Introduction to Sun ONE Web Server

This chapter introduces Sun ONE Web Server and discusses some of the fundamental server concepts. Read it to obtain an overview of how Sun ONE Web Server works.

Sun ONE Web Server

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 is a multi-process, multi-threaded, secure web server built on open standards. It provides high performance, reliability, scalability, and manageability for any size enterprise.

This section describes the features of Sun ONE Web Server and introduces some of the basic administration tasks you can perform. It includes the following topics:

What’s New in Sun ONE Web Server 6.1

Java Servlet 2.3 and JavaServer Pages (JSP) 1.2 Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 includes a Java™ 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE™)-compliant implementation of the Java™ Servlet 2.3 and JavaServer Pages™ (JSP™) 1.2 specifications. A J2EE-compliant web container provides the flexibility and reliability needed to design and deploy web applications that comply with Java™ technology standards. Web applications can be deployed on a per virtual server basis.

For information about developing servlets and JSPs in Sun ONE Web Server, see the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 Programmer’s Guide to Web Applications.

JDK 1.4.1_03 Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports the Java Developer's Kit (JDK™) 1.4.1_03. This JDK is bundled with the Web Server and installed during installation (if you choose to install it). You can also install your own JDK at a later time, after you install the Web Server. If you plan to use the Administration Server and Java and servlet support, a JDK must be installed.

WebDAV Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports the Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol, which enables collaborative web publishing with the following features:

WebDAV provides integrated support for content metadata, name space management, and overwrite protection. These technologies, combined with the many authoring tools that support WebDAV, provide an ideal development platform for collaborative environments.

NSAPI Filters Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 extends the Netscape Server Application Programmer's Interface (NSAPI) to support NSAPI filters.

Filters enable the custom processing of HTTP request and response streams, allowing a function to intercept and potentially modify the content presented to or generated by another function. For example, a plugin could install an NSAPI filter to intercept an XML page generated by another plugin's Server Application Function (SAF), then transform that XML page into an HTML, XHTML, or WAP page appropriate for the client. Alternatively, an NSAPI filter could decompress data received from a client before presenting it to another plugin.

For more information, see the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 NSAPI Programmer’s Guide.

HTTP Compression Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports content compression, which allows you to increase delivery speed to clients and serve higher content volumes without incurring a corresponding increase in hardware expenses. Content compression reduces content download time, a benefit most apparent to users of dial-up and high-traffic connections.

New Search Engine Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports a new Java-based search engine that provides full-text search indexing and retrieval. The search feature allows users to search documents on the server and display results on a web page. Server administrators create the indexes of documents against which users will search, and can customize the search interface to meet specific needs.

Enhanced Security

New functionality in Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 allows you to restrict access using flat file authentication. Unlike previous versions of the Web Server, Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 now also supports the Java Security Manager. The Java Security Manager is disabled by default when you install the product. For more information about server.xml, see the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 Administrator’s Configuration File Reference Guide.

JNDI Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports the Java Naming and Directory Interface™ (JNDI), which provides seamless connectivity to heterogeneous enterprise naming and directory services.

JDBC Support

Sun ONE Web Server provides out-of-the-box, seamless Java™ DataBase Connectivity (JDBC™), and supports a wide range of industry-standard and customized JDBC drivers.

Sun ONE Studio 5 Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports Sun™ ONE Studio 5, Standard Edition. Sun ONE Studio technology is Sun's powerful, extensible, integrated development environment (IDE) for Java technology developers. Sun ONE Studio 5 is based on NetBeans™ software, and integrated with the Sun ONE platform. (Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 also supports NetBeans 3.5 and 3.5.1.)

Sun ONE Studio support is available on all platforms supported by Sun ONE Web Server 6.1. The plugin for the Web Server can be obtained in the following ways:

It is important to note that the Sun ONE Studio 5 plugin for Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 works only with a local Web Server (that is, with the IDE and the Web Server on the same machine).

