: Preface

The following table lists the tasks and concepts that are described in the Netscape Application Server (NAS) and Netscape Application Builder (NAB) printed manuals and online read-me 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.


For information about	See the following	Shipped with
Late-breaking information about the software and the documentation	readme.htm	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Installing Netscape Application Server and its various components (Web Connector plug-in, Netscape Application Server Administrator), and configuring the sample applications	Installation Guide	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0
Installing Netscape Application Builder.	install.htm	NAB 4.0
Basic features of NAS, such as its software components, general capabilities, and system architecture.	Overview	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Deploying Netscape Application Server at your site, by performing the following tasks: Planning your Netscape Application Server environment Integrating the product within your existing enterprise and network topology Developing server capacity and performance goals Running stress tests to measure server performance Fine-tuning the server to improve performance	Deployment Guide	NAS 4.0
Administering one or more application servers using the Netscape Application Server Administrator tool to perform the following tasks: Deploying applications with the Deployment Manager tool Monitoring and logging server activity Setting up users and groups Administering database connectivity Administering transactions Load balancing servers Managing distributed data synchronization	Administration Guide	NAS 4.0
Migrating your applications to the new Netscape Application Server 4.0 programming model from version 2.1, including a sample migration of an Online Bank application provided with Netscape Application Server	Migration Guide	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Creating NAS 4.0 applications within an integrated development environment by performing the following tasks: Creating and managing projects Using wizards Creating data-access logic Creating presentation logic and layout Creating business logic Compiling, testing, and debugging applications Deploying and downloading applications Working with source control Using third-party tools	User's Guide	NAB 4.0
Creating NAS 4.0 applications that follow the new open Java standards model (Servlets, EJBs, JSPs, and JDBC), by performing the following tasks: Creating the presentation and execution layers of an application Placing discrete pieces of business logic and entities into Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) components Using JDBC to communicate with databases Using iterative testing, debugging, and application fine-tuning procedures to generate applications that execute correctly and quickly	Programmer's Guide (Java)	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAB 4.0
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the Netscape Application Server class library to write Java applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (Java)	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAB 4.0
Creating NAS C++ applications using the NAS class library by performing the following tasks: Designing applications Writing AppLogics Creating HTML templates Creating queries Running and debugging applications	Programmer's Guide (C++)	Order separately
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the Netscape Application Server class library to write C++ applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (C++)	Order separately

About This Guide

The Administration Guide guide leads you through the tasks that you perform as the administrator of one or more Netscape Application Server (NAS) machines. This guide assumes you have installed NAS on at least one machine. For information about installing NAS, refer to the Installation Guide.

You perform most of the administration tasks with NAS Administrator, a GUI-based tool for server and application administration. This tool is described in About the Netscape Application Server Administrator.

How This Guide Is Organized

This guide is divided into three sections. If you are new to administering a Netscape Application Server (NAS) machine, begin with Getting Started for an overview of how to start the server and administrator tool. If you are already familiar with administering application servers, skim the material in Getting Started before going on to Administering a Single Netscape Application Server.

If you are administering more than one application server, continue to Administering Multiple Netscape Application Servers, for additional information specific to a multiple-server enterprise.

Getting Started The first part of the Administration Guide describes the environment of NAS.

The following section is included in this part:

Performing Basic Tasks with the Administrator Tool describes how to get started with NAS Administrator, as well as the basic NAS configuration tasks you can perform to begin working with NAS.

Administering a Single Netscape Application Server Machine The second part of the Administration Guide describes server and application administration procedures for a single NAS machine. The procedures included in this part are those that you are most likely to do right away.

The following sections are included in this part:

Deploying and Upgrading Applicationshow to deploy applications from one machine to another using the Deployment Manager, as well as how to upgrade applications already installed on a NAS machine

Monitoring Server Activity describes the monitoring service provided by NAS Administrator that allows you to chart various attributes of the Executive, Java, and C++ server processes

Monitoring NAS with Third-party Tools describes how to monitor NAS using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Logging Server Messages describes the message-logging service provided by NAS.

Securing Applications describes how to set up users and groups to provide security for your applications.

Increasing Fault Tolerance and Server Resources describes how you can increase application performance.

Configuring the Web Connector Plug-In describes the web connector plug-in, which sends users' requests to applications residing on NAS.

Administering Database Connectivity describes how to configure data access drivers and apply settings to database connectivity parameters.

Administering Transactions describes the tasks and conceptual information necessary for administering transactions using NAS Administrator.

Administering Multiple Netscape Application Server Machines The third part of the Administration Guide describes how to administer multiple NAS machines. Included are more in-depth administration procedures and concepts that apply to a multiple-server enterprise. These procedures focus solely on multiple-server administration, and are used with the single-server procedures described in Part II.

The following sections are included in this part:

Configuring Multiple Servers describes how to configure the web connector plug-in, distributed data synchronization, and multicast communication for multiple NAS machines using NAS Administrator.

Administering Multi-server Applications describes how to maintain multiple NAS machines at the same time using NAS Administrator

Balancing User-Request Loads describes load balancing, which optimizes the ability of each NAS machine to process users' requests by keeping those requests balanced among several application servers.

Managing Distributed Data Synchronization describes how to group NAS machines into data synchronization clusters.

Troubleshooting contains troubleshooting information about your NAS machine.

Documentation Conventions

File and directory paths are given in Windows format (with backslashes separating directory names). For Unix versions, the directory paths are the same, except slashes are used instead of backslashes to separate directories.

This guide uses URLs of the form:

http://server.domain/path/file.html

In these URLs, server is the name of server on which you run your application; domain is your Internet domain name; path is the directory structure on the server; and file is an individual filename. Italic items in URLs are placeholders.

This guide uses the following font conventions:

The monospace font is used for sample code and code listings, API and language elements (such as function names and class names), file names, path names, directory names, and HTML tags.

Italic type is used for book titles, emphasis, variables and placeholders, and words used in the literal sense.