Guide to installing Microsoft's 'FrontPage 98 Server Extensions' for Netscape's 'FastTrack Server' v 2.01/3.01 on IRIX 6.5/6.5.2
This page was written by Christopher Spry. It is a guide to installing Microsoft's 'FrontPage 98 Server Extensions' on an Indy running IRIX 6.5 or 6.5.2 with the Netscape 'FastTrack server' v 2.01 or 3.01.
Microsoft's 'FrontPage 98 Server Extensions' enable 'clients' running 'Microsoft's FrontPage 98' on PCs elsewhere, to access, read and updated 'webs' running on a Netscape 'Server'. 'FrontPage 98' is one of the best web authoring packages available at present, in my humble opinion. I have found it to be an ideal tool for preparing web pages on my notebook PC. The 'Extensions' on the Indy running IRIX 6.5, enable me to create and administer 'webs' which are 'served' from the Indy, which is available permanently on Internet.
On 8 October 1998, when I updated IRIX 6.2 on my Indy to IRIX 6.5, the installation software installed the Netscape 'FastTrack' web server v 2.01 by default. It altered the settings that I had already in place for the Netscape 'Communications' server which I had installed previously (see FrontPage98.html). IRIX 6.5 started the 'FastTrack' server and it ran by default. The 'Communications' server was not running. (I was surprised that the installation of IRIX 6.5 did not mention that this would happen). The FastTrack' server under IRIX 6.5 was installed under the directory ' /usr/ns-home/http-<computername>/'. The 'Communications' server had used '/usr/ns-home/httpd-80'.
On 29 January 1999, I updated IRIX 6.5 to IRIX 6.5.2. Once again the installation software updated the web server. This time, FastTrack server v 2.01 was upgraded to 3.01. Later, I was pleased to find that the 'FrontPage 98 Server Extensions' also worked on version 3.01 of the web server.
The free (and latest) version of the Microsoft 'FrontPage Server Extensions for IRIX' software is called fp30.sgi.tar.Z. Download it from Microsoft's web site http://www.eu.microsoft.com/frontpage/wpp/default.htm and save it in /tmp. Do not use the IRIX version on Microsoft's 'FrontPage 98' CD, as it is out of date. Then download the 'shell script' fp_install.sh from ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/products/frontpage/fp_install.sh to /tmp. (People in the UK can get these files much more quickly from ftp://sunsite.org.uk/Mirrors/ftp.microsoft.com/Products/frontpage/fp30.sgi.tar.Z and ftp://sunsite.org.uk/Mirrors/ftp.microsoft.com/Products/frontpage/fp_install.sh). Unfortunately the latter file was saved in 'DOS' format at sunsite. Remove the <cr> on each line with a 'DOS to UNIX' program. Change 'fp_install.sh' to an executable script (chmod 700). You will use it to install the software. The version number and date of 'fp_install.sh' is shown in the first few lines of the shell script. Currently, it is version 1.43 of 19 October 1997.
The 'fp_install.sh' script is written in 'perl'. Ensure that you have 'perl' on your system by typing in a shell: 'where perl'. This should show you that perl is in '/usr/bin/perl' and possibly other directories. If it is not there, then you have to get it from one of the IRIX free software ftp sites, before you can start to install the Extensions.
The installation of IRIX 6.5 provides the 'web server' by default on port 80 (http://my.web.server:80) and an 'administration server' on port 81 (http://my.web.server:81). It places the 'web server' files and the 'administration server' files in the '/usr/ns-home/httpd-<computername>' directory and below. The 'document root' for the server is /var/www/htdocs'. This is where the 'root' web's HTML files will go. The users' 'web' HTML documents will be in ~user/public_html.
I recommend that you become competent at administering the 'FastTrack Server' before you install the FrontPage Server Extensions. To do this, start the 'Administration Server' using the script '/usr/ns-home/start-admin', as superuser. Then use a web browser to access the administration server (http://my.web.server:81). Use the options boxes to set up the 'FastTrack Server' in the way that you want. There is lots of information available to you, while using this 'Administration Server' setup resource.
The installation of IRIX 6.5.2 provides the 'web server' by default on port 80 (http://my.web.server:80) and an 'administration server' on port 8182(http://my.web.server:8182). Read the man page NS-HTTPD(1M), to get details of how to use the 'administration server'. The installation places the 'web server' files and the 'administration server' files in the '/var/netscape/fasttrack/httpd-<computername>' directory and below. The 'document root' for the server is /var/www/htdocs'. This is where the 'root' web's HTML files will go. cgi scripts are accessed at '/var/www/cgi-bin/'. The users' 'web' HTML documents will be in ~user/public_html.
Note that the 'root' web should be owned by owner 'nobody' with group '60001'. The name of the 'user' is my login name 'cspry'. This is because I will be administering the root web. My personal web is in ~cspry/public_html. I (cspry) and I belong to user group 'mygroup'. I am also the administrator of the Indy as 'root', of course, and I have set up the FastTrack Server so that I have personal web pages in ~'myhomedirectory/public_html' and my URLs are served out as 'http://myserver/~cspry/URLs'. I repeat all that so there is no doubt about these complexities!
Ensure that you have 'fp30.sgi.tar.Z' and 'fp_install.sh' in '/tmp'. Check that there is a 'configuration file' for the 'FastTrack Server' called '/usr/ns-home/httpd-<computername>/config/magnus.conf' (for FastTrack v 2.01) or '/var/netscape/fasttrack/httpd-<computername>/config/magnus.conf' (for FastTrack 3.01), and also a file in the same directory as magnus.conf, called 'obj.conf'. They are both used by the installation script. Unfortunately, the path to 'obj.conf' has to be edited manually into the 'magnus.conf' file. If you do not put this path into 'obj.conf', there will be an error, during the installation, that it 'does not exist'. Just put the path in front of the word 'obj.conf' inside the 'magnus.conf' file.
Rename the '/usr/local/frontpage' directory, if you have one, so that the installation script can create a 'new' set of extensions for the 'FastTrack' server. You can delete the old 'frontpage' directory after the new installation has succeeded.
The following steps list the places where you type or respond (shown in red), as the server extensions software is installed.
In a UNIX shell and as 'Superuser':
This completes the installation of Microsoft 'FrontPage Server Extensions' for Netscape 'FastTrack' server v 2.01 or 3.01 running under IRIX 6.5 or 6.5.2.
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© Christopher Spry mailto:cspry@cspry.co.uk. This page was last updated on 26 November 2003 10:13:39.