The University of Akron

Summit College
Business Technology Dept.

2440: 141
Web Site Administration

Web Server Basics and Administration

Instructor: Enoch E. Damson
Server Administration
Common tasks of server administrators include:
Focusing on the LAN
Provide access to software and services
Make sure that the user environment is reliable and
consistent
Minimize harm that users can do to network

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Server Administration…
Working with Users:
Users are central to server administration because:
 Users need to be productive
 Users like consistency
 Roaming profiles – allow users to have the same personalized

desktop environment on multiple computers

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Server Administration…
Establishing Access Control:
Users need just enough access to do their jobs
Typically, users are organized into groups
 The groups are given access to network resources
Users can be given different access to the same resources
 A document can be read by everyone but modified by only specific
people

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Server Administration…
Understanding the Server Environment:
All but the smallest network includes more than one server
With Windows computers, servers and users’ computers
can be organized into domains in order to centralize control
 Users log on to a domain, which can be completely separate from
or related to other domains

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Web Server Administration
Web server administrators focus on the Internet
 Need to work with ISPs and Web page developers
Typically, a Web server provides information to anyone
who requests it over the Internet
Web servers can contain other applications such as FTP, e-
mail, DNS, etc
Technical skills are needed to administer a Web server in
order to:
 Control access to Web pages
 Create virtual Web sites on a single server
 Make sure programming environment and other services are
running correctly

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Web Server Administration…
Depending on the size of the organization, some tasks of
Web server administrators may be delegated
Systems maintenance
E-mail administration
Security implementation
Web page development
Database design
Programming

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Web Server Administration…
Understanding the Web Environment:
Web server administrators work with Web developers and
other network administrators
Web Servers administrators control Internet users’ access
to Web servers
 It is impossible to control the Internet

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Web Server Administration…
Selecting Programs:
Web server administrators need to install programs and
services
 Programs – solve specific problems
 Service (daemon) – programs that run in the background
 Web service – one or more programming modules that reside on
a Web server and can be accessed from client computers

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Web Server Administration…
Selecting Server-Side Programs:
Web developers use a variety of server-side programming
languages
 Perl – one of the 1st languages for dynamic Web pages
 Active Server Pages (ASP) – interprets programs written using VBScript or
JavaScript
 ASP.Net – compiles programs written using Visual Basic.NET, C#.NET (similar
to C++), J#.NET (similar to Java)
 Java Server Pages (JSP) – compiles programs written using Java into Java
servlets
 PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) – has structure similar to ASP and JSP
and syntax similar to Perl and Java
 ColdFusion – has syntax similar to ASP and JSP

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Web Server Administration…
Selecting Databases:
Database – a collection of data about related entities
Database management system (DBMS) – software used to
store and manipulate data used on Web pages
 Examples include:
 For large sites – Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL Server, DB2, MS Access, etc
Structured Query Language (SQL) – the language used in a
Relational DBMS to create, store and manipulate databases

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Web Server Administration…
Managing E-mail Servers:
Email servers are open by design to accept e-mail from
anyone
Spam can be a problem to manage
 Specific utilities can be used to help minimize spam
Viruses are commonly sent by e-mail
 Use virus detection software and keep it updated

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Web Server Administration…
Working with Other Web Applications:
Firewall
 Helps protect your Web server environment from attack
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
 A service that allows users to download files from and upload files to
a server
DNS (Domain Name Service)
 Translates host names such as www.technowidgets.com to an IP
address

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Web Server Administration…
Managing the Internet Connection:
The Web administrator needs to maintain a connection to
the Internet
The Web administrators responsibility ends at the
connection the Internet
 Additional supported is handled by the ISP, who may also have to
contact a local phone company

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Administrators' Common Tasks
and Services
Server administrators and Web server administrators
share several common tasks such as:
Installing and configuring systems
Maintaining security
Monitoring the system
Maintaining and backing up systems

