Web Server Software Roundup

You have to be dead to miss the emphasis on Windows NT Server as anInternet and intranet Web server. You have to be only half conscious to noticethe overwhelming number of Web server products that are competing for yourattention and acceptance. When we looked at Web servers a year ago in "CommercialWeb Servers for Windows NT" (September 1995), we reviewed six products.This year we found more than 25 and reviewed 16. You can attribute some growthto the popularity of Windows 95 (many products target both NT and 95) and someto the burgeoning intranet trend.

Having so many Web server products on the market is not necessarily good.First, that the market can support so many products is hard to believe. Second,most companies have a hard time thoroughly evaluating so many products. By thetime you complete a comprehensive evaluation, new products are on the market andsome that you just looked at have gone away.

To help you survey the current Web server market, the Windows NTMagazine Lab staff tested all the NT-oriented Web server products we couldget our hands on. We must note that some vendors refused to cooperate with ourevaluation, we omitted packages that had Web server functionality but not astheir primary goal, and chances are great that by the time you read this, morepackages will be on the market.

We reviewed Web server packages in every class, from enterprise to smallscale. See the sidebar, "Editor's Choice," to see how we decided on anEditor's Choice winner. We evaluated each product solely on its feature set,user friendliness, and performance (see Table B in the sidebar, "FeatureComparisons," on page 64). We evaluated installation and configuration,interface, tools included, functionality, documentation and online Help, andperformance (see "Running Them Up the Flagpole" on page 67 for theresults).

Alibaba 2.0
Computer SoftwareManufaktur's Alibaba 2.0 comes out of Austria to open the door to the Web.Alibaba isn't well known in the US, but it's a leading Web server softwarepackage in Europe.

Screen 1 shows Alibaba. It doesn't include a lot of add-ons or auxiliaryservices but does the job as a basic Web server. Alibaba has all the featuresyou need for remote administration (through both an Internet connection using abrowser and a direct LAN or dialup connection), basic authentication, and more.

Alibaba installs as an NT service, and its administration tool has thefamiliar tabbed dialog look. With this tool, you can map directories, gatherstatistics, and view hyperlinks. A handy feature is Alibaba's customizable errormessages, which let you use Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to specify whatmessages or graphics appear on the client browser after an error on the Webserver. Administrators will also appreciate this server's abilities to generateHTML page headers and footers.

Alibaba supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for secure transactions andincludes a custom scripting environment, the Alibaba Authorization API. Itconsists of programming interfaces and an environment for building clientauthorization applications. Alibaba's Authorization Tool manages basicauthentication and access control. The Alibaba Statistics Tool lets you log anddisplay server statistics.

Alibaba is a good, no-nonsense server package. The documentation doesn'ttranslate into English very well--it's cryptic and confusing--but full listingsshow how to use the scripting language (without significant examples, though).You'll want to consider it.

Commerce Builder Pro 1.51
The Internet Factory's Commerce Builder Pro 1.51 solution consists of CommerceBuilder, the main Web server component; Catalog Builder, an application fordeveloping online catalogs; and Server Macro Expansion (SMX), a macro languagefor creating dynamic HTML documents. This package has all the tools for a basicInternet presence, with secure transactions through SSL (fully RSA-compliant forgenerating digital certificates and key pairs).

Commerce Builder installs easily as a Control Panel applet from twofloppies and presents no surprises in configuration. Screen 2 shows the GUIadministration tool, a tabbed dialog where you set all server attributes such asfile mappings and MIME types. Commerce Builder supports standard HTML pages anddata files.

Catalog Builder is a standalone application that installs from two floppiesand lets you develop online catalogs with security and database connectivity.With Catalog Builder, you can create online stores that Web clients can accessand order from. This application offers full protection of credit card numbersand other important user information and uses The Internet Factory's SMXlanguage for development.

The SMX API is worth noting. This API is a scripting environment that letsyou add database connectivity or create custom Web server applications withoutthe need for a third-party add-on.

Documentation is reasonable. Each of three books covers one of CommerceBuilder's three major pieces in detail. Although this package contains nowizards for HTML authoring or other functions, Commerce Builder is astraight-forward package that's easy to set up and use. If you want to conductbusiness on the Web, give it a look.

Infobase Web Server 1.0
Aninfobase is a collection of folios (which store fully indexed, highlycompressed, and multiuser editable text and multimedia information). If you useinfobases, this server is your only choice for presenting that data on the Web.

