Server extensions for Microsoft FrontPage
This appendix describes using server extensions on your Netscape Enterprise
Server that provide support for Microsoft's FrontPage. If you are using
FrontPage webs, these extensions provide the internal server-side support
you need for your webs. The topics discussed in this document are:
Overview
FrontPage server extensions are CGI programs that provide Netscape Enterprise
Server support for FrontPage webs. Client-server communication takes place
through standard HTTP POST requests that are forwarded to the appropriate
extension's CGI program. If you use FrontPage webs, the extensions provide
support for FrontPage authoring and publishing, access permission, and
WebBot functions. For example:
-
When a user moves a page between folders in a FrontPage web, the extensions
automatically update all links to that page from every other page in the
web.
-
You can specify which users have permission to administer, author or browse
a FrontPage web.
-
When Front Page web users participate in a discussion group, the extensions
takes advantage of the available WebBots to maintain an index of links
to discussion articles, tables of contents, and search forms.
The extensions can minimize file transfers over the Internet. For example,
when a user opens a FrontPage web from an Enterprise Server with the extensions,
web metadata, such as its map of links, is downloaded to the user's machine
but the full set of web pages remain on the server. A page is downloaded
only when it is opened for editing.
Once you have installed the extensions on your server, FrontPage web
publishing, administering, and discussion group functionality is available
from any computer that is on the Internet or a local Intranet, although
you need the FrontPage client program for authoring and administrative
functions.
Types of FrontPage webs
There are two kinds of FrontPage webs: root webs and sub-webs.
A root web is a FrontPage web that is the top-level content directory of
a Web server or, in a multihosting environment, of a virtual Web server.
There can only be one root web per Web Server or virtual Web server.
A single root web can support a number of sub-webs. A sub-web is a complete
FrontPage web that is a subdirectory of the root web. Sub-webs can only
exist one level below the root web. Each sub-web can have many levels of
subdirectories, making up its content.
Even though sub-webs appear below the root web in the Web server's file
system and URL space, the root web does not include the content in its
sub-webs. This separation of content is done by the FrontPage Server Extensions.
The root web and all sub-webs on a server must have separate copies
of the extensions installed or have stub executables of the extensions
programs. Having separate copies of the extensions for each FrontPage web
lets the server administrator enforce different end-user, author, and administrator
permissions on each FrontPage web, since FrontPage uses the server's built-in
security mechanism to control access.
Domain names and FrontPage webs
FrontPage webs can be implemented on a Enterprise Server and accessed by
web browsers in the following ways:
-
As private domain names, such as "www.mycompany.com." These are usually
implemented as virtual servers on the same physical server machine using
multihosting. Private domain name customers each get their own root
web and have the option of creating sub-webs.
-
As a common or shared domain but with private virtual servers, as in "www.mycompany.myprovider.com,"
where "myprovider.com" is a shared domain and "www.mycompany" is a private
virtual server. Private virtual server customers on a shared domain each
get their own root web and have the option of creating sub-webs.
-
As a URL on an Internet service provider's server machine, as in "www.myprovider.com/mycompany."
URL customers get a single sub-web.
Security Issues
FrontPage implements web security on your web server by changing the access-control
lists (ACLs) for all files and directories in each FrontPage web. Installing
FrontPage always modifies the ACLs of the Server Extensions stub executables
contained in the /_vti_bin directory in each web. A new installation
of FrontPage will additionally modify the ACLs of the web content files,
but an upgrade of an existing installation of the Server Extensions will
not modify the content file ACLs and consequently will leave the security
settings at a less secure level than the default FrontPage settings. You
can upgrade the ACLs of your web content by using the Check and Fix option
of the FrontPage Server Administrator utility.
In addition to modifying the security ACLs of the web content files,
FrontPage modifies the ACLs of any system DLLs that are used as a result
of a FrontPage DLL call, to ensure that the system DLLs will have the correct
level of permissions to run under any administrator, author, or end-user's
account. For the complete set of ACLs set on FrontPage files, along with
a discussion of security considerations when installing the Server Extensions
and the reasons why the ACLs of the system DLLs must be modified, see the
additional resources available at Ready-to-Run
Software and Microsoft's web sites.
Downloading the extensions
The first step towards installing the extensions is to download them. You
can use Microsoft's FrontPage sites or, if you want to install the Unix
extensions, you can use Ready-to-Run Software's site, which also provides
a great deal of information and instruction.