The behavior of the Sun ONE Studio 5 plugin for Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 is the same as that for Sun™ ONE Application Server 7. For information about using the web application features in Sun ONE Studio 5, see the tutorial at the following location:
http://developers.sun.com/tools/javatools/documentation/s1s5/cdshop.pdf

Set the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 instance as the default, and then take the same actions described in the tutorial.

NSS 3.3.5 and NSPR 4.1.5 Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 supports Network Security Services (NSS) 3.3.5 and Netscape Portable Runtime (NSPR) 4.1.5.

PHP Compatibility

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 is compatible with PHP, the versatile and widely-used Open Source web scripting language. PHP (a recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) runs on all major operating systems.

Enhanced Hardware Accelerator Encryption Support

Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 provides hardware accelerator support for Sun™ Crypto Accelerator 1000, a cryptographic accelerator board that enhances the performance of SSL on the Web Server.

Start on Boot Option

On UNIX platforms, Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 introduces the Start on Boot option, which allows you to configure the Web Server to be started automatically when the system boots. For more information, see the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 Installation and Migration Guide.

Additional Features

Support for multiple processes and process monitors, failover, automatic recovery, and dynamic log rotation.

Administering and Managing Sun ONE Web Servers

In previous releases, the Web Server and other Netscape servers were administered by a single server, called the Administration Server. In the 4.x release, the “administration server” became simply an additional instance of the Sun ONE Web Server, called Sun ONE Web Server Administration Server, or Administration Server. You use the Administration Server to administer all of your Sun ONE Web Server instances. For more information, see Administration Server


Note	You can also perform administrative tasks manually by editing the configuration files or by using command-line utilities.

For managing individual instances of Sun ONE Web Server, you can use the Server Manager. For more information, see Server Manager.To manage virtual servers, use the Class Manager. For more information, see Class Manager.

Sun ONE Web Server Configuration

Sun ONE Web Server is configured to enable you to turn on or off various features, determine how to respond to individual client requests, and write programs that run on and interact with the server’s operation. The instructions (called directives) which identify these options are stored in configuration files. Sun ONE Web Server reads the configuration files on startup and during client requests to map your choices with the desired server activity.

For more information about these files, see the Sun ONE Web Server 6.1 Administrator’s Configuration File Reference.

Administration Server

The Administration Server is a web-based server that contains the Java forms you use to configure all of your Sun ONE Web Servers.

After installing Sun ONE Web Server, you use your browser to navigate to the Administration Server page and use its forms to configure your Sun ONE Web Servers. When you submit the forms, the Administration Server modifies the configuration for the server you were administering.

The URL you use to navigate to the Administration Server page depends on the computer host name and the port number you choose for the Administration Server when you install Sun ONE Web Server. For example, if you installed the Administration Server on port 1234, the URL would look like this:

Before you can get to any forms, the Administration Server prompts you to authenticate yourself. This means you need to type a user name and password. You set up the “superuser” user name and password when you install Sun ONE Web Server on your computer. The following figure shows a typical authentication screen:

After installation, you can use distributed administration to give multiple people access to different forms in the Administration Server. For more information about distributed administration, see Allowing Multiple Administrators.

The settings for the Administration Server appear in the right pane, organized by a set of tabs.

The first page you see when you access the Administration Server, is called Servers. You use the buttons on this page to manage, add, remove, and migrate your Sun ONE Web Servers. The Administration Server provides the following tabs for your administration-level tasks:


Note	You must enable cookies in your browser to run the CGI programs necessary for configuring your server.

For more information on using the Administration Server, including information regarding these administration-level tasks, see Administering Sun ONE Web Servers.

Server Manager

The Server Manager is a web-based interface that contains the Java forms you use to configure individual instances of Sun ONE Web Server.

You can access the Server Manager for Sun ONE Web Server by performing the following steps:

Install and start your Sun ONE Web Server.

The Administration Server displays the Servers page.

In the Manage Servers area, select the desired server and click Manage.

Sun ONE Web Server displays the Server Manager Preferences page.



Note	Note that you must enable cookies in your browser to run the CGI programs necessary for configuring your server.