Infobase Web Server 1.0 lets you publish existing infobases by clicking onebutton and functions as a basic Web server. If you don't have infobases,Infobase Web will not be your primary Web server. It includes no niceties suchas authoring tools, software development kits (SDKs), scripting support (besidesCommon Gateway Interface--CGI), or services you expect from Web software. Itdoes one thing well--infobase publishing on the Web.

The package includes the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server (theinterface to the Internet) and the infobase server, which interfaces to yourinfobase. The result is seamless browsing of infobases from any client Webbrowser. You search and display your infobases using a Folio Views-lookinginterface, so your data on the Web appears just like your originals. InfobaseWeb converts infobases into HTML on the fly and can present rudimentarystatistics. Basic authentication and access control lists provide security, andthe infobases are read-only, so you don't have to worry about users messing withdata.

Screen 3 shows the two administration tools: the HTTP Service Manager andthe Data Source Manager. They let you set attributes, such as where and how datasources are connected, for your Web server and infobases. Infobase Web is also aproxy server for incoming and outgoing Folio and Web requests and can translateHTML pages so that a Folio viewer can read them. Infobase Web has no remoteadministration capability.

Infobase Web is easy to set up. You must have Folio Views on your Webserver to use the online documentation, which you view through a Web browser.Folio will release a new version of Infobase Web this month.

Internet Information Server 2.0
You won't hearabout NT 4.0 Server without hearing about Internet Information Server (IIS) 2.0(or IIS's younger sibling, Peer Web Services, free with NT 4.0 Workstation).Microsoft is pushing this combination as the Internet solution for the 90s, andit fits the bill pretty well. IIS runs on NT 3.51 and 4.0, and best of all, it'sfree with NT 4.0 Server (and via download).

The package is not fancy. IIS has no authoring kit or wizards (you have tobuy a separate tool such as Microsoft FrontPage for HTML authoring), specialtools (such as online database connectivity for dynamic page generation), oradd-ons (no full-text search engine). However, IIS supports almost everystandard, scripting environment, API, and add-on available. IIS's tightintegration with the OS lets it run best under NT--it's not just another kludgethat covers both Win95 and NT.

IIS runs as a service, and its simple GUI administration tool, which yousee in Screen 4, lets you set server attributes, manage the server (or servers,if you run multiple sites on the system), and remotely administer the serverover your LAN or remote dialup connection. NT handles the Web server's filemanagement and security. Server security allows IP and domain restriction,access control and basic user authentication, and SSL for digital certificates.

IIS is easy to install and configure, and advanced functions such asrunning virtual servers are equally straightforward. Documentation is primarilyonline Help files. The printed documentation is typical of Microsoft's style: Ittells you what you need to do, but not how to do it.

IIS will best serve those who are new to NT, don't want a huge investmenteither in money (it's free, you know) or time, and just want to experiment withconnecting to users and business clients. If your Web presence grows, IIS cangrow with you.

Internet Server 1.0
After you getpast Internet Server's strange initial interface (which you see in Screen 5)with its oversized buttons, Cyber Presence's Internet Server 1.0 is a decent,basic Web server package. It's easy to install (three floppies) and configure,and its GUI tool is well laid out and easy to use.

Cyber Presence offers four versions of Internet Server: Introductory,Personal, Corporate, and Enterprise. The performance varies from version toversion: Beginning with the Enterprise version, each one sustains fewerconnections and runs slower than the previous one.

We received the Introductory version to test. It had all the features ofthe Enterprise version, but didn't run our tests.

Internet Server offers all the Web basic features, but you have to lookelsewhere for add-ons such as scripting support and services. You get some handyfeatures such as page headers and footers, virtual servers with a wizard forcreating them, and a built-in search engine for small setups (1MB to 6MB of HTMLand text files). Miniwizards let you change server settings such as the platform(laptop, desktop, or server) and the OS (NT Workstation 3.51 or Win95), Internetdomain, root directory, and home page.

If you add the SSL option, which costs extra for each version of thisproduct, the certificate manager lets you generate certificate requests, so youcan perform secure transactions. Internet Server also has basic logging andstatistics capabilities, a performance tuner (thread priority), access control(basic authentication and IP restriction), and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)support. The documentation is poorly written, but the information is there. Youmay be better off playing with the interface to find what you're looking for.

InterWare 2.1
InterWare 2.1 fromConsensys gives you complete Internet functionality, but you have to add someeffort. Read the documentation before you proceed because configuring InterWarecan be confusing. The manual covers InterWare's extensive feature set well, butread carefully to understand why and when you must follow certain steps.

Installing the package is easy, but making it work is difficult.InterWare's uses realms (collections of users and groups that you can apply toareas of your Web server) so for an existing Web site, you need to tweak therealm settings. For example, directory mapping won't work with default realms.This limitation can hinder you from implementing a Web server with existing dataand pages. We had to delete the default realms and create new ones to get theserver to display icons on the pages, because a security conflict was in thedefault settings for normal Web client use.

