WebSite

Chapter 2
Before You Start

"Before You Start" chapters are easy to skip. It's tempting to jump right to installing the software. However, we politely request that you read this chapter before installing WebSite.

To make completing pre-install requirements less painful, the chapter starts with a checklist of the important items you need. Once you complete the checklist, go to Chapter 3, Installing WebSite, and install WebSite.

If you aren't sure about something on the checklist, take some time and read the rest of this chapter. You'll find the basic information you need regarding hardware, software, and connectivity requirements. We also discuss the pros and cons of running WebSite as a desktop application or as a service. Additional resources are listed if you want more detailed information about any of the topics covered.

So sharpen your pencil and complete the checklist, then get ready to unleash the power of WebSite.

WebSite Installation Requirements

Before you install WebSite, please complete this checklist. These requirements are explained in the remainder of this chapter.

Hardware

Software

Connectivity

Other

Add-ons and Application Development Tools (Optional)

Hardware Requirements

One of the major advantages of WebSite is that it runs on readily available, relatively low-cost hardware. The minimum hardware requirement allows WebSite to run at a level of performance equal to a Web server running on a similarly configured UNIX system. WebSite is a powerful, rugged server, limited only by the hardware on which you choose to run it and connect it to the Internet.

If you expect high volume traffic or plan to run many heavy-duty applications such as database services, you should expand your hardware. Perhaps the single most significant hardware component that affects performance is RAM. WebSite performance increases substantially with increased amounts of RAM.

WebSite also fully supports symmetric multiprocessing (that is, multiple processors in a single computer) to handle processing-intense web applications. You may also want to investigate a high-speed connection to the Internet, such as ISDN or a leased T1 or T3 line.

Software Requirements

WebSite runs under two operating systems: Windows NT 3.51 (or higher) or Windows 95. Under Windows NT, WebSite can run on either a FAT file system or NTFS. WebSite also runs successfully under all beta versions of Windows NT 4.0 and the new shell that is part of that version.

Note that previous versions of WebSite ran under Windows NT 3.5; WebSite requires version 3.51 of Windows NT. In addition, we recommend you install Service Pack 4 for Windows NT. This service pack fixed several bugs that can adversely affect WebSite's performance. You can obtain the service pack from the Microsoft Web site.

You must also have a Web browser to take advantage of WebSite's online resources and capabilities.

You can upgrade to WebSite from any previous version of WebSite (1.0, 1.1, or any of the interim service releases). You do not need to uninstall an existing copy of WebSite to upgrade. All configuration information and any data files you created with a previous version of WebSite are preserved during the upgrade process.

Connectivity Requirements

Networking and connectivity issues are often at the root of problems you may encounter when starting WebSite. For that reason, please read this section thoroughly.

TCP/IP

WebSite requires that your system have a TCP/IP stack installed and running. TCP/IP is the suite of networking protocols that the World Wide Web--in fact, the whole Internet--requires. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. You don't need to understand all the nuances of TCP/IP, but you do have to have it running successfully on your computer to use WebSite. TCP/IP capability is built in to both Windows NT and Windows 95 and no additional software is needed.

If you are on a networked system or have an existing Internet connection, you probably don't have to worry about your TCP/IP setup. Check with your network administrator or Internet service provider to make sure you have the items required by WebSite.

If you don't have TCP/IP running, you must set it up before installing WebSite. You can do so through the Network option of the Control Panel. For more information on installing and configuring TCP/IP on your computer, see the operating system's documentation.

In any of the following cases, your system must be running TCP/IP. You can use your WebSite server in one of three ways: (1) as an internal web server to be reached only by other computers on your internal network---an intranet, (2) as a web server connected to the Internet and reachable by other computers on the Internet, or (3) as a development system for Web applications with no physical connection to the Internet or a network.

IP address

An important piece of information you need to know about your TCP/IP setup is the IP address assigned to your server. The IP address is a set of four numbers, one to three digits each, separated by periods (or dots), for example, 204.148.40.6. You will need the IP address for testing the server.

TCP/IP connection to an internal network

Using WebSite on an intranet to provide an internal web (such as for a department or departments of a company) requires that the network be running TCP/IP, and that the computer on which you install WebSite has a properly configured connection to that network. If you are on a network, get the IP address for the WebSite server from your network administrator.