You use the links on the Preferences page to manage options such as thread pool settings, and to turn the web server on and off.

In addition, the Server Manager provides the following tabs for additional Sun ONE Web Server managerial tasks:

Class Manager

The Class Manager is a web-based interface that contains the Java forms you use to configure your virtual Sun ONE Web Servers. The user interface for virtual servers has two parts, the Server Manager and the Class Manager. The Class Manager contains settings that affect a single class or single virtual server. You can set services for the class in the Class Manager, as well as add virtual servers (members of the class) and configure settings for an individual virtual server.

You can access the Class Manager for Sun ONE Web Server by performing the following steps:

From the Server Manager, click the Virtual Server Class tab.

The Server Manager displays the Manage a Class of Virtual Server page.

From the drop-down list, select a virtual server class and click Manage.

Sun ONE Web Server displays the Class Manager’s Select a Virtual Server page.

You can also access the Class Manager by simply clicking the Class Manager link in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

The Class Manager provides the following tabs to manage your Sun ONE Web Server virtual servers:

Virtual Server Manager

To access the Virtual Server Manager, go to the Virtual Servers tab in the Class Manager, then select a virtual server from the list on the Manager Virtual Servers page and click Manage, or click on the link to a virtual server under the tree view.

The pages provided in the Virtual Server Manager allow you to check the status and settings, set the Java web applications state to on, and generate reports for the selected virtual server.

The Virtual Server Manager provides the following tabs to manage your Sun ONE Web Server virtual servers:

Using the Resource Picker

Most of the Server Manager and Class Manager pages configure the entire Sun ONE Web Server or an entire class. However, some pages can configure either the entire server (or class) or files and directories that the server (or class) maintains. These pages have the Resource Picker at the top of the page.

The Resource Picker appears on a number of pages, including the Server Manager’s Log Preferences page and most screens accessible from the Class Manager’s Content Management tab.

To use the Resource Picker, choose a resource from the drop-down list for configuration. Click Browse to browse your primary document directly; click Wildcard to configure files with a specific extension.

Wildcards Used in the Resource Picker

In many parts of the server configuration, you specify wildcard patterns to represent one or more items to configure. Please note that the wildcards for access control may be different from those discussed in this section.

Wildcard patterns use special characters. If you want to use one of these characters without the special meaning, precede it with a backslash (\) character.

Wildcard patterns are applied on the directory path and not just on the filename. A wildcard pattern is therefore applicable to files in a particular directory only. For example, to add files to a directory /tmp, you could specify the wildcard pattern tmp/*.html. To add index.html from all subdirectories, the pattern would be */index.html.

Table 1 Resource Picker wildcard patterns
Pattern	Use
*	Match zero or more characters.
?	Match exactly one occurrence of any character.
\|	An or expression. The substrings used with this operator can contain other special characters such as * or $. The substrings must be enclosed in parentheses, for example, (a\|b\|c), but the parentheses cannot be nested.
$	Match the end of the string. This is useful in or expressions.
[abc]	Match one occurrence of the characters a, b, or c. Within these expressions, the only character that needs to be treated as a special character is ]; all others are not special.
[a-z]	Match one occurrence of a character between a and z.
[^az]	Match any character except a or z.
*~	This expression, followed by another expression, removes any pattern matching the second expression.

Table 2 Resource Picker wildcard examples
Pattern	Use
*.sun.com	Matches any string ending with the characters .sun.com.
(products\|docs).sun.com	Matches either products.sun.com or docs.sun.com.
198.93.9[23].???	Matches a numeric string starting with either 198.93.92 or 198.93.93 and ending with any 3 characters.
.	Matches any string with a period in it.
~sun-	Matches any string except those starting with sun-.
*.sun.com~docs.sun.com	Matches any host from domain sun.com except for a single host docs.sun.com.
*.sun.com~(products\|docs\|software).sun.com	Matches any host from domain sun.com except for hosts products.sun.com, docs.sun.com, and software.sun.com.
.com~.sun.com	Matches any host from domain com except for hosts from subdomain sun.com.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Sun ONE Web Server