Complete Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Introducing Netscape Console
Chapter 2 The Netscape Server Family Setup Program
Chapter 3 Using Netscape Console
Chapter 4 User and Group Administration
Chapter 5 Using SSL
Chapter 6 Delegating Server Administration
Chapter 7 Using SNMP to Monitor Services
Chapter 8 Administration Server Basics
Chapter 9 Administration Server Configuration
Appendix A Distinguished Name Attributes and Syntax
Appendix B Administration Server Command Line Tools
Appendix C FORTEZZA
Appendix D Introduction to Public-Key Cryptography
Appendix E Introduction to SSL
Managing Servers with Netscape Console: Administration Server Basics
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Chapter 8 Administration Server Basics

The Administration Server processes requests from the servers in a server group, then invokes the programs required to fulfill the servers' requests. See "The Administration Server" on page 16 for a brief overview of Netscape Console architecture.

This chapter contains the following sections:


Starting the Administration Server
The Administration Server automatically starts once it's installed. When you need to restart the server, you can start it from Netscape Console or from the command line.

From the Command Line
To restart the Administration Server from the command line:

Unix. In the server root, enter ./start-admin.

Windows NT. From the Start Menu, choose Run. Then enter <server root>/start-admin.cmd .

From Netscape Console
To restart the Administration Server using Netscape Console:

  1. From the Navigation Tree in Netscape Console, open the Administration Server you want to start.

  2. Click Tasks, then choose Restart Server.
Stopping the Administration Server
To stop the Administration Server:

  1. From the Navigation Tree in Netscape Console, open the Administration Server you want to stop.

  2. Click Tasks, then choose Stop Server.
Logging Options
Log files can help you monitor the Administration Server's activity, and can also help you troubleshoot server problems. Server logs use the Common Logfile Format, a commonly supported format that provides a fixed amount of information about the server.

Access log. Displays information about requests to the server and the responses from the server. By default, the file is located at admin-serv/logs/access.

Error log. Displays errors the server has encountered since the log file was created. It also contains informational messages about the server, such as when the server was started and who tried unsuccessfully to log in to the server. By default, the file is located at admin-serv/logs/error.

To set a new path for Administration Server log files:

  1. In the Navigation Tree of Netscape Console, select an Administration Server and open its console.

  2. Double-click Logging Options

  3. In the Logging Options window, enter new paths as necessary:

    4. Access Log - Log File. Enter a path to the directory where you want the administration server to store the access log file. You can enter an absolute path or a path relative to your server root directory.

    Error Log - Log File. Enter the path to the directory where you want the Administration Server to store the error log file.

  4. Click OK.
Viewing the Access Log
To view the access log:

  1. In the Navigation Tree of Netscape Console, select an Administration Server and open its console.

  2. Click Configuration.

  3. In the configuration tree, click + to expand the Logs directory, then click the Accesses icon.

Viewing the Error Log
To view the error log:

  1. In the Navigation Tree of Netscape Console, select an Administration Server and open its console.

  2. Click Configuration.

  3. In the configuration tree, click + to expand the Logs directory, then click the Errors icon.
The Administration Page
The Administration page provides links to sites or services of interest to system administrators. For example, in Figure 8.1 the Administration page contains links that allow an administrator to: change an end user's profile or access a web site for downloading server software. The Administration page always contains a link to the Administration Express page.

Netscape Console 4.2 or higher
In Netscape Console 4.2 or higher, the Administration page includes a link to the Administration Express page. For more information, see "Administration Express" on page 42.

To access the Administration page:

Open a browser, and enter the qualified host name and port number for the Administration Server you want to access.

Example: Aphrodite.airius.com:26751

Figure 8.1    The Administration page is typically customized to meet a company's specific needs.
 

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