User manual
Table Of Contents
- Web Technologies Administration
- Contents
- Web Technologies Overview
- Managing Web Technologies
- Managing Websites
- Using Server Admin to Manage Websites
- Changing the Access Port for a Website
- Improving Performance of Static Websites (PerformanceCache)
- Enabling Access and Error Logs for a Website
- Setting Up Directory Listing for a Website
- Connecting to Your Website
- Enabling WebDAV on Websites
- Enabling a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) Script
- Enabling Server Side Includes (SSI)
- Viewing Website Settings
- Setting Server Responses to MIME Types and ContentHandlers
- Enabling SSL
- Enabling PHP
- User Content on Websites
- WebMail
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
- Working With Open-Source Applications
- Installing and Viewing WebModules
- Solving Problems
- Where to Find More Information
- Glossary
- Index
Chapter 1 Web Technologies Overview 9
Front-End Cache
The web server includes a high-performance cache that increases performance for
websites that serve static pages. The static content stays in the cache once used, so the
server can quickly retrieve this content when it is requested again.
Before You Begin
This section provides information you need to know before you set up your web server
for the first time. You should read this section even if you are an experienced web
administrator, as some features and behaviors may be different from what you expect.
Configuring Your Web Server
You can use Server Admin to set up and configure most features of your web server. If
you are an experienced Apache administrator and need to work with features of the
Apache web server that aren’t included in Server Admin, you can modify the
appropriate configuration files. However, Apple does not provide technical support for
modifying Apache configuration files. If you choose to modify a file, be sure to make a
backup copy first. Then you can revert to the copy should you have problems.
For more information about Apache modules, see the Apache Software Foundation
website at http://www.apache.org.
Providing Secure Transactions
If you want to provide secure transactions on your server, you should set up Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) protection. SSL lets you send encrypted, authenticated information
across the Internet. If you want to allow credit card transactions through your website,
for example, you can use SSL to protect the information that’s passed to and from
your site.
For instructions on how to set up secure transactions, see Chapter 5, “Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL),” on page 45.
Setting Up Websites
Before you can host a website, you must:
• Register your domain name with a domain name authority
• Create a folder for your website on the server
• Create a default page in the folder for users to see when they connect
• Verify that DNS is properly configured if you want clients to access your website
by name
When you are ready to publish, or enable, your site, you can do this using Server
Admin. The Sites pane in the Settings window lets you add a new site and select a
variety of settings for each site you host.
See Chapter 3, “Managing Websites,” on page 23 for more information.
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