-
FrontPage 97 Server Extensions (version 2.0):
-
[NT] You can download
an executable file.
-
[Unix] You can download
from Ready-to-Run Software's web site an install script and a set of
server extensions. Download two tar files for your platform (for Solaris,
they are vt20.solaris.tar.z and wpp.solaris.tar.z, which is part of the
WPP Kit Software).
-
[Unix] You can download
from Microsoft's web site an install script and a set of server extensions.
Download two tar files for your platform (for Solaris, they are vt20.solaris.tar.z
and wpp.solaris.tar.z, which is part of the WPP Kit Software.)
-
FrontPage 98 Server Extensions (version 3.0):
-
[NT] You can download
an executable file.
-
[Unix] You can download
from Ready-to-Run Software's web site an install script and a set of
server extensions. Download the fp_install.sh file and the tar file for
your platform (for Solaris, it is fp30.solaris.tar.z)
-
[Unix] You can download
from Microsoft's web site an install script and a set of server extensions.
Download the fp_install.sh file and the tar file for your platform (for
Solaris, it is fp30.solaris.tar.z).
Getting ready for installation
Before you install the FrontPage Server Extensions, you need to be sure
you have enough disk space available on your local machine, that you have
a document root directory, that you have enabled authentication, and that
you are aware of some important post-install issues such as access permissions.
Space Requirements
-
On Windows NT systems, you need to have approximately 6MB of disk space
available. The downloaded file is 3MB and the installed files total 2.5MB.
-
On Unix systems, you should have at least 32MB available on your server.
The Unix FrontPage extensions need 9MB of disk space in the /usr/local/frontpage
directory. If you install the extensions onto your web content, you need
an extra 5MB per virtual host unless your web content is in the same disk
partition as /usr/local/frontpage.
Preliminary tasks
-
You need to have a document root directory for your Enterprise Server,
which is created when you start up your server for the first time. This
means you must start up your server at least once before installing the
extensions.
-
You must enable authentication. To do this, follow these steps:
-
In the Server Manager, select System Preferences | Dynamic Configuration
Files.
-
Click the "Base Directory from URL" radio button.
-
Enter .nsconfig in the File Name field.
-
Click the Subdirectories radio button in the Search section.
-
Click OK.
-
Then click Save and Apply.
Some Additional Considerations
-
Do not remove any of the internal files needed by FrontPage such as the
.nsconfig file. Doing so disables access control for content
upload.
-
You cannot set a web to be restricted to valid end-users only. If you set this, you receive a message that says "This server does not support
restricting end user access."
-
[Unix only] The Netscape server /config directory needs to be
readable by the process ID that the Netscape server runs at in steady-state.
A default install of the Netscape server makes this directory only readable
by root, so you need to reconfigure this access permission.
-
[Unix only] The document root directory for the Netscape server must be
writeable by the steady-state server process ID so that FrontPage webs
can be created via the NSAPI.
Installing Front Page Server Extensions
You can install the FrontPage 97 or the FrontPage 98 extensions on Windows
NT or Unix platforms. This document provides instructions for the following
platforms:
Installing FrontPage Server Extensions on Windows
NT Systems
The installation process for the FrontPage97 and FrontPage98 extensions
on a Windows NT system is relatively straightforward. You download and
run an executable file, which installs several files and folders on your
system. The extensions require a specific directory structure, which is
discussed later in this section. After installation, there some additional
administrative tasks for setting permissions and accessing specific webs.
Installation steps
These installation instructions are for the standalone FrontPage Server
Extensions that are in a self-extracting executable that is downloadable
from the Microsoft FrontPage web site.
Note: You must log into your NT system as Administrator or have
administrator permission to install the FrontPage Server Extensions.
-
To start installing the FrontPage Server Extensions, run the server extensions
setup program for your language and processor type. For example, for English
FrontPage98 extensions, it is the fp98ext_x86_enu.exe file.
The server extensions are copied to the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft
FrontPage\Version 2.0 or \Version 3.0. During this process, your web server is stopped to make sure
that files are not locked by the running web server. As soon as the copy
is complete, the web server is started and remains running for the remainder
of the installation process. The stub server extensions are installed on
each root web and sub-web. On a single-hosted server the FrontPage Server
Extensions are automatically installed on the single content root of the
server.