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System Installation and
Configuration
Web administrators determine the hardware and
software requirements of the system environment
Both Server and Web server administrators install and
configure software

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Security Maintenance
Physical and software security must both be considered
against:
Internal security breaches
External security breaches

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System Monitoring
Systems are monitored to track performance,
troubleshoot problems and usage using:
Software tools
Log files

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System Maintenance and
Backup
Systems must be periodically updated to take care of
security loopholes and other possible software
malfunctions
Backing up systems is vital for both server and Web
server administrators
Systems may have to be reconfigured due to some severe
problems

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Network Building Blocks
Systems administrators need to understand parts of a
network and how they work together to help:
Create an efficient and balanced network
Prevent system disruptions from hackers
Web server administrators need to look at networks
as a:
Logical model – to understand how computers
communicate
Physical structure – to understand network parts

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Network Building Blocks…
To understand network communication, the
following models are used:
Open Source Interconnection (OSI) model
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
model
 Protocol - set of communication rules

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The OSI Model
A theoretical definition of the parts of network data
communication
Developed in the 1970s and implemented in the 1980s
Depicts seven layers that depict how the networking
protocols function and separate the communication tasks

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The OSI Model…
Layer Name Description

7 Application Responsible for low-level application access to the network.

6 Presentation Can convert data into a format that is understandable to the Application
layer.
5 Session Can open, maintain, and shut down communication.

4 Transport Responsible for transporting the data from one computer to another. (TCP
and UDP)

3 Network Primarily responsible for addressing between two computers. (IP and
ICMP)

2 Data Link Responsible for the interface between the packets coming down through
the upper layers and the physical layer.

1 Physical Responsible for transferring the data to the network medium.

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The TCP/IP Model
A real-world model showing how the TCP/IP protocols
actually work
Does not correspond exactly with the common but
theoretical OSI model
Depicts network data communication in four layers instead
of the seven layers of the OSI model

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 The TCP/IP Model…
Layer Name Common OSI
Components Reference

4 Application HTTP, SMTP, POP3 Application

FTP, DNS Presentation
Session

3 Transport TCP, UDP Transport

2 Network IP, ICMP Network

1 Physical Ethernet, FDDI Data Link

Physical

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TCP/IP Protocols
Components of the application layer level of the TCP/IP
model include:
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
 Web servers implement this protocol
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
 Used by e-mail servers (and sometimes Web servers) to send e-
mail
Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3)
 Used to retrieve e-mail

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TCP/IP Protocols…
Other components of the application layer of the
TCP/IP model include:
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 Transfers files to and from server

Domain Name Service (DNS)

 Translates host names to IP addresses and IP addresses to host
names
 BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) – the most popular program
used to implement DNS
 Microsoft also has a DNS server

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TCP/IP Protocols…
Components of the transport layer of the TCP/IP model
include:
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
 Creates a reliable connection between two computers

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

 Does not establish a connection, just sends messages

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TCP/IP Protocols…
Components of the network layer of the TCP/IP model
include:
Internet Protocol (IP)
 Provides addressing scheme
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
 Provides error messages

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Common Network Components
Components of the physical layer of the TCP/IP
model include:
Ethernet – the most common network technology which
connects multiple devices
Switch – central device that allows PCs to communicate
with one another
 A data cable connects the network interface card (NIC) of each
computer to the switch
Router – forwards data packets across computer networks

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Simple Network Diagram

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Connecting to the Internet
Connecting to the Internet requires:
Internet Service Provider (ISP) – company that helps
connect to the Internet
Wide Area Network (WAN) connection – used between a
building and the ISP
 T-Carrier connection is often used
 A digital connection for voice and data

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Connecting to the Internet…
Other types of Internet connections are:
Integrated services digital network (ISDN)
 Digital service using a terminal adapter (TA) or ISDN modem
 Dial-up access
 Offers 2 types of services:
 Basic Rate Interface (BRI) – provides 3 channels (2 “B” or “Bearer”
channels and a “D” or “Delta” channel) of data transfer
 Primary Rate Interface (PRI) – uses 23 B channels and 1 D channel to
provide higher amounts of bandwidth

