Swiss Army Knife of the Web server family

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4D WebSTAR V is a multifunctional Server software package for Mac platform, which includes Web,ftp,webdav and mail servers, targeting customers in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Imagine that if you're running an American military website, the site's security is almost synonymous with national security. The site has been using 4D WebSTAR as a Web server since the 1999 U.S. military website Http://www.army.mil was hacked by hackers using IIS security vulnerabilities, and for some technicians who are bothered by security issues, Mac OS And WebSTAR is a security combination that can be considered. "The more flexible and powerful the operating system is, the more opportunities there is for hackers to hack into servers," the consortium explains.

Mac OS X's Unix shell improves Mac capabilities and flexibility, but also introduces security issues. Some security issues with Mac OS X 10.2 (development code Jaguar) often allow web administrators to consider using the Mac OS X 10.3 version (development Code Panther), but its support for Panther has not been perfected until January 2004.

Applicable scope

Apache is built into the OS X system, making it a Mac. A strong competitor of the 4D combination. The development of a graphics toolkit for Mac systems using Macs with the flexibility of the BSD system while making it easier to use Tenon InterSystems's toolkit for Mac Itools is also based on Apache, though, 4D WebSTAR still insists on using its own Web server, a Web server that runs faster than Apache in Macworld tests. It also forms the core of this WebSTAR ' s Internet server--integrated server package that integrates Web, mail, FTP, and WebDAV servers. This package is intended primarily for small to medium sized enterprise customers.

Choosing WebSTAR rather than open source Apache means you are abandoning the world's most widely used Web server. For a novice Mac administrator, it's probably because it's easier to get started and easy to install, and for experienced MAC administrators, it's probably because WebSTAR can easily allocate day-to-day maintenance work, use WebSTAR, Maintenance of a single site can be delivered directly to the users of the site and secured by restricting the way users access them.

Featured Features of WebSTAR

WebSTAR once installed to support the SSL features, there are flexible domain management features, it supports plug-ins have cgi,fast-cgi,php and so on, through the connection Tomcat also provides JSP function is very simple. Database support is also easy to consolidate.

A java-based client that can run on a Mac or Windows platform allows you to set up completely remotely. This gives the hacker who stole your password the opportunity to "manage" your site from anywhere, and you can solve the problem by setting a range of IP addresses that allow remote management.

Its FTP server can map the user without users to a different root directory and support the extended log format. There are reports that there is a cache overflow security vulnerability in version 5.3.1, and that the security of version 5.3.2 is enhanced.

Although the newly added WebSTAR mail server component is becoming more functional (now its functionality includes spam filtering, virus checking, enhanced SMTP authentication, and support for IMAP), it lacks sufficient functionality and time to test for this package Web server.

Basic Installation

The basic WebSTAR installation process takes approximately 5 minutes, and you can download a beta version from http://www.4d.com/products/webstar/trialdownload . A fully functional test version can run for two hours at a time. Its minimum operating platform requirements are Mac OS X 10.2 and 128M of RAM, and the recommended configuration is to use a G4 or G5 processor, 256M memory, DSL or faster network connectivity.

The installation process is simple, and the first step is to create the WebSTAR account through the system configuration-system-account, which distinguishes the system from the Web service management account to provide better security and security control. Then, under System Management-Internet and network-sharing, disable the Web services built into the Apple system.

The second step is to run the installation package, select Simple installation, log off, and then log in with the new WebSTAR user, and in the program -4dwebstar program group, click on the 4D WebSTAR icon, which will start both the 4D server and the java-based user management client. Now, you can load the http://127.0.0.:80in the browser and your server is running properly.

You can modify the contents of your site by modifying the index.html and other documents under 4dwebstar/webserver/defaultsite when you log on as a ' WebSTAR.

WebSTAR has found a good balance between simplicity and the power to function.

Future development and evaluation

By joining a mail server, 4D is making WebSTAR a product between a groupware (groupware) server and a Web server. Next, the collaboration with the 4D company will result in an Apache based WebSTAR, and support for the collaboration server FirstClass is also under consideration. Softarc 4D is trying to create a universal server product like the Swiss Army knife, and managers will have an all-ready toolbox.

From the perspective of enterprise product planning, enterprises usually have two kinds of ideas, one is to take product diversification strategy to improve the viability of enterprises, another way is to concentrate on a product to do enough to let him have enough users. Now Wall Street's performance on Google seems to be an affirmation of the latter. From this point of view, 4D WebSTAR V is attractive enough for businesses that see the Internet and e-mail as the same thing.

Benefits: Easy to use, rich features, powerful web and WebDAV servers.

Disadvantage: Not based on Apache, relatively weak mail server, potential security issues