TCP/IP connection to the Internet

If you want your web to be reachable by other computers on the Internet, you need an Internet connection that puts your computer ``on the Internet.'' There are three primary ways a computer can be connected to the Internet, as shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1: Connecting to the Internet

(IMAGE)

Dial-up shell account
Although inexpensive and readily available, a dial-up shell account will not work for WebSite because it does not support the TCP/IP protocol suite.
NOTE
Commercial online service providers such as Prodigy, CompuServe, and America Online currently offer some type of Internet access and expect to offer fuller access in the near future. However, these services will not give you the kind of connection necessary to run the WebSite server.
PPP or SLIP Account
Also, a dial-up account, PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) and SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) can work for WebSite because they support TCP/IP and graphical Web browsers such as Mosaic. A PPP/SLIP account requires a high-speed modem (9600 bits per second minimum; 14.4 or 28.8 kbps are better) to connect your computer to an Internet service provider. Once the connection is established, your computer is actually part of the Internet. If both types of accounts are available, we recommend a PPP account.

Your PPP/SLIP provider will assign an IP address for your computer. The service provider will also assign (or let you choose) a name for your computer, provide DNS name server addresses, and register your computer's name with DNS (see below for more).

If you choose to use a PPP or SLIP connection, you will need software to dial the Internet service provider and establish the proper connection. The Remote Access Service (RAS) under Windows NT or Dial-Up Networking under Windows 95 can handle these tasks.

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) charge monthly fees and hourly usage fees. They may also have special packages for businesses requiring 24-hour connections. You should discuss various packages with your Internet service provider before choosing a connection.

Dedicated Line
The most expensive and difficult to set up, a dedicated line (such as a T1 line) gives you a full-time, high-speed connection to the Internet. If you expect a lot of traffic on your WebSite server, you should consider a dedicated line, which requires an additional piece of hardware, a router, to handle Internet traffic. If you already have full-time access to the Internet from your computer, you probably have a dedicated line. Check with your network administrator to make sure your computer is configured correctly and that you have the correct IP address.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a specialized type of phone line that can be used for both voice and data (at the same time). If ISDN is available from the local phone company, an ISDN line can work for either an on-demand (PPP/SLIP) or full-time (dedicated line) network and achieve speeds as great as some leased-line connections. ISDN connections require a special piece of hardware similar to a modem.

Internet Email Address of the WebSite Administrator

During installation WebSite requests the Internet email address for the WebSite server administrator. This address includes a name and a domain name. The easy way to spot an Internet email address is to look for the @ separating two names. For example, website@ora.com is the email address for WebSite customer service.

The email address can be for any location, not necessarily the system on which the WebSite server resides. Also, the email address is for the WebSite administrator, not the system administrator (although it may be the same person and thus the same address). This email address is used in a few WebSite documents, such as search forms.

Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)

In addition to a unique numeric address (the IP number), every computer that is on a TCP/IP network (internal or Internet) may also have a unique name, called a domain name. For example, website.ora.com, www.ncsa.uiuc.edu, and www.census.gov are domain names used to identify computers connected to the Internet. You'll notice that these names have multiple pieces separated by periods (or dots, as they are generally called). The first piece in these domain names is the hostname; the rest is the name of the domain in which the host exists.

For WebSite, you need to know the fully qualified domain name for your server. A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) includes the full hierarchical name of the computer--that is, the hostname and the name of the domain. An FQDN is written from the most specific address (a hostname) to the least specific address (a top-level domain). Sometimes fully qualified domain names are called fully qualified hostnames (FQHN). The designations mean the same thing, and you may find them used interchangeably in this book and in other WebSite support materials.

So if your server's hostname is happy and the domain is dopey.com, then your server's FQDN is happy.dopey.com. Either your Internet Service Provider or network administrator can provide you with the FQDN for your WebSite server.

Domain Name System (Optional)

While domain names are easier for people to remember, computers on the Internet use the numeric IP addresses to communicate with each other. Mapping IP addresses to fully qualified domain names is the job of the Domain Name System (DNS). Domain name servers are set up around the Internet to provide IP information when you submit a request using a domain name rather than an IP address.

Having DNS available for your WebSite server makes interactions with the Internet faster. To use DNS, you must configure TCP/IP with addresses for DNS name servers. Again, if you are on a TCP/IP network (internal or Internet), this is probably already configured for you. Ask your Internet Service Provider or network administrator for these addresses.

DNS Registration of WebSite Server (Optional)

Your Internet service provider or network administrator will know how to register your server's name with DNS. Registering with DNS makes it faster for browsers to find your WebSite server. It has no effect on how well your server performs, but it will affect how fast others can reach the information on your web.

Add-ons and Application Development Tools

Depending on how you plan to use your web, you may want to install some additional software. Add-on applications let you enhance your web with specialized elements (such as graphics, video, and audio) and functionality (forms processing, conferencing) to your web. Application development tools are essential for writing CGI programs.

The following lists are by no means comprehensive. However, they include some of the most useful tools readily available on the Web as shareware or commercially from a software vendor. Web technology is changing daily and new add-ons, plug-ins, and programming environments will be continually appearing. Look for your favorites the next time we publish this list!

