Tasks common to administering any Netscape server are described in the manual called Managing Netscape Servers. You should understand at least the basics of general server administration before setting up your Compass Server.

Topics covered in this guide include

• The components of a Compass system
• Planning the Compass system
• Understanding the Compass database
• Filling and updating the database
• Categorizing resources in the database
• Guidelines for document authors

The main purpose of Netscape Compass Server is to gather information about the resources available on a network and store it in one place for users to access. In addition, Netscape Compass Server can "push" information about the resources it finds to interested users.

Future enhancements to Netscape Compass Server and other Netscape products will enable even easier access to network resources. Compass Server Concepts describes the elements that make up a Compass Server system.

Before You Start

These other aspects of Netscape Compass Server are described in other manuals:

• Installation and troubleshooting--These topics are described in the Netscape Compass Server Installation Guide. This small book is designed to get you up and running quickly.
• Using the administration server--General tasks applicable to administering all Netscape servers, including groups of servers, are covered in Managing Netscape Servers.
• Customizing robots--The Netscape Compass Server Programmer's Guide explains how to customize the way your robots find resources and generate descriptions of them for your Compass Server.
• Using the Compass Server--This subject is covered in an online manual, the Netscape Compass Server User's Guide and also in Help screens accessible directly from the user screens.

Learning About Compass

For more detailed information on the mechanics of gathering resource information and importing it into the Compass Server database, you should read at least the descriptive parts of the chapter on filling the database: About Robots and Controlling the Robot.

Administering Your Compass Server

• For information on general operation of the server, such as turning it on or off and configuring its network settings, see Configuring Server Preferences.
• For information on locating resources, gathering information on them, and customizing which sites are indexed and what information is gathered on them, see Filling the Database.
• For information on importing resource descriptions from other servers and maintaining the Compass Server database, see Managing the Compass Database.
• For information on categorizing the resources in the database, including creating new categories and modifying existing ones, see Setting Up Categories.
• For information on changing the user interface for your Compass Server, see Customizing the User Interface.
• For information on tracking server usage, see Monitoring the Server.
• Migrating from Catalog Server 1.0 explains how to move from an existing Netscape Catalog Server installation to Compass Server 3.0.

How Compass Server 3.0 Differs from Catalog Server 1.0

• No Resource Description Servers (RDSs) - The robot is now integrated directly into Compass Server. You no longer need to import resource descriptions from another server; the robot places them directly into the database. If you need distributed gathering, you can deploy multiple Compass Servers, and use them much as you did RDSs.
• Continuous robot operation - The robot is now a continuous process. It monitors a specific port, so the administrator can query the robot process or give it directives while it runs. Therefore, instead of being a background, batch operation, the robot is interactive. This also allows much better feedback on the current status of both the robot and the database.
• Unified search interface - Instead of providing both Java and non-Java search interfaces, Compass Server provides a single, fast interface that you can more easily customize, using HTML and JavaScript templates.
• Notification of updates - A new feature of Compass Server is a personalized update for users. Using My Compass, users can create personal interest profiles (PIPs) that indicate the types of items they want to know about. When the robot detects new or changed items, it can notify interested users either by electronic mail, through a personal web page, or through a Netcaster channel.
• Running searches - Using the same My Compass mechanism, users who frequently type the same searches can instead have the system remember these searches, and alert them to new documents that meet their search criteria.
• Category Browser - This Java applet, available from the main search screen, provides an expandable outline view of all the available document categories in a separate window. Users can browse directly to desired categories by clicking the category names.

To read the online manuals, do the following:

1. Choose either Compass Server or Admin Server in the left frame.

   For the Administration Server, you will see the manual Managing Netscape Servers, which covers tasks common to all Netscape servers. For the Compass Server you will see a list of different manuals available.

2. Click the name of the manual you want to read.

Conventions Used in This Guide

Last Updated: 02/12/98 13:30:49