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2 Selection of Hardware and Software on the Web Site.   2.1 Server Hardware Platform choice.  Reliability is one of the factors to consider when deciding on hardware for a web site. Once a web server has establish a presence on the web, it is important to the integrity of the Web that the server maintain a high up time. Users of the web start to depend on the site for doing their job and are at a disadvantage if the web server goes down. Therefore it is important that the server hardware be dependable and sturdy.  Ease of installation is another consideration in selecting the server hardware and software package. Some providers of web servers will bundle a server with software and support equipment that make the system simple to startup, yet powerful.  2.1.1 Personal Computer.  With the speed and power and capabilities of personal computers now being manufactured, a personal computer is a good choice for a web server. A PC that is specifically designed as a server is preferred.  2.1.2 Workstation Any workstation capable of running a UNIX-based operating system is also capable of running UNIX-based web server software. A UNIX workstation is a good choice for a web server because it is capable of quickly responding to a request from a client on the web.  The use of Digital's Alpha processor4 with Windows NT5 is another powerful combination to use for a web server. This processor can respond to requests quickly and is available in very high processor speeds.  2.1.3 Mini Mainframe  Infoseek6 is a service provider on the Internet that gets thousands of hits per a minute on their Sun Microsystems Ultra Enterprise 40007. This hardware is suitable if you have a large demand on the server. Queries of a database and other data intensive activities require a machine that is capable of handling a high load of activity. The Sun machine has multiple processors, which help to alleviate the problem of limited CPU time.  2.2 Hardware required for communication channel.  Some type of hardware is required to connect your web site to the rest of the Internet. Normally a CSU/DSU and router are required to make the connection. 2.2.1 Channel Service Unit/Digital Service Unit    Communications on a T1 data line requires a device called a CSU/DSU to communicate on the different channels of the T1 line. Makers of CSU/DSU's include 3Com8 and Astrocom9.    2.2.2 Router for server and other service connections    The internet is made up of numerous interconnected networks. In order for information to move between the local network and the internet, a router is required. The router transfers information between the local network and the outside world. Manufacturers of routers include Cisco10, BayNetworks11, and 3Com.    2.3 Software Platform  There are several choices of software to use for your web site. A large portion of the internet is built on a unix-based system, but other choices based on Microsoft Windows NT are available.  2.3.1 UNIX, Windows, or other operating system based Software There are many different solutions on several different operating systems for a web site. Apache56 is one of the web server softwares that operates on a unix based system. Indiana University's Computer Science department home page is hosted on a SPARCserver1057 running Solaris OS with both Apache and Plexus servers. Many of the newer sites are being hosted on Microsoft NT servers with IIS58 software. Some web sites are hosted on Digital equipment running VMS operating system with a VMS-based HTTP server.   2.3.2 Internet tools required; Mail SMTP, DNS, FTP, Telnet, HTTP Server Gopher server, FTP Server, etc. The software and hardware must fullfill the basic needs of the site to be useable. Not every service needs to be provided by the main server, but a server must be available to meets the needs of the user and the web site. Mail handling - SMTP and POP3 services.  Microsoft Exchange Server12 is a product that provides your business with mail services. In addition to mail Exchange Server also provides total communication and messaging for a business. If you wish to provide groupware services in addition to mail this is a good solution.  Web-server services - HTTP, FTP, Gopher  Microsoft NT Server13 provides a solution for most of the web services including, DNS, FTP, Telnet, HTTP, and Gopher.  Edited Last: December 12, 1997 URL: http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~adippel/HardwareSoftware.htm  Send your comments and questions to email: adippel@cs.indiana.edu       || Top of Page || Previous Section || Next Section || Home Page || Table of Contents ||