CHAPTER 3: Configuring and Managing Internet Information Se...

### CHAPTER 3:

# Configuring and Managing Peer Web Services

Microsoft Internet Service Manager
Using Other Windows NT Tools

Once you have completed setup and tested your installation, you can use Microsoft Internet Service Manager and other tools to configure the more advanced features of Peer Web Services. This chapter tells you how to:

- Establish logon requirements for remote clients.

- Specify home directories and other virtual directories.

- Require content encryption.

- Configure logging options.

- Specify other default settings.

- Use a browser to administer Peer Web Services.

- Use other Windows NT tools to configure or use Peer Web Services.

# Microsoft Internet Service Manager

You can use Internet Service Manager to enhance the configuration and performance of your server. Internet Service Manager helps you configure and monitor all the Internet services running on any Windows NT–based computer in your network. There are three views available in Internet Service Manager: Report, Servers, and Services.

## Report View

Report view is the default view. Report view alphabetically lists the selected computers, with each installed service shown on a separate line. Click the column headings to alphabetically sort the entire list. Report view is probably most useful for sites with only one or two computers running Peer Web Services. The following illustration lists the functions of the buttons and icons in Internet Service Manager; you can also use the Properties and View drop-down menus for the same functions.

Connect to servers and view property sheets

1 Connects to one specific Internet server.

2 Not available for Peer Web Services.

3 Displays property sheets to configure the selected service.

Start, stop, or pause a service

4 Starts the selected service.

5 Stops the selected service.

6 Pauses the selected service.

Select which services should be displayed

7 Displays the FTP service in the Internet Service Manager main window.

8 Displays the gopher service in the Internet Service Manager main window.

9 Displays the WWW service in the Internet Service Manager main window.

Make any necessary adjustments to services

10 Sorts the listings when you click a column heading.

11 Displays the property sheets for a service when you double-click it.

12 Displays server and service status.

## Servers View

Servers view displays services running on network servers by computer name. Click the plus symbol next to a server name to see which services that server is running. Double-click a service name to see its property sheets. Servers view is most useful for sites running multiple computers when you need to know the status of the services installed on a specific computer.

### Connecting to a Server

When connecting to a server from Internet Service Manager, you can type the server’s host name or Internet Protocol (IP) address, as well as the server’s NetBIOS name (or computer name).

###### »&#nbsp;&#nbsp; To connect to a server

1. From the Properties menu in the Internet Service Manager, select Connect to Server.

2. In the Server Name box, type the name of the server you want to connect to.

## Services View

Services view lists the services on every selected computer grouped by service name. Click the plus symbol next to a service name to see the servers running that service. Double-click the computer name under a service to see the property sheets for the service running on that computer. Services view is most useful for sites with widely distributed servers when you need to know which computers are running a particular service.

### Starting, Stopping, and Pausing Services

###### »&#nbsp;&#nbsp; To start, stop, or pause a service

1 In Internet Service Manager, select the service you want to start, stop, or pause.

2 From the Properties menu, select Start Service, Stop Service, or Pause Service.

## Property Sheets

The Internet Service Manager property sheets can be used to configure and manage the World Wide Web (WWW) service and other services. The following information focuses on the WWW service, the most commonly used service.

In Internet Service Manager, double-click a computer or a service name to display its property sheets. Click the tab at the top of each property sheet to display the properties for that category. After setting the properties for the service, click OK to return to the main Internet Service Manager window. Detailed information about each property sheet is included in later chapters on security, directories, and logging.

Note: In special instances you may need to use Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) to configure Peer Web Services or Windows NT Workstation. See Chapter 10, “Configuring Registry Entries,” for information on Registry entries and when you need to use them.

### The Service Property Sheet

You use the Service property sheet to control who can use your server and specify the account used for anonymous client requests to log on to the computer. Most Internet sites allow anonymous logons. If you allow anonymous logons, then all user permissions for the user, such as permission to access information, will use the IUSR_computername account. To use your current security system to control information access, change the anonymous logon account to existing accounts on your network.

This property sheet also sets the comment in the main Internet Service Manager window. See Chapter 5, “Securing Your Site Against Intruders,” for more information.

### The Directories Property Sheet

#### Directory Window

The Directories property sheet lists directories available to users, with some possible exceptions. For more detailed information, see Chapter 6, “Planning Your Content Directories.”

#### Default Document and Directory Browsing

The Default Document and Directory Browsing settings in the Directories property sheet for the WWW service are used to set up default displays that will appear if a remote user does not specify a particular file. Directory browsing means that the user is presented with a hypertext listing of the directories and files so that the user can navigate through your directory structure.

You can place a default document in each directory so that when a remote user does not specify a specific file, the default document in that directory is displayed. A hypertext directory listing is sent to the user if directory browsing is enabled and no default document has been provided.

Peer Web Services provides a default home directory for each service of the primary computer: \Wwwroot, \Gophroot, and \Ftproot. The files that you place in the home directory of Peer Web Services and its subdirectories are available to remote browsers. You can change the location of the default home directory.

You can also add other directories outside the home directory that will appear to browsers as subdirectories of the home directory. That is, you can publish from other directories and have those directories appear to reside within the home directory. Such directories are called “virtual directories.”

