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System Administrator
The server administrator (the one with the root password) in principle
has the power to turn the thing on or off, and control what happens.
However, it is wise to have clearly delegated responsibility for
separate areas of documentation. Maybe the server administrator has no
responsibility at all for the actual content of the data, in which case
he or she should just keep the machine running properly.
-- Tim Berners-Lee, Etiquette for
information providers.
As a system administrator, you will need to know
the actual installation and configuration of a W3 server,
and the use of things like
CGI,
forms,
databases,
and applications which will work together on your system.
You should also learn about some of the main topics of
technical interest relating to the world wide web:
HTTP,
HTML,
Graphics,
Security;
Collaboration.
- System Design
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Servers: You will need to choose a server suitable for the platform on which you wish to run.
-
HTTP server: This gives details on how to configure the server.
The
W3C httpd
is a generic public domain full-featured hypertext server
which can be used as a regular HTTP server.
It may be configured to do
caching
when running as a
proxy server
for HTTP, FTP, Gopher, WAIS, News, etc,
resulting in faster response times.
It also supports
server-side executable scripts;
clickable image support;
Index search interface; and
protection against unauthorized access.
- HTTP Server Configuration
-
Install and configure
Hypertext Transfer Protocol servers and set configuration
parameters.
Establish served directory trees, segregating public files
inside and private files outside. Convenient access by publishers
should be provided to HTTP servers running under familiar operating
systems, so that publications are easily produced and visibility is
controlled.
- MIME Standardization
-
Determine standard
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
descriptors for all publications which are served and see that
servers and browsers are configured to produce and handle those
MIME descriptors, so that the Web is visible in its
various media to the largest possible audience.
- Supporting Server Configuration
-
Insure that all
supporting servers employed by WWW browsers
(e.g.
NNTP,
SMTP,
FTP,
X Windows, Gopher, Telnet) are properly
installed and configured, so that myriad Internet services are
readily available to browsers.
- Security Configuration
-
Configure the network security layer to permit access to
publications on a need-to-know basis, so that publications are
served to the intended audience with extremely high confidence of
privacy and authenticity.
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