Before You Begin

### INTRODUCTION:

# Before You Begin

What’s New
About This Book
About Online Help
About the Online Examples
What You Should Know
Finding Further Information

Welcome to Microsoft® Peer Web Services version 2.0 for the Windows NT® Workstation version 4.0 operating system. With Microsoft Peer Web Services, you can set up a Web server that transmits information in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) pages using the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). Your personal Web server is optimized for computers running Windows NT Workstation and is designed for the creation of personal Web sites. Peer Web Services consists of three Internet services: World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and gopher.

Using the WWW service, you can:

- Publish a “home page” on the Internet for your business featuring a newsletter, sales information, or employment opportunities.

- Publish interactive programs.

- Provide your remote sales force easy access to your sales database.

- Use an order-tracking database.

- Publish an employee handbook.

Peer Web Services also provides other information services and supports a variety of interfaces so that you can:

- Create high performance client-server applications using the Microsoft Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI).

- Customize the WWW service by creating ISAPI filter programs that listen to incoming or outgoing requests and automatically perform actions, such as enhanced logging.

- Run Common Gateway Interface (CGI) applications or scripts.

- Transmit or receive files through the FTP service.

- Publish archives of information through the gopher service.

Peer Web Services includes the following components:

- Internet services (WWW, FTP, and gopher).

- Internet Service Manager (the tool for administering the Internet services).

After you have installed Peer Web Services, we recommend that you load Internet Explorer and browse through our Executive Summary and Tour of Peer Web Services. To start, type http://computername in the Address box of Internet Explorer, where computername is the name of your computer.

For current information about Peer Web Services, browse our World Wide Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/infoserv.

Note This release of Peer Web Services requires Windows NT Workstation version 4.0. You can install Peer Web Services separately, by clicking Start and pointing to Settings and then Control Panel. Click Network and then click the Services tab. Click Add button and select Microsoft Peer Web Services from the list of services. Click Have Disk and type the drive letter where the Windows NT Workstation compact disc is located on your computer. Then click OK and follow the instructions on the screen.

# What’s New

Microsoft Peer Web Services introduces the following new features:

- Host headers

- National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) style map files

- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) byte range support

- Enhanced logging

- Translation of Structured Query Language (SQL) data to HyperText Markup Language (HTML) format

- New server variables in .htx files

- HTML Administrator

- Key Manager

## Host Headers

On redirection, the host name will be returned in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to the browser. For example, if a client types an address requesting a directory listing and does not type the final slash mark, the host name (rather than the IP address) appears in the URL returned to the browser. You can configure the host name using the TCP/IP property of the Protocols tab in the Network applet of the Windows NT Control Panel. If no host name is configured, the domain name will be returned to the browser.

You can change this feature with the ReturnURLUsingHostName Registry entry. See Chapter 10, “Configuring Registry Entries,” for details.

## NCSA Style Map Files

In addition to Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) style map files, Peer Web Services supports National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) style map files. This feature facilitates porting from systems (such as UNIX®) that support NCSA mapping.

## HTTP Byte Range

This feature copies part of a file from the server rather than the entire file. If your browser supports byte range, you can start receiving data at a particular place within a file, which is useful if a transmission is interrupted and you want to restart it where it left off, rather than recopy the entire file.

## Enhanced Logging

Peer Web Services now logs errors as well as successful transactions. You can set your log files to record only errors, only successful transmissions, or both. You do this by editing the LogSuccessfulRequests and LogErrorRequests Registry entries. See Chapter 10, “Configuring Registry Entries,” for details.

## Translation of Structured Query Language (SQL) Data to HyperText Markup Language (HTML) Format

If you are publishing a database in a language with non-English characters, you can map special characters to HTML format. This feature lets browsers display characters non-English characters such as à, ô, and é.

See Chapter 8, “Publishing Information and Applications,” for more details.

## Server Variables in .htx Files

With Peer Web Services, you can add server variables to if statements in .htx files for database queries, using the %variable% notation used with .htx files.

See Chapter 8, “Publishing Information and Applications,” for more details.

## HTML Administrator

With the HTML Administrator program, in conjunction with an Internet browser, you can administer Peer Web Services just as you would through Internet Service Manager. This feature is especially designed to administer the Internet services from a remote computer connected to the server running Peer Web Services. For more information, see Chapter 3, “Configuring and Managing Peer Web Services.”

## Key Manager

As part of the process of enabling Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security on your Internet workstation, you need to generate a key pair and then acquire an SSL certificate. The new Key Manager application (installed with Peer Web Services and located in the Microsoft Peer Web Services program group) simplifies this procedure. For more information, see Chapter 5, “Securing Your Site Against Intruders.”

# About This Book

The Installation and Administration Guide for Microsoft Peer Web Services tells you what you need to install the server software and plan your server site. This book also provides an overview and background or conceptual information about:

- Configuring the server

- Installing a server on your intranet

- Publishing content

- Networking

- Security

- Directory management

- Logging

- Using additional services

Note that the primary focus of the book is on the WWW service, although many of the concepts discussed apply to the FTP and gopher services as well.

# About Online Help

The Microsoft Peer Web Services online Help provides information you need to operate and configure the Peer Web Services. Specifically, online Help tells you about the Internet Service Manager and describes all its property sheets and dialog boxes.

To access online help you can:

- Press any Help button.

- Press F1 at any time.

# About the Online Examples

Microsoft Peer Web Services includes many examples to help you create content and configure your server. The examples include:

- A tour

- A sample Web site

- Internet Database Connector examples

- ISAPI Programming examples

- Basic HTML Styles

- A tool to create a new ODBC datasource on Peer Web Services

- A link to www.microsoft.com

# What You Should Know

The documentation for Peer Web Services assumes you understand the basic operation of Windows NT and that Windows NT Workstation is installed on your server. It is not assumed that you understand all technical aspects of the Internet. It is helpful, but not necessary, to understand TCP/IP networking.

# Finding Further Information

In addition to the information in this book, online help, and online examples, additional information about using Peer Web Services is available from the following sources.

Microsoft TechNet is the front-line resource for fast complete answers to technical questions on Microsoft desktop and system products. Two monthly compact discs give you everything from crucial data on client/server and workgroup computing, systems platforms, and database products to the latest applications support for Microsoft Windows and the Apple® Macintosh®. For ordering information, call your reseller or (800) 344-2121.

The Microsoft Developer Network provides in-depth information for developers using the ISAPI. With Level 1 of the Developer Network, you get four quarterly releases of the Development Library, packed with inside information on programming for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT, plus other program benefits. With Level 2 of the Developer Network, you will receive all the Level 1 benefits plus quarterly releases of the Development Platform, which contains the latest Windows and Windows NT Workstation operating systems and API-level software development kits (SDKs) and device development kits (DDKs) from Microsoft. For ordering information, phone (800) 759-5474.

© 1996 by Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.