Chapter 6   Administration Server Basics


iPlanet Administration Server processes requests for servers that are installed in a server group (a single root folder), and then starts the programs required to fulfill them. For a brief overview of iPlanet Console architecture, see Chapter 1, "iPlanet Console and Administration Server."

This chapter tells you how to perform basic Administration Server operations. It contains the following sections:

• Restarting Administration Server

• Stopping Administration Server

• Logging Options

• The iPlanet Administration Page

Restarting Administration Server

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iPlanet Administration Server automatically starts once it's installed. When you need to restart Administration Server, you can do so from iPlanet Console or from the command line. In Windows NT, you can also restart the server from the Services control panel.

To Restart the Server From iPlanet Console

1. From the iPlanet Console navigation tree, select the instance of Administration Server that you want to restart.

2. Click Open to open the management window for the instance of Administration Server.

3. Click the Tasks tab, and then choose Restart Server.

Figure 6-1    iPlanet Console Task Window

To Restart the Server From the Command Line

UNIX Systems

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

Windows NT Systems

Click Start, choose Run, and then enter the following:

serverRoot/start-admin.cmd

To Restart the Server From the NT Control Panel

1. Click Start, and then choose Settings > Control Panel.

2. Open the Services control panel.

3. Select iPlanet Administration Server 5.0 from the list of services and then click the Start button.

4. Click Close to exit the Services control panel.

Stopping Administration Server

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You can stop an instance of Administration Server from within iPlanet Console or from the command line. On Windows NT, you can also stop the server from the Services control panel.

To Stop the Server From iPlanet Console

1. From the iPlanet Console navigation tree, select the instance of Administration Server that you want to stop.

2. Click Open to open the management window for the instance of Administration Server.

3. Click the Tasks tab, and then choose Stop Server.

To Stop the Server From the Command Line

UNIX Systems

In the server root, enter ./stop-admin.

Windows NT Systems

Click Start, choose Run, and then enter the following:

serverRoot/stop-admin.cmd

To Stop the Server From the NT Control Panel

1. Click Start, and then choose Settings > Control Panel.

2. Open the Services control panel.

3. Select iPlanet Administration Server 5.0 from the list of services and then click Stop.

4. Click Close to exit the Services control panel.

   
   

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   Note

   If you stop the Administration Server from the Windows NT Control Panel, you cannot restart it from within Console. You must start the server from the command line or from the Windows NT Control Panel. For more information, see the preceding sections: "To Restart the Server From the Command Line" and "To Restart the Server From the NT Control Panel."

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Logging Options

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Log files can help you monitor activity on an instance of Administration Server, and can also help you troubleshoot server problems. Server logs use the Common Logfile Format, a broadly supported format that provides information about the server.

Administration Server generates two kinds of logs:

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 on to the server. By default, the file is located at admin-serv/logs/error.

You can view logs from iPlanet Console. You can also change where logs are stored, for instance if you want Administration Server to write all log files to a shared folder.

To View the Access Log

1. From the iPlanet Console navigation tree, select the instance of Administration Server that you want to view the access log for.

2. Click Open to open the management window for the instance of Administration Server.

3. Click the Configuration tab.

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

   
   
   

To View the Error Log

1. From the iPlanet Console navigation tree, select the instance of Administration Server that you want to view the error log for.

2. Click Open to open the management window for the instance of Administration Server.

3. Click the Configuration tab.

4. In the configuration tree, click + to expand the Logs directory, then click the Errors icon.

   If you want to resize the column widths to show more detail, move your mouse to position the pointer over a column head boundary so that it changes to a double-arrow. Then, drag to make the column the width you want.

To Change Where Logs Are Stored

1. From the iPlanet Console navigation tree, select the instance of Administration Server that you want to modify.

2. Click Open to open the management window for the instance of Administration Server.

3. Click the Configuration tab, and then double-click Logging Options.

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

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

5. Click OK.

The iPlanet Administration Page

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The iPlanet administration page provides links to sites or services of interest to system administrators. For example, in , the administration page contains a link to Administration Express and a link to a web site for downloading server software. Depending on which iPlanet server products you have installed, the administration page may include links to additional resources, such as the Netscape Directory Server gateway or the Netscape Directory Server end-user pages.

For more information on Administration Express, see "Administration Express." For more information on links related to other Netscape or iPlanet server software, see your server's documentation.

To Access the Administration Page

1. Open a browser.

2. Enter the fully qualified host name and port number for the instance of Administration Server you want to access.

   Example: http://eastcoast.siroe.com:26751

3. Press Enter.