Computer Server User Manual

Technology Overview

Mac OS X Server

Web Hosting

Combining the latest open source and standards-based Internet services, Mac OS X

Server makes it possible for organizations of any size to host websites and deploy

powerful web applications—quickly and a! ordably. Mac OS X Server web technologies

are based on the open source Apache web server, the most widely used HTTP server

on the Internet.

With performance optimized for Mac OS X Server, Apache provides

fast, reliable web hosting and an extensible architecture for delivering dynamic

content and sophisticated web services.

Getting started with Apache

Apple’s innovative administration tools take the complexity out of con guring,

hosting, and managing websites. Apache is precon gured with default settings, so

novices can create a static website in a few simple steps and add features as their

expertise grows. The web server supports aliases for greater website  exibility,

making it possible to move web pages without breaking links and to create multiple

URLs that refer to a single  le. In addition, support for virtual hosting allows multiple

sites to reside on a single server. Each of the websites can be con gured with unique

security options and separate log  les for tracking and reporting.

A graphical interface makes it easy to customize web server settings, as well as to implement

advanced web hosting features.

Hosting dynamic content

Mac OS X Server includes everything professional webmasters need to deploy sophis-

ticated web services: integrated tools for collaborative publishing, inline scripting,

Apache modules, and custom CGIs, as well as support for JavaServer Pages and Java

Servlets. Database-driven sites can be linked to the included MySQL database; ODBC

and JDBC connectivity to other database solutions is also supported.

Weblog services

With the emergence of weblogs, organizations have a quick and easy way to share

information. Weblog Server, included in Mac OS X Server v10.4, makes it simple to

publish and syndicate these online journals. The prede ned blog themes and calendar

navigation provide an intuitive interface for managing blogs. Individual users and

groups can publish and access weblogs using only their normal browsers; no additional

tools or technical expertise is required. This simplicity makes Weblog Server the perfect

collaboration tool.