vqServer: Web site management


This page outlines procedures for customising the default web site provided with vqServer's default web site, adding other files and directories anywhere on your system to your web site and restricting access to portions of your web site.

You can customise vqServer's default web site using your operating system's commands or using a file management utility. For example:

  1. Rename your home page index.html and copy it to your website/public directory. Anyone visiting your web site without specifying a file will see your home page.
  2. Any files placed in the website/public directory (or subdirectories of website/public) will become available to anyone visiting your web site.
  3. Any files placed in the website/private directory will become available on your network but access to them will be restricted to people who know the appropriate ID and password (see the security page for further information).
  4. Any servlet .class files placed in the website/servlets directory (or subdirectories of website/servlets) can be invoked by anyone visiting your web site.
  5. Any CGI scripts copied to the website/cgi directory (or subdirectories of website/cgi can be invoked by anyone visiting your site.
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Adding files
Restricting access

Adding files and directories to your web site

This section describes how to add a file or directory which is not in your website/public or website/private directories to your web site. For example, you might want to make a file named specialinfo.html located in a directory called website/special available to web users when they type http://yourcomputersname/specialinfo in their web browser's address box.

  1. Read the introduction to the aliases page of this documentation.
  2. Use your web browser to start the vqServer control centre.
  3. Click on Aliases under Main web server in the menu at the right-hand side of the control centre welcome page. The aliases page for the main web server will be displayed.
  4. Click on New alias in the menu on the right-hand side of the page. The settings page for a new alias will be displayed.
  5. Type the name by which you want the file or directory to be known in the Alias box at the top of the form. In the example above, you would type specialinfo in the Alias box.
  6. Type the real name of the file or directory you want to add to your web site in the Real name box. In the example above, you would type specialinfo/specialinfo.html in the Real name box.
  7. Click on the Ok button. The amended aliases page will be displayed with your new alias at the top of the list. In the example above, the file specialinfo.html is now accessible to web users.
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Restricting access

This section describes how you can easily restrict access to any file or directory in your web site. To continue with the example above, you might want to restrict access to specialinfo.html to a group of friends. In the following, the protected file is the file or directory to which you want to restrict access (in the example above, the protected file is specialinfo.html).

  1. Read the introduction to the security page of this documentation.
  2. Use your web browser to start the vqServer control centre.
  3. Create an access control list:
    1. Click on Access control lists in the menu on the right-hand side of the control centre welcome page. The access control lists page will be displayed.
    2. Click on New ACL in the menu on the right-hand side of the page. The settings page for a new access control list will be displayed.
    3. Enter a suitable name in the Name box. In the example above, you might call the new access control list Friends.
    4. Click on the Ok button.
  4. Add the protected file to vqServer's list of aliases if necessary. Instructions for doing this are given above.
  5. Make sure that:
    1. the alias associated with the protected file is listed above any similar but less specific aliases in the aliases page. In the example above, the alias specialinfo should precede the alias special. If necessary, use the arrows in the list of aliases to reorder them.
    2. there are no other aliases by which the protected file can be accessed. In the example above, an alias backdoor associated with the path specialinfo/specialinfo.html could be used to circumvent the security you are trying to implement.
  6. Associate the alias corresponding to the protected file with the new access control list. To do this:
    1. Click on Aliases under Main web server in the control centre menu. The aliases page will be displayed.
    2. Find the alias associated with the protected file (in the example above the alias is specialinfo). Click on the icon in the Settings column adjacent to the alias. The settings page for the alias will be displayed.
    3. Select the new access control list from the Access control list pull-down menu.
    4. Click on the Ok button.
  7. Add users to the vqServer user database and to the new access control list.
    1. Click on Users in the control centre menu. The users page will be displayed.
    2. Click on New user in the menu on the right-hand side of the page. The settings form for a new user will be displayed.
    3. Enter a suitable user ID in the ID box. This is the name by which the user will identify himself/herself to vqServer.
    4. Enter a password in the Password box.
    5. Make sure the Show ACLs box at the bottom of the form is checked.
    6. Click on the Ok button. A list of access control lists and check boxes is displayed.
    7. Check the boxes corresponding to the access control lists you want to add the new user to. In the example above, click on the check box next to Friends.
    8. Click the Ok button. The amended users page will be displayed.
    9. Inform the person you have just added to the vqServer user database of their user ID and password.
    10. Repeat steps 2-9 for each person you want to be able to access the protected file or directory.


vqServer version 1.03. Copyright © 1997-98 vqSoft and Steve Shering. Last updated 27 May 1998.

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