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Connecting to the Internet…
Other types of Internet connections are:
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
 Provides higher speeds of data transfer over telephone lines
 Signal degradation is a limitation to DSL
 Types of DSL connections include:
 Asymmetric DSL (ADSL)
 ISDN DSL (IDSL)
 Rate Adaptive DSL (RADSL)
 Single DSL (SDSL)
Cable Modem
 Shared access cable provided by cable TV company

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Planning on Web Hosting
Some decisions about Web site hosting include:
Hosting the Web site
Hosting the Web server
Hardware/software considerations
Sizing the server (performance requirements)
Registering a domain name

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Hosting a Site
There are many options to consider when deciding how
to set up your Web site
Some of the popular options include:
ISP personal page
Standard virtual hosting
Co-located server
Dedicated server

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ISP Personal Page
Good for personal use
Pros:
Free
Cons:
Cannot have your own domain name
Limited space

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Standard Virtual Hosting
Allows you to have your own domain but must share
a machine with other domains
Ideal for less custom server-side programming Web
applications
Pros:
Cheap way to have your own domain
No server to maintain
Cons:
Server shared with many other people

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Co-Located Server
Having your own server located at the company that
does your Web hosting (Internet Service Provider –
ISP)
Pros:
Control over entire server
Faster network
Cons:
You still have to purchase and manage the machine
Hardware is offsite

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Dedicated Server
Having your own server
Pros:
Flexibility of having your server
Cons:
You still have to administer the machine
May cost more

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Hosting a Web Server
Some of the resources needed to host a server
include the following:
An ISP to provide a network connection
Hardware/Software consideration
 Operating system
 A server machine and a model or other network interface

An IP address for the machine to make it accessible on the

network
A domain name – but not required
A router or other network hardware

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Sizing a Web Server
Running your own server requires looking at
performance problems such as:
Too much traffic on network
Is the server running near capacity?
A good ISP should have plenty of network bandwidth
Bandwidth – the capacity or speed of a network expressed
in bits per second (bps)
Throughput – amount of data that can move from one
place to another in a time period

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Bandwidth & Network Capacity
A network bandwidth may be slowed if:
Many clients are continuously requesting pages
Large files are being downloaded
To get a feel of how many people are visiting your
site, the Web server log files should be checked
Each page requested counts as a “hit” or http operation
(httpop)
Each line in the log file represents a hit

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Server Performance
The size and type of files being transferred does not
necessarily slow a server
The number of transactions over a network connection is
more important
Factors that may slow a server include
CGI programs and other applications
Search engines
Server-side programs accessing databases

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Resolving Server Performance Problems
Some of the things needed to be done when a server is
struggling include:
Increasing the server’s RAM
 Leads to increases cache to store frequently accessed data
Upgrading the server configuration
 Faster hard drive to support sustained transfer rates
 Store data on multiple hard drives

Distributing the load across different servers

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Web Server Platforms
(Operating Systems)
Manages all the functions of a computer
The choice of operating system is important for a
Web server because it determines:
What server software to run
The security and reliability of the Web server
How the Web server can be managed
Some of the operating system platforms include:
Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Novell Netware, Apple Mac

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Windows
By Microsoft Corporation
The Windows platform has utilized several servers such
as:
Windows NT Server
Windows 2000 Server
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows 8

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UNIX
Created by AT&T Bell Laboratories
Some popular brands of the UNIX platform include:
Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS), Oracle Solaris, BSD
(FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD), IBM AIX, and HP-UX
Basic components include:
Kernel – central portion of operating system
File system – provides input and output mechanisms
Shell – provides user interface, e.g. sh, bash, csh
 Popular GUIs include KDE, GNOME

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