-
On a multi-hosted machine, the Multi-hosted Server dialog box is
displayed. Select the virtual servers on which the FrontPage Server Extensions
should be installed and click OK.
-
You are prompted for the name of a new FrontPage administrator account
and a password, and the account is created.
-
You can add other administrator accounts after installing the server extensions
using the Permissions command in the FrontPage Explorer.
What installation does
Installing the server extensions on each FrontPage web may take several
minutes and may increase the CPU load on your computer. If this is a new
installation of the FrontPage Server Extensions, each page's contents are
parsed to:
-
expand FrontPage components, such as Include components and Substitution
components,
-
create a hyperlink map of the FrontPage web, and
-
extract page titles and base URLs.
The installation also:
-
updates the text indices and recalculate the links in the Web,
-
adds a FrontPage administration account, password, and IP address restriction,
and
-
reminds the web administrator to restart the server if new ObjectType directives
were added to the obj.conf file.
For FrontPage97 extensions, these components are installed in the C:\Program
Files\Microsoft FrontPage directory, where C is your default hard drive:
-
The FrontPage Server Extension .dll and .exe files are copied to the \bin
subdirectory and to the default \windows\system directory.
-
The ISAPI (.dll) or CGI (.exe) files used by FrontPage to implement the
Server Extensions functionality in the user's webs are copied to the \isapi
and \_vti_bin directories, respectively. They are also copied
into the document root of each virtual server on which you are installing
the FrontPage extensions.
-
The FrontPage Server Administrator (fpsrvwin.exe) and a command
line version (fpsrvadm.exe) are copied to the \bin directory.
The FrontPage Server Administrator is a tool for installing, updating,
verifying, or removing the FrontPage Server Extensions.
For FrontPage98 extensions, these components are installed in the C:\Program
Files\Microsoft FrontPage\version 3.0 directory, where C is your default
hard drive:
-
The FrontPage Server Extensions .dll and .exe files copied to the \bin
subdirectory and to the default \windows\system directory.
-
The three ISAPI (.dll) or CGI (.exe) files used by FrontPage to implement
the Server Extensions functionality in the user's webs are copied to the
\isapi and the \_vti_bin directories, respectively. They
are also copied into the document root of each virtual server on which
the FrontPage extensions are installed.
-
The FrontPage Server Administrator (fpsrvwin.exe) and a command
line version (fpsrvadm.exe) are copied to the \bin directory.
The FrontPage Server Administrator is a tool for installing, updating,
verifying, or removing the FrontPage Server Extensions.
-
The Server Extensions Resource Kit.
-
HTML Administration forms, a set of HTML forms for remotely administering
the FrontPage Server Extensions via web browsers. Also a command line utility
(fpremadm.exe) for remote administration of the FrontPage Server
Extensions is installed in the\bin directory.
Installation also modifies or adds the following files and directories:
-
Modifies the magnus.conf file
-
Modifies the server’s configuration file (obj.conf)
to add ObjectType directives, marking three of the
\_vti_ directories as containing
executables.
-
Adds seven subdirectories are created under your server's document root:
-
\_private
-
\_vti_bin (contains shtml.exe)
-
\_vti_bin\_vti_adm (contains admin.exe)
-
\_vti_bin\_vti_aut (contains author.exe)
-
\_vti_cnf
-
\_vti_log
-
\_vti_pvt
-
\_vti_txt
-
\images
-
Creates .nsconfig
files in the \_vti_bin, \_vti_adm,
\_vti_aut directories and the document root
directory.
After installation
Once have completed the installation process, there are some additional
administrative tasks:
-
The administrator can execute the fpsrvwin.exe file (located in
the \bin directory of your FrontPage directory) to set the server
port, test the extensions, install the extensions to other virtual servers,
and update extensions.
-
To select the server and web you want to work with, follow these steps:
-
A remote machine must have the FrontPage97 or FrontPage98 program installed,
(Macintosh or Windows only). Once the FrontPage program is started, the
user is prompted for the name of a server to edit or open.
-
If the user wants to edit a web on a different machine, click on “More
Webs”, on the line to select a web server or disk location type in the
servername:portnumber of the web to edit. Choose OK.
-
Select the web you wish to edit from the list of webs on the host machine.
