Frequently Asked Questions

Why was the Sambar Server created ?
Why is it free ?
When upgrading to a new server are there any concerns ?
How compatible is the Sambar Server with Apache or NCSA ?
Does the Sambar Server support the Microsoft's FrontPage Server Extensions ?
Does the Sambar Server support SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ?
Will the Sambar Server act as a proxy server?
Does the Sambar Server support server-side image maps ?
Why does the server fail to start when I double-click my short-cut ?
Why do I get the Forbidden message after a server restart ?
Where should I put JAVA classes ?
Why don't user restrictions seem to work when I add an entry to the [restrict] section of the security.ini file ?
What is the /session directive ?
Will the Sambar Server run as an NT Service ?
How do I change the FTP login/logout messages ?
Will the FTP server interact with the NT user database for username/password/directory information ?
What are the future plans for the Sambar Server ?
What platforms with the Sambar Server run on ?
Where can I get the Sambar Server ?

Why was the Sambar Server created ?
The Sambar Server was created to test a three-tier communication infrastructure modeled after the Sybase Open Client/Open Server. Soon thereafter, the idea of leveraging the infrastructure for dynamic delivery of content on the WWW resulted in the addition of an HTTP protocol stack, and efforts in supporting the notion of presistent users via HTTP.

Originally developed on a Sun Workstation (UNIX), it was ported to the PC (Windows 32) and licensed for commercial purposes. After completely rewritting the base code at the end of 1996, and adding many new features, version 3.0 began shipping in February 1997. Version 4.0 begain shipping in mid-May 1997.

Why is it free ?
Well, if I charged for the Sambar Server you probably wouldn't be reading this. I developed this technology more for the experience and entertainment that to achieve riches. I derive modest revenues by licensing the Sambar Server to companies seeking to embed the technology in their products, and work as an independent consultant in Silicon Valley to pay the bills. As Microsoft and Netscape have the commercial market pretty well locked up, I'll continue to enhance and distribute the Sambar Server for free until a new venture sweeps me off.

When upgrading to a new server are there any concerns ?
When upgrading to a new release, you MUST install the new release in a new directory. There are no "smarts" in the installer to recognize previous versions and upgrade them. So if you install over a previous release, you will erase any common configuration and document files that you might wish to keep around.

I recommend that after installing the Sambar Server, you point the "Document Directory" to something other than the default "docs" directory. That way, future releases can be pointed to an independent document directory.

How compatible is the Sambar Server with Apache or NCSA ?
The Sambar Server does not attempt to offer all of the features or or configuration options of Apache or NCSA. The focus of the Sambar Server is on an extremely simple installation, turn-key packaging, and a programmer friendly interface for extending the underlying functionality.

Future releases will likely remain on this track, including extensions to the programmer interfaces, more sample source code, and improved configuration capabilities from the system administration forms.

Does the Sambar Server support the Microsoft's FrontPage Server Extensions ?
I have repeatedly sent mail to Microsoft asking for an SDK to allow me to port their FrontPage Server Extensions to the Sambar Server. I have not as yet received any response.

Does the Sambar Server support SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ?
The Sambar Server does not support SSL. I have no immediate plans to support this specification (its quite large and requires licensing encryption technology from RSA). If you need SSL functionality, I recommend you contact a commercial vendor.

Will the Sambar Server act as a proxy server?
The Sambar Server comes with a non-caching HTTP proxy server and basic SMTP, POP3, and IMAP4 proxies server compiled in. These proxys perform modest security filtering via the sample application shipped with the server (see security.c). The proxies were designed to facilitate multiple clients on a private network connecting to the internet on a single PPP connection. This can be implemented by having a Windows 95 or NT machine connect to the internet via modem while also listening to requests from their local network (Note: the gateway machine must be configured with two IP addresses - one for the modem connection and one for the ethernet connection - to support this operation. The "Act As HTTP Proxy", "Act As SMTP Proxy", "Act As POP3 Proxy" and "Act As IMAP4 Proxy" parameters in the configuration file can be used to turn these features on. Note: All proxy configuration can be performed via the system administration interface. See the Proxy Functionality documentation for more details.

Does the Sambar Server support server-side image maps ?
No. It is my belief that the introduction of client-side image maps has rendered server-side maps obsolete. I recognize that there is legacy code requiring this feature but have not had a significant number of requests to implement it.

Why does the server fail to start when I double-click my short-cut ?
The working directory must be the installation directory of the Sambar Server. So if you set up your own short-cut, the working directory must be C:\program files\sambar rather than the default C:\program files\sambar\bin.

Why do I get the Forbidden message after a server restart ?
The browser caches the magic cookie associated with your administration login. After a server restart, this cookie is no longer valid, so you must re-login. Unfortunately, because the browser often caches pages, you may find it difficult to login without getting the Forbidden message once you have received it the first time. The solution is to clear your browser memory and disk cache and then re-login to the administration console. With Netscape browsers, you can use the shift-reload command sequence to force an /session/adminlogin after receiving the Forbidden page.

Important: For System Administration usage, you should configure your browser to "verify documents every time". This option is a setting in the Netscape Network Preferences panel's "Cache" tab. This setting will help avoid getting cached pages when moving among the System Administration pages.