WebSTAR 4 Manual & Technical Reference

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Changes to the WebSTAR Plug-Ins

The new versions of the WebSTAR Plug-Ins are more stable and flexible. All WebSTAR Plug-Ins now return HTTP "head" requests. Some take advantage of new W*API features to display information windows on the server machine.

For more information, see WebSTAR Plug-Ins .

Core Plug-Ins Changes

WebSTAR Byte Server

WebSTAR Byte Server now runs as the Default Byte Server and will now process any GET or CONDITIONAL_GET byte-range request that is not handled by other Plug-Ins. You don't have to edit the Suffix Map to byte-serve specific types of files, although you can if you want.
Now tells the server "not handled" when it can't find a file, so the server does normal error handling.

See WebSTAR Byte Server .

WebSTAR Data Cache

The caching architecture of WebSTAR Server Suite has been completely redesigned. No longer will the server experience the pausing problem caused by flushing large data caches, and no longer will the entire cache need to be flushed to update a single entry.

The Data and File caches will automatically include all file requests, including requests for files that do not exist. This allows the server to handle multiple default and index file names.
Supports HTTP/1.1 persistent connections.
Now tells the server "not handled" when it can't find a file, so the server does normal error handling.
More strict about checking modification dates. A "not modified" response is returned only if the mod-dates of the request and the file match exactly .
Always refreshes file info when the cache's external API is used. This reduces the efficiency somewhat, but ensures up-to-date data.
Now handles the no-cache Pragma and Cache-Control: request header fields -- the file will be read off disk rather then being served out of RAM. This means that you no longer need to use third-party utilities to flush WebSTAR's cache, you can just do a Super-Reload in the browser.

See Data Cache .

WebSTAR Log Archiver

Now the standard archiver for Web, FTP, Mail and Proxy servers, configured using the WebSTAR Admin application.
Improved log archiving automation reduces server disruption.

WebSTAR SSI

See Log Archiving , and the logging chapters.

Now tells the server "not handled" when it can't find a file, so the server does normal error handling.
Added support for the SSI environmental variable HTTP_COOKIE .
New SSI Counter panel in WebSTAR Admin.
The improved check-pointing of the counter data. A crash won't cause all of your counters to disappear. At most, you could lose the previous 20 minutes of data.
Now supports #include references to 30 levels (increased from 3 levels).
Enhanced Server-Side-Includes featuring an extensible architecture allowing Plug-Ins to register custom HTML tags. When the SSI Plug-In encounters these tags, it will call the registered Plug-In which can generate the data in that part of the page.

See WebSTAR SSI .

WebSTAR Virtual Hosts

Works with the new Index File Name system to allow multiple default index file names.
Settings information is now stored in the WebSTAR Virtual Hosts file in the Plug-Ins folder.

See Virtual Hosts .

Additional Plug-Ins

These Plug-Ins are provided as part of the WebSTAR Server Suite. If you choose the Upgrade option, the Installer will upgrade any older versions of these Plug-Ins to the newest version. However, these Plug-Ins are not installed by the Easy Install:, you must use the Custom Install option to add them to a server.

WebSTAR Auto BinHex

Improved error messages.
Improved compatibility with already-binhexed files.

See WebSTAR Auto BinHex

WebSTAR Directory Indexer

Fixes a problem referencing subdirectories with URL-encodable chars in the parent names.
Improved HTML generation.

See WebSTAR Directory Indexer .

WebSTAR File Upload

Corrected problems preventing file uploads to different volumes.
Fixed problems uploading extremely large files.

See WebSTAR File Upload .

WebSTAR Form Mail (formerly QuickSend).

Name has been changed, and form action changed to x.formmail .

See WebSTAR Form Mail .

WebSTAR Search

Added support for 2-byte characters.

See WebSTAR Search .

WebSTAR WebObjects Adaptor

Now compatible with WebObjects 4
Two versions

WebSTAR WebObjects 3 Adaptor
WebSTAR WebObjects 4 Adaptor

See WebSTAR WebObjects Adaptor .

New Plug-Ins

WebSTAR Debug

Logs server information for tracking down recurring problems. Use this Plug-In when instructed by StarNine Technical Support.

See WebSTAR Debug Plug-In .

WebSTAR Lasso Publisher

Now includes WebSTAR Lasso Publisher, a lightweight version of the Lasso Web Data Engine from Blue World Communications.

See WebSTAR Lasso Publisher .

WebSTAR PowerKey Pro Tickler

Works with PowerKey Pro from Sophisticated Circuits to monitor the server status and restart the system if the WebSTAR server crashes or freezes.

See WebSTAR PowerKey Pro Tickler .

WebSTAR QuickDNS Load Balancer

Works with QuickDNS server from Men & Mice to provide server load information.
Updated to provide native PowerPC Open Transport support.
Now sends the IP address for all Virtual Hosts.
Default values are now listed on the HTML administration page.
Works with WebSTAR FTP to provide FTP load balancing.

See WebSTAR QuickDNS Load Balancer .

WebSTAR Rebound Assist

Works with Rebound! from Sophisticated Circuits to monitor the server status and restart the system if the WebSTAR server crashes or freezes.

See WebSTAR Rebound! Assist .

WebSTAR SSI-WebInclude

Dynamically reads data from other web pages, reformats and includes the text in your pages.

See WebSTAR SSI-WebInclude .