-
You need to provision each additional web. You can do this from the client
side, with the FrontPage client provided the client has the right authorization
(the administrator username and password) for the root web. You can also
provision user webs from the server side by using the program fpsrvadm.exe
can be used to set the password for an individual web. You need to make
sure that the new FrontPage web does not inherit the administrator user
name and password from the root web.
-
Locate the fpadmin.htm file, typically in the \admin\cgi
directory of your FrontPage program directory. You can use this to configure
your FrontPage web.
-
Users can edit the local web that is displayed when FrontPage is started,
but they must have a valid user ID and password to modify it.
Installing FrontPage97 Server Extensions
on Unix Systems
The installation process on a Unix system requires you to have the appropriate file permissions and directories set up beforehand.
The extensions require a specific directory structure, which is discussed
later in this section. After installation, there some additional administrative
tasks for setting permissions and accessing specific webs.
Installation steps
These installation instructions are for the standalone FrontPage Server
Extensions that are in a tarred file that is downloadable
from the Microsoft FrontPage web site or the Ready-To-Run Software web
site.
Important: You need to be logged in as the root user to perform the
install. The root user must have write permission for the /usr/local
directory even if this is not the directory where you want to install the
extensions. This is because if you choose not to
install the extensions in the /usr/local directory, a soft link
is added automatically between /usr/local and the directory you
wish to use.
To install the extensions, follow these steps:
-
Log on to your Enterprise Server user account so you can install the FrontPage
Server Extensions from the tar file.
cd /usr/local
-
Untar the downloaded file. This creates a /usr/local/FrontPage/version2.0
directory and installs several other new directories under the document
root directory. For example, for the FrontPage 97 extensions on a Solaris
platform, you untar the vt20.solaris.tar.z file.
tar xvf /usr/tmp/vt20.solaris.tar
-
Change directories to /usr/local/frontpage/version2.0.
cd frontpage/version2.0
-
Create a directory named /extensions and move the _vti_bin directory into
it.
mv _vti_bin extensions
-
Install the WPP kit to /usr/local/frontpage/version2.0. For Solaris, use
this code:
tar xvf /usr/tmp/wpp.solaris.tar
-
Rename the directory /executables (/usr/local/frontpage/version2.0/executables)
to /_vti_bin:
mv executables _vti_bin
-
Move the file fpsrvadm.suid.exe to the /bin directory:
mv fpsrvadm.suid.exe bin
-
Make sure your Enterprise Server's configuration file (magnus.conf)
location matches that of the FrontPage server extensions install script:
/usr/ns-home/https-443/config
-
Run the fp_install.sh shell program and follow the on-screen instructions, which ask for the information described in the following table.
When you are prompted for the name of the server configuration file, enter
the pathname of your server's magnus.conf file.
Table C-1: Installation Parameter Information
-fpdir <dir> |
default |
FrontPage Directory |
-httpdconfdir <dir> |
default |
Directory where server’s configuration file
is located |
-web <webname> |
required |
Web where the Server Extensions are being installed
(/ for root web) |
-user <webowner> |
required |
User ID of the Web owner |
-group <webgroup> |
optional |
GroupID of the Web owner |
-host <host> |
|
Name of virtual host where the Server Extensions
are being installed. The host specified should be the same as that specified
by the VirtualHost directive in the server’s httpd.conf file. |
-admuser <fpadmin> |
required |
FrontPage Administrator user name |
-admpass <fppass> |
required |
FrontPage Administrator password |
-admaddr <ipaddr> |
optional |
IP address restriction of FrontPage Administrator.
If no IP address mask is specified, the FrontPage Administrator will have
access from all IP addresses. |
What installation does
Installing the Server Extensions on each FrontPage web may take several
minutes and may increase the CPU load on your computer. If this is a new
installation of the FrontPage Server Extensions, each page's contents are
parsed to:
-
expand FrontPage components, such as Include components and Substitution
components,
-
create a hyperlink map of the FrontPage web, and
-
extract page titles and base URLs.
The installation process also:
-
updates the text indices and recalculate the links in the Web,
-
adds a FrontPage administration account, password, and IP address restriction,
and
-
reminds the web administrator to restart the server if new ObjectType directives
were added to the obj.conf file.
