Chapter 2   Administering iPlanet Web Servers


This chapter describes how to administer iPlanet Web Server, Enterprise Edition 6.0 with the iPlanet Web Server Administration Server. Using the Administration Server, you can manage servers, add and remove servers, and migrate servers from a previous release.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Accessing the Administration Server

• Running Multiple Servers

• Installing Multiple Instances of the Server

• Removing a Server

• Migrating a Server From a Previous Version

Accessing the Administration Server

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This section describes how to access the Administration Server for Unix/Linux and Windows NT platforms.

Unix/Linux Platforms

To access the Administration Server in Unix or Linux platforms, go to the server_root/https-admserv/ directory (for example,
/usr/iplanet/servers/https-admserv/) and type ./start. This command starts the Administration Server using the port number you specified during installation.

Windows NT Platforms

The iPlanet Web Server installation program creates a program group with several icons for Windows NT platforms. The program group includes the following icons:

• Release Notes

• Start Administration Server

• Uninstall iPlanet Web Server 6.0

• Administer Web Server

Note that the Administration Server runs as a services applet; thus, you can also use the Control Panel to start this service directly.

To access the Administration Server in Windows NT 4.0, perform the following steps:

1. Double-click the "Start Administration Server" icon, or type the following URL for starting the administration server in your browser:

   http://hostname.domain-name:administration_port

   iPlanet Web Server then displays a window prompting you for a user name and password.

2. Type the administration user name and password you specified during installation.

   iPlanet Web Server displays the Administration Server page.

For more information, see Administration Server in the online help.

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

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You can also access the Administration Server from a remote location as long as you have access to client software such as Netscape Navigator. Since the Administrator Server is accessed through a browser, you can access it from any machine that can reach the server over the network.

Running Multiple Servers

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There are two ways you can have multiple web servers running on your system:

• Use virtual servers

• Install multiple instances of the server

Virtual Servers

Virtual servers allow you, with a single installed server, to offer companies or individuals domain names, IP addresses, and some server administration capabilities. For the users, it is almost as if they have their own web server, though you provide the hardware and basic web server maintenance.

The settings for virtual servers are stored in the server.xml file, found in the server_root/server_id/config directory. You do not need to edit this file to use virtual servers, but if you would like to learn more about this file, see the NSAPI Programmer's Guide.

For more information about virtual servers, see Using Virtual Servers.

Installing Multiple Instances of the Server

In past releases of iPlanet Web Server, virtual servers did not have unique configuration information. The only way to have servers with separate configuration information was to create a new server instance. However, with iPlanet Web Server, Enterprise Edition 6.0, virtual servers have separate configuration information, so multiple server instances are no longer required. They are still supported, but virtual servers are the preferred way to have multiple servers.

If you choose to install multiple instances of the web server, you can use the Administration Server to:

• Install multiple copies of the server on NT as separate instances, each with a different IP address.

• Configure a set of servers that all use the same IP address, but different port numbers.

If your system is configured to listen to multiple IP addresses enter one of the IP addresses that your system is hosting for each server you install.

If you installed your server before configuring your system to host multiple IP addresses, configure your system to respond to different IP addresses. Then you can either install hardware virtual servers or change the server's bind address using the Server Manager and install separate instances of the server for each IP address.

To add another server instance, perform the following steps:

1. Access the Administration Server and choose the Servers tab.

2. Click the Add Server link.

3. Enter the desired information for the specified fields.

   Note that the server identifier cannot start with a digit and only Latin-1 characters should be used in instance names.

For more information, see The Add Server Page in the online help.

Removing a Server

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You can remove a server from your system using the Administration Server. Be sure that you don't need the server anymore before you remove it, since this process cannot be undone.

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Note	Some NT servers have an uninstall program that you can use to remove a server and its associated administration server. For details, check with your product documentation.

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To remove a server from your machine, perform the following steps:

1. Access the Administration Server and choose the Servers tab.

2. Click Remove Server.

The Administration Server subsequently deletes the server's configuration files, Server Manager forms, and the following directory (and any subdirectories):

server_root/https-server-id

For more information, seeThe Remove Server Page in the online help.

Migrating a Server From a Previous Version

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You can migrate an iPlanet Web Server from 4.x to 6.0. Your 4.x server is preserved, and a new 6.0 server using the same settings is created.

You should stop running the 4.x server before migrating settings. Make sure you have a compatible version of a web browser installed on your computer before migrating settings.

For a complete description of how to migrate a server from a previous version to iPlanet Web Server 6.0, see the Installation and Migration Guide.

For more information, see The Migrate Server Page