(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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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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Foundations of Novell Networking Section 26

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