The administrator can specify the physical location of the virtual directory and the virtual name, which is the directory name used by remote browsers.

The published directories can be located on local or network drives. If the virtual directory is a network drive, provide username and password with access to that network drive.

Important If you specify a username and password to connect to a network drive, all Peer Web Services access to that directory will use that username and password. You should use care when using Universal Naming Convention (UNC) connections to network drives to prevent possible security breaches.

### The Logging Property Sheet

The services can log server activity. Logging provides valuable information about how a server is used. You can send log data to files. If you have multiple servers or services on a network, you can log all their activity to a single file on any network computer.

If you want to log to a file, you can specify how often to create new logs and which directory to put the log files in.

See Chapter 7, “Logging Server Activity,” for more information.

### The Advanced Property Sheet

The Advanced property sheet is not available with Peer Web Services.

## Using a Browser to Administer Peer Web Services

The HTML Administrator program can perform the same functions as Internet Service Manager. You can use HTML Administrator with your Internet browser to administer Peer Web Services across the Internet. To use HTML Administrator, use your Internet browser to open computername/htmla/htmla.htm. For example, if your workstation is named www.nt.org, you would open the URL http://www.nt.org/htmla/htmla.htm.

To administer any of the services you must be logged on to a user account that has Administrator privileges on the computer being administered. If you are using a browser that is capable of Windows NT Challenge/Response (NTLM) authentication (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 2.0 or later), you can use NTLM authentication. If you are not using a browser capable of NTLM authentication, then you must use Basic authentication (although this is not recommended).

# Using Other Windows NT Tools

In addition to Internet Service Manager, you can use other tools to configure, control, and monitor the Internet information services. This section explains other Windows NT utilities that directly affect your Peer Web Services, and explains how you can use other Windows NT utilities to monitor or enhance your Peer Web Services site.

## Configuring Server Options with Control Panel

Use Control Panel to set Windows NT–controlled systems and options.

### The Network Applet

The Network applet in Control Panel configures your Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) settings, including IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Double-click TCP/IP Protocol in the Installed Network Software listing to display the TCP/IP Configuration dialog box.

Click the DNS tab to set Domain Name System (DNS) settings, such as hostname, domain names, and DNS servers, to resolve names.

### The Services Applet

The Services applet is used to start, stop, and pause the WWW, gopher, and FTP services. You can also use Internet Service Manager to start, stop, and pause the services.

Use the Startup button to configure how the service starts when the computer starts. If you have a specific reason, you can also use this dialog box to override the account used by the WWW service as set in the Service property sheet of Internet Service Manager. You should change this setting only if it is part of your security strategy; otherwise, use the default settings in the Log On As box.

### The ODBC Applet

The ODBC applet in Control Panel is used to set up ODBC connectivity. See Chapter 8, “Publishing Information and Applications,” for more information about using the ODBC applet.

## Setting File Access

Use Windows NT Explorer to set directory and file permissions on Windows NT File System (NTFS) drives. Click the right mouse button on the file name, click the Security tab, and then click Permissions.

## Setting User Access with User Manager for Domains

User Manager for Domains, in the Administrative Tools program group, is a tool that you can use to manage security for a Windows NT Workstation–based server. With User Manager you can:

- Create and manage user accounts.

- Create and manage groups.

- Manage the security policies.

## Tracking Problems with Event Viewer

Event Viewer, in the Administrative Tools program group, is a tool that you can use to monitor events in your system. You can use Event Viewer to view and manage System, Security, and Application event logs. Event Viewer can notify administrators of critical events by displaying pop-up messages, or by adding event information to log files. The information allows you to better understand the sequence and types of events that led up to a particular state or situation.

## Monitoring Your Server with Performance Monitor

Peer Web Services automatically installs Windows NT Performance Monitor counters. With the HTTP service and Internet Services Performance Summary objects, you can use the Windows NT Performance Monitor for real-time measurement of your Internet service use. Similar counters for the gopher and FTP services are also available.

The HTTP service object provides counters to monitor the WWW service; these include:

- Bytes Sent/sec

- Bytes Total/sec

- CGI Requests

- Connection Attempts

- Connections/sec

- Current Anonymous Users

- Current ISAPI Requests

- Current CGI Requests

- Current Connections

- Current NonAnonymous Users

- Files Received

- Files Sent

- Files Total

- Get Requests

- Head Requests

- Logon Attempts

- Maximum Anonymous Users

- Maximum ISAPI Requests

- Maximum CGI Requests

- Maximum Connections

- Maximum NonAnonymous Users

- Not Found Errors

- Other Request Methods

- Post Requests

- Total Anonymous Users

- Total NonAnonymous Users

The Internet Services Performance Summary provides general-use and cache-use information about Peer Web Services; this includes:

- Cache Flushes

- Cache Hits

- Cache Hits %

- Cache Misses

- Cache Size

- Cache Used

- Cached File Handles

- Current Blocked Async I/O Requests

- Directory Listings

- Measured Async I/O Bandwidth usage

- Objects

- Total Allowed Async I/O Requests

- Total Blocked Async I/O Requests

- Total Rejected Async I/O Requests

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