During installation, the install shell modifies or adds the following files
and directories:
-
Modifies the magnus.conf
-
Creates a configuration file named /usr/local/frontpage/<hostname>:port.cnf
-
Modifies the server’s configuration file (obj.conf)
to add ObjectType directives, marking three of the
/_vti_ directories as containing
executables.
-
Adds seven subdirectories under the server's document root:
-
/_vti_bin (contains shtml.exe)
-
/_vti_bin/_vti_adm (contains admin.exe)
-
/_vti_bin/_vti_aut (contains author.exe)
-
/_vti_cnf
-
/_vti_pvt
-
/_private
-
/_vti_log
-
/_vti_txt
-
/images
-
Creates .nsconfig
files in the /_vti_bin, /_vti_adm,
/_vti_aut and the document root directories.
After installation
Once have completed the installation process, there are some additional
administrative tasks:
-
The administrator can execute the fpsrvwin.exe file to set the server
port, test the extensions, install the extensions to other virtual servers,
and update extensions.
-
A remote machine must have the FrontPage ’98 program installed, (Macintosh
or Windows only). Once the FrontPage program is started, the user is prompted
for the name of a server to edit or open.
-
If the user wants to edit a web on a different machine, click on “More
Webs”, on the line to select a web server or disk location type in the
servername:portnumber of the web to edit. Choose OK.
-
Select the proper web from the list of webs on the host machine to edit.
Installing FrontPage98 Server Extensions
on Unix Systems
The installation process for the FrontPage98 extensions on a Unix system
requires you to download a single file, instead of the two downloads required
for FrontPage97. After installation, there some additional administrative
tasks for setting permissions and accessing specific webs.
Installation steps
These installation instructions are for the standalone FrontPage Server
Extensions that are in a tarred file that is downloadable
from the Microsoft FrontPage web site or the Ready-To-Run Software web
site.
Important: You need to be logged in as the root user to perform the
install. The root user must have write permission for the /usr/local
directory even if this is not the directory where you want to install the
extensions. This is because if you choose not to
install the extensions in the /usr/local directory, a soft link
is added automatically between /usr/local and the directory you
wish to use.
To install the extensions, follow these steps:
-
Log on to your Enterprise Server user account so you can install the FrontPage
Server Extensions from the tar file.
cd /usr/local
-
Untar the downloaded file. This creates a /usr/local/FrontPage/version3.0
directory and installs several other new directories under the document
root directory. For example, for the FrontPage98 extensions on a Solaris
platform, you untar the fp30.solaris.tar.z file.
tar xvf /usr/tmp/fp30.solaris.tar
-
Change directories to /usr/local/frontpage/version3.0:
cd frontpage/version3.0
-
Run the fp_install.sh shell program and follow the on-screen instructions, which ask for parameter information.
When you are prompted for the name of the server configuration file, enter
the pathname of your server's magnus.conf file.
What installation does
Installing the Server Extensions on each FrontPage web may take several
minutes and may increase the CPU load on your computer. If this is a new
installation of the FrontPage Server Extensions, each page's contents are
parsed to:
-
expand FrontPage components, such as Include components and Substitution
components,
-
create a hyperlink map of the FrontPage web, and
-
extract page titles and base URLs.
The installation process also:
-
updates the text indices and recalculate the links in the Web,
-
adds a FrontPage administration account, password, and IP address restriction,
and
-
reminds the web administrator to restart the server if new ObjectType directives
were added to the obj.conf file.
During installation, the install shell modifies or adds the following files
and directories:
-
Modifies the magnus.conf
-
Creates a configuration file named /usr/local/frontpage/<hostname>:port.cnf
-
Modifies the server’s configuration file (obj.conf)
to add ObjectType directives, marking three of the
/_vti_ directories as containing
executables.
-
Adds seven subdirectories under the server's document root:
-
/_vti_bin (contains shtml.exe)
-
/_vti_bin/_vti_adm (contains admin.exe)
-
/_vti_bin/_vti_aut (contains author.exe)
-
/_vti_cnf
-
/_vti_pvt
-
/_private
-
/_vti_log
-
/_vti_txt
-
/images
-
Creates .nsconfig
files in the /_vti_bin, /_vti_adm,
/_vti_aut and the document root directories.
Further information
Additional detailed information can be obtained from Microsoft's
FrontPage web site and, for Unix only, from Ready-to-Run
Software.
Useful FrontPage 97 information:
Useful FrontPage 98 information: