Once the server is installed, it runs constantly, listening for and accepting HTTP requests. The status of the server appears in the Server On/Off page. You can start and stop the server using one of the following methods:
After you shut down the server, it may take a few seconds for the server to complete its shut-down process and for the status to change to "Off."
If your machine crashes or is taken offline, the server stops and any requests it was servicing may be lost.
Setting the Termination Timeout
When the server is off, it stops accepting new connections. Then it waits for all outstanding connections to complete. The time the server waits before timing out is configurable in the magnus.conf file. By default it is set to 3 seconds. To change the value, add the following line to magnus.conf:
where seconds represents the number of seconds the server will wait before timing out.
The advantages to configuring this value is that the server will wait longer for connections to complete. However, because servers often have connections open from nonresponsive clients, increasing the termination timeout may increase the time it takes for the server to shut down.
Restarting the Server (Unix/Linux)
You can restart the server using one of the following methods:
Because the installation scripts cannot edit the /etc/rc.local or
/etc/inittab files, you must edit those files with a text editor.
If you do not know how to edit these files, consult your system administrator or system documentation.
If your server is an SSL server, see "Restarting an SSL Server".
Note that the server's start script and key pair file should be owned by root (or, if a non-root
user installed the server, that user account), with only the owner having read and write access to them.
Restarting With Inittab (Unix/Linux)
To restart the server using inittab, put the following text on one line in the
/etc/inittab file:
Replace server_root with the directory where you installed the server, and replace type-identifier with the server's directory.
The -i option prevents the server from putting itself in a background process.
You must remove this line before you stop the server.
Restarting With the System RC Scripts (Unix/Linux)
If you use /etc/rc.local, or your system's equivalent, place the following line in /etc/rc.local:
Replace server_root with the directory where you installed the server.
Restarting the Server Manually (Unix/Linux)
To restart the server from the command line, log in as root if the server runs on ports with numbers lower than 1024; otherwise, log in as root or with the server's user account. At the command-line prompt, type the following line and press Enter:
Replace server_root with the directory where you installed the server.
You can use the optional parameters -p and -i at the end of the line:
The -p option starts the server on a specific port number. This overrides the setting in magnus.conf.
The -i option runs the server in inittab mode, so that if the server process is ever killed or crashed, inittab will restart the server for you. This option also prevents the server from putting itself in a background process.
Note.
If the server is already running, the start command will fail. You must stop the server first, then use the start command. Also, if the server startup fails, you should kill the process before trying to restart it.
Stopping the Server Manually (Unix/Linux)
If you used the etc/inittab file to restart the server you must remove the line starting the server from /etc/inittab and type kill -1 1 before you try to stop the server. Otherwise, the server restarts automatically after it is stopped.
To stop the server manually, log in as root or use the server's user account (if that is how you started the server), and then type the following at the command line:
Restarting the Server (Windows NT)
You can restart the server by:
For Windows NT 3.51, perform the following steps:
In the Main group, double-click the Control Panel icon.
Double-click the Services icon.
Scroll through the list of services and select the service for your server.
Check Automatic to have your computer start the server each time the computer starts or reboots.
Click OK.
For Windows NT 4.0, perform the following steps:
From the Start menu, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.
Double-click the Services icon.
Scroll through the list of services and select the service for your server.
Check Automatic to have your computer start the server each time the computer starts or reboots.
Click OK.
Note.
You can also use the Services dialog box to change the account the server uses. For more information about changing the account the server uses, see Changing the Server's User Account (Windows NT).
Normally, you can't start an SSL-enabled server automatically because you have to enter its password. There is a way to have an SSL-enabled server start without having to enter a password if you keep the password in plain text in a text file. This practice is not recommended.
Warning.
Leaving your SSL-enabled server's password in the password.conf file on your system is a large security risk. In essence, you are
trading security for convenience. Anyone who can access the file has access to your SSL-enabled server's password.
Consider whether you can afford the security risks before keeping your SSL- enabled server's password in this file on your system.
If the security risk is not a concern for you, see Restarting an SSL Server, to start your SSL- enabled server
automatically.
Using the Automatic Restart Utility (Windows NT)
The server is automatically restarted by a server-monitoring utility if the server crashes. On systems that have debugging tools installed, a dialog box with debugging information appears if the server crashes. To help debug server plug-in API programs (for example, NSAPI programs), you can disable the auto-start feature by setting a very high timeout value. You can also turn off the debugging dialog boxes by using the Registry Editor.
Changing the Time Interval (Windows NT)
To change the time interval that elapses between startup and the time the server can automatically restart, perform the following steps:
Start the Registry Editor.
Select your server's key (in the left side of the Registry Editor window, located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Netscape\).
Choose Add Value from the Edit menu. The Add Key dialog box appears.
In Value Name, type MortalityTimeSecs.
Select REG_DWORD from the Data Type pull-down list.
Click OK. The DWORD Editor dialog box appears.
Type the time interval (in seconds) that will elapse between startup and the time the server can restart automatically.
Click the numerical format for the value you entered in the previous step (binary, decimal, or hexadecimal).
Click OK.
Turning Off the Debugging Dialog Box (Windows NT)
If you've installed an application (such as a compiler) that has modified the system debugging settings and the server crashes, you might see a system-generated application error dialog box. The server will not restart until you click OK.
To turn off the debugging dialog box that appears if the server crashes, perform the following steps:
Start the Registry Editor.
Select the AeDebug key, located in the left side of the Registry window in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
Double-click the Auto value in the right side of the window.
Change the string value to 1.
Restarting an SSL Server
By default, the web server prompts the administrator for the key database password before starting up. If you want the
web server to be able to restart unattended, you need to save the password in a password.conf file. Be sure that
your system is adequately protected so that this file and the key databases are not compromised.
Normally, you cannot start an UNIX SSL-enabled server with the /etc/rc.local or the etc/inittab files
because the server requires a password before starting. Although you can start an SSL-enabled server automatically if you keep the password in plain text in a file,
this is not recommended.
Unix Note. The server's password.conf file should be owned by root (or, if a non-root
user installed the server, that user account), with only the owner having read and write access to them.
Warning. Leaving the SSL-enabled server's password in the password.conf file is a large
security risk. Anyone who can access the file has access to the SSL-enabled server's password. Consider the security risks
before keeping the SSL-enabled server's password in the password.conf file.
Windows NT Warning.
If you have an NTFS file system, you should protect the directory that
contains the password.conf file by restricting its access, even if you do not use the file. The
directory should have read/write permissions for the administration server user and the web server user. Protecting the
directory prevents others from creating a
false password.conf file. Note that on FAT file systems, you cannot protect directories or files by restricting access to them.
If security risks are not a concern for you, follow these steps to start your SSL-enabled server automatically:
-
To configure the password, create a new password.conf file in the config subdirectory of the server
instance. If you are using the internal PKCS#11 software encryption module that comes with the server, type in the
following information:
Communicator Certificate DB : yourpassword
- If you are using a different PKCS#11 module, for example for hardware encryption or hardware accelerators, you will need
to specify the name of the PKCS#11 module, followed with the password. For example:
nFast: yourpassword