Add-on Applications for WebSite

Add-on applications let you add interest and functionality to your web. Full-color images, video, and audio elements require tools to create and preview. Web utilities help you monitor and fine-tune your server's performance and analyze the information you gather from visitors to your web. Adding interactivity to your web, processing form data, and other capabilities require programs beyond those included with WebSite. Here's a list of some of our favorites for completing these objectives; check WebSite Central for others:

Application Development Tools

To write and execute Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs on your web, you need a few additional pieces of software. CGI programs allow you to execute operations in other Windows, NT shell, or DOS applications and return the data to the web browser. For example, you may have a Microsoft Access database of customer information, which is updated often and needs to be readily available to your sales people. First, you write a CGI program in Visual Basic or Delphi to execute a query on the database. Then you attach the CGI program to a URL. To run the CGI program, the user simply asks a web browser for that URL. The URL points to the CGI program, which executes the query and returns the answer to the browser. CGI programming is thoroughly covered in Chapters 15 through 18.

Depending on what type of programs you write and use on your web, you may need the following software:

Visual Basic development environment (Visual Basic Professional 4.0 recommended)
Used for writing CGI programs, including ones that execute other Windows applications such as Microsoft Access, WordPerfect, or Lotus 123. The Professional version is recommended, and is required for any serious database work. Visual Basic 4.0 is also recommended because it is a full 32-bit application. You do not need the Visual Basic environment to run Windows CGI programs, such as those included with WebSite or ones you may get from other sources. See Chapter 16, Developing Applications with Windows CGI, for more information.

Visual C++ programming language
Used for writing CGI programs in Visual C++. This powerful programming language adds even more capabilities to your web. Visual C++ 2.x is recommended. See Chapter 17, Developing Windows CGI Applications with C++ and MFC.

Java Developer's Kit
Used for creating Java applets for your web. Java is a new programming language designed for the Internet. It is small, robust, and architecture neutral. You can download the JDK from Sun Microsystems' web site.

Delphi programming environment
Used for writing CGI programs. Developed by Borland International, Delphi is an object-oriented programming environment available in both 16-bit and 32-bit versions. Delphi allows you to create Windows CGI programs quickly and easily. Creating CGI programs with Delphi follows the same principles as creating CGI programs with any other development environment (such as Visual Basic). See Chapter 16 for more information.

NT Perl programming language
Used to create and execute Perl-based CGI programs. Perl is a high-level programming language that has strong text and file manipulation features and is well suited to most CGI programming tasks. In fact, Perl is often called the "Swiss Army Chainsaw of Programming." Many CGI programs that run on UNIX-based web servers are written in Perl and are readily available on the Internet. An updated version of NT Perl, which also runs under Windows 95 and supports sockets as file handles, is available on WebSite Central. See Chapter 18, The Standard and DOS CGI Interfaces, for more information.

POSIX shell and tools from the Windows NT Resource Kit 3.5
Used for running CGI programs in the POSIX subsystem. These scripts have usually been developed for the UNIX Korn shell. Note that supporting tools such as sed and awk are not included in the Resource Kit, but ports of these tools are available from other sources. See Chapter 18 for more information.

Service or Application?

The WebSite server can be run as a system service or as a desktop application, under either Windows NT or Windows 95. There is no difference in performance or operation of the server or related tools. You can change how WebSite is running at any time through the Server Admin application.

The advantage of running WebSite as a service is that it runs when no one is logged onto the computer (a security feature), and it can restart automatically without someone having to log in and launch it (such as after a power failure). Under Windows NT 3.51, you can set up WebSite to display or not display its icon when it runs as a service. Under Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, the WebSite server icon appears in the system Tray of the Task bar. To run as a service under Windows NT, WebSite must have administrator privileges.

With WebSite as a desktop application, you can start it manually or have it start automatically whenever you log in (by placing it in your startup group). Although WebSite will not stay running when you log out, you can leave it running and simply lock your screen to prevent unauthorized use. The advantage of running WebSite as an application is that it is easier to stop and start, an advantage when you are initially setting up or administering the server and web.

Unless you are familiar with Windows NT services and the identity issues involved, we recommend you start by using WebSite as a desktop application. You will find it easier to set up initially and can switch it to a service later. If you are already using several other services on your computer and are familiar with how they work, you may prefer to run WebSite as a service from the beginning.

To Learn More

If you'd like more information about these topics or about other Web and Internet topics in general, we suggest reading the online help and documentation for your operating system. We also recommend the following books published by O'Reilly & Associates:

Also, check out the resources at O'Reilly Software Online.

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