About This Guide


This guide describes how to configure and administer iPlanet^TM Web Server. It is intended for information technology administrators in the corporate enterprise who want to extend client-server applications to a broader audience through the World Wide Web.

This preface includes the following sections:

• What's In This Guide?

• How This Guide Is Organized

• Conventions Used In This Guide

• Using the iPlanet Web Server Documentation

• Further Reading

• Contacting Technical Support

What's In This Guide?

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This guide explains how to configure and administer the iPlanet FastTrack Server. After configuring your server, use this guide to help maintain your server.

After you install the server, this guide is available in HTML format in the server root at manual/https/ag in your server root directory.

How This Guide Is Organized

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This guide is divided into five sections. If you are new to iPlanet Web Server, begin with Server Basics for an overview of the iPlanet Web Server. If you are already familiar with iPlanet Web Server, skim the material in Server Basics before going on to Using the Administration Server.

Once you are familiar with the fundamentals of using the Administration Server, you can refer to Configuring and Monitoring, which includes examples of how to configure and monitor your iPlanet Web Servers. Using Programs and Objects provides information for using programs and configuration styles. Managing Content and Access provides information for managing your iPlanet Web Server content, and controlling access to your iPlanet Web Servers.

Finally, the appendices address specific reference topics that describe the various topics, including: HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), server configuration files, ACL files, internationalization issues, server extensions, and the iPlanet Web Server user interface reference, which you may want to review. Note that the user interface appendix is available in the online version only.

Server Basics

This section provides an overview of the iPlanet Web Server. The following chapters are included:

• Introduction to iPlanet Web Server provides an overview of iPlanet Web Server.

• Administering iPlanet Web Servers describes how to manage your iPlanet Web Servers with the Administration Server.

Using the Administration Server

This section provides conceptual and procedural details using the Administration Server to administer your iPlanet Web Servers. The following chapters are included:

• Setting Administration Preferences describes how to use the Administration Server Preferences and Global Settings forms to configure your iPlanet Web Servers.

• Managing Users and Groups describes how to how to use the Administration Server Users and Groups forms to configure your iPlanet Web Servers.

• Working with Server Security describes how to configure your iPlanet Web Server security. Note that before reading this chapter you should be familiar with the basic concepts of public-key cryptography and the SSL protocol. These concepts include encryption and decryption; keys; digital certificates and signatures; and SSL encryption, ciphers, and the major steps of the SSL handshake. For more information regarding these topics, see Managing Servers with Netscape Console.

Configuring and Monitoring

This section includes examples of how to use the Server Manager to configure and monitor your iPlanet Web Servers. The following chapters are included:

• Configuring Server Preferences describes how to configure server preferences for your iPlanet Web Server.

• Understanding Log Files describes how to monitor your iPlanet Web Server using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), by recording and viewing log files, or by using the performance monitoring tools provided with your operating system.

• Performance Configuration describes how to define your server workload and sizing your system to meet your performance needs. This chapter addresses miscellaneous configuration and Unix/Linux platform-specific issues, CGI-related performance tuning problems, and other common performance issues.

Using Programs and Objects

This section provides information for using the Server Manager to programs and configuration styles. The following chapters are included:

• Extending Your Server With Programs describes how to install Java applets, CGI programs, JavaScript applications, and other plug-ins onto your server.

• Working With Configuration Styles describes how to use configuration styles with iPlanet Web Server.

Managing Content and Access

This section provides information for using the Server Manager to manage your iPlanet Web Server content, and control access to your iPlanet Web Servers. The following chapters are included:

• Managing Server Content describes how you can configure and manage your server's content.

• Controlling Access to Your Server describes the methods you can use to determine who has access to what files or directories on your web site.

Appendixes

This section includes various appendixes for reference material that you may wish to review. This section includes the following appendixes:

• HyperText Transfer Protocol provides a short introduction to a few HTTP basic concepts.

• ACL File Syntax describes the access-control list (ACL) files and their syntax.

• Internationalized iPlanet Web Server describes the internationalized version of the iPlanet Web Server.

• Server Extensions for Microsoft FrontPage describes using server extensions on your iPlanet Web Server that provide support for Microsoft FrontPage.

• iPlanet Web Server User Interface describes the elements in the user interface of the Administration Server and Server Manager of iPlanet Web Server. This appendix is available in the online version only.

In addition, a glossary is included to define frequently used terms that may be unfamiliar to iPlanet Web Server administrators.

Conventions Used In This Guide

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The conventions used in this guide are as follows:

Italic

This typeface is used for book titles, emphasis, and any text that is a placeholder for text you need to replace for your system. For example, in a URL that contains a reference to your server's port number, the URL might contain portnumber in italics. Replace the words in italics with the actual value for your server.

Monospaced font

This typeface is used for any text that you should type. It's also used for functions, examples, URLs, filenames, and directory paths.

bold
Bold style is used for new terminology and specific dialog box and drop down menu options. All new bold terms are also in the glossary.

Using the iPlanet Web Server Documentation

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The following table lists the tasks and concepts that are described in the iPlanet Web Server printed manuals and online readme file. If you are trying to accomplish a specific task or learn more about a specific concept, refer to the appropriate manual.

Note that the printed manuals are also available as online files in PDF and HTML format.

Table 1 iPlanet Web Server Documentation 

For information about	See the following
Late-breaking information about the software and the documentation.	http://www.iplanet.com/docs
Installing iPlanet Web Server and migrating your data to the new iPlanet Web Server.	iPlanet Web Server Installation & Migration Guide
Administering one or more iPlanet Web Servers using the Administrator Server to manage and configure your servers and to perform the following tasks: Setting up server security. Monitoring your servers using HTTP, via log files, or via the tools provided with your OS. Defining your server workload and sizing your system to meet your performance needs. Installing Java applets, CGI programs, JavaScript applications, and other plug-ins onto your server.	Administrator's Guide
The administration server and global information on topics such as encryption, access control, and performance monitoring.	Managing Servers with Netscape Console
Planning your directory service. How you can use the directory server to support simple usage that involves only a few hundred users and some key server applications, as well as how you can scale the directory server to support millions of users. You are also introduced to the basic directory service concepts and specific guidelines that you will need to deploy a production-grade directory service.	Netscape Directory Server Deployment Manual
An overview of the programming technologies and APIs you can use to extend and modify iPlanet Web Server, to dynamically generate content in response to client requests, and to modify the content of the server. Links are provided to the individual books that discuss each API. This book also contains information about API changes from Enterprise 3.x to iPlanet Web Server 4.x. Use this book as the starting place for developer-level information for iPlanet Web Server 4.x.	Programmer's Guide to iPlanet Web Server
How to enable and implement servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP) in iPlanet Web Server.	Programmer's Guide to Servlets in iPlanet Web Server
How to use Netscape Server Application Programmer's Interface (NSAPI) to build plugins to extend and modify the iPlanet Web Server. The book also discusses the purpose and use of the configuration files obj.conf, magnus.conf, and mime.types, and provides a comprehensive list of the directives and functions that can be used in these configuration files. It also provides a reference of the NSAPI functions you can use to define new plugins.	NSAPI Programmer's Guide for iPlanet Web Server

Further Reading

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The iPlanet Documentation site contains documentation for administrators, users, and developers, including:

• iPlanet Web Server Release Notes

• JavaScript Reference

• Netscape Internet Service Broker programmer's guides and reference guides for Java and C++

• Web Publishing Client API Guide

To access these documents, use the following URL:

http://www.iplanet.com/docs

Contacting Technical Support

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For Technical Support assistance, please see the Technical Support Page for the iPlanet Web Server at:

http://www.iplanet.com/support/