory structure, even if documents are distributed across multiple network drives.

Redirections:
Redirections allow administrators to move documents to another server without affecting existing references in other documents.

Server-Side Includes:
PowerWeb Server++ implements a superset of the NCSA server-side includes.

Common Log Format:
The common log format is supported.