On the positive side, realms let you run multiple sites on the same server(you can assign a group of users to a realm and keep its data separate fromother groups' data). However, this approach complicates configuring a smallsingle-server setup.

One useful tool you get is a full-text search engine. It is supposed toreturn results in order of confidence percentages and file sizes, but we hadproblems getting it to work properly: You must create a realm for the searchengine to work. The search engine doesn't let you pick and choose whichdirectories on your server to index, and the engine creates an index file aboutthe same size as the pages you're indexing.

The package supports database connectivity through a CGI gateway, but nowizard is available--in fact, InterWare 2.1 includes no setup wizards, authoringtools, or remote administration capabilities. The absence of such features in anotherwise complete package is strange.

InterWare has what you need to connect to the Web. However, the product'sconfusing layout and configuration practices take it out of the running forEditor's Choice.

Screen 6 shows InterWare's Administration Tool. It lets you access allserver attributes and settings and user and group access control, filemanagement, and so forth. But in the end, the complexity of serveradministration with InterWare and its too-steep learning curve keep InterWarefrom being the most attractive choice.

Purveyor Encrypt WebServer 1.2a
PurveyorEncrypt WebServer 1.2a is a straightforward, no-nonsense secure Web server.(It's an extended version of Process Software's older WebServer package.)Purveyor gives you several options for publishing and receiving secureinformation through SSL, with encryption, authentication, and access controlservices.

WebServer contains the Purveyor Administration Tool, Log Viewer, thePurveyor Key Management Tool, Database Wizard, and online Help. TheAdministration Tool (in Screen 7) and the Key Management Tool are Control Panelapplets, and the Log Viewer, Link Browser, and Database Wizard are standaloneapplications.

The Purveyor Administration Tool lets you administer your Web serverremotely with any Web browser after you configure the server to accept remoteserver management, set up access control, etc. The Log Viewer displays serverstatistics in a text format (you can also graph hit statistics and generatespreadsheets). The Purveyor Key Management Tool lets you handle public andprivate encryption keys, certificates, and digital signatures. The Link Browserlets you verify hyperlinks you assign to text and objects. The Database Wizardis similar to Allaire's Cold Fusion Pro or Aspect Software Engineering's dbWeband lets you turn SQL databases into dynamic HTML pages without manual coding.

Installing Purveyor was less than a snap: The server program comes on 11floppies plus a CD that contains the helper applets (SDKs, authoring tools,etc.). The administration applets are both tabbed dialogs. Their GUI only givesyou a place to type everything, instead of providing hierarchical displays fordrag-and-drop object management. However, this approach makes using the appletseasy and straightforward.

Purveyor is a full-featured, comprehensive package. It includes support foreverything from File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and proxy-serving to the mostcurrent CGI and HTML standards and search engines. Its SSL capabilities let youprocess both secure internal corporate and external customer transactions in anInternet or intranet setting. Purveyor is integrated with NT's File Manager, sointranet applications can use NT's built-in file security (Purveyor still hasits Web user-management facility for basic authentication and doesn't applyexisting NT user account information for intranet users).

Although we didn't care for Purveyor's setup routine, this package is worthconsidering for Internet and LAN deployment--Purveyor's definitely ready forlarge-scale applications. We had some problems with the cryptic administrationtool and getting the server to link icon graphics and serve our default homepage, but we found solutions by reading the extensive documentation. Purveyormay not be pretty, but it does the job.

SPRY Web Server 1.2/SPRY SafetyWeb Server
SprySoftware Corporation's SPRY Web Server, as you see in Screen 8, is not a fancydo-everything Web server, but it contains all the important features andsupport. Installation and configuration is easy (you can download a timedevaluation version on the Web), and the documentation, albeit short, is cleanand usable. SPRY SafetyWeb Server is the fully secure (SSL), bigger sibling ofSPRY Web Server, with additional features, integrated services, and enhancedperformance.

The GUI administration tool lets you choose which server to administer:either multiple servers on the same system or remote ones on your LAN--but notover the Internet. The tool has tabbed dialogs for most attributes and specialhierarchical displays for files and directories, statistics, and otherfunctions. The product's file security administrator is separate from the NTfile security model, which defeats the purpose of using NT as a Web server OS.

SPRY Web Server is a good, straightforward software package with aneasy-to-use interface. CompuServe's backs it, so you're not as likely to be outin the cold a year from now when some smaller packages go away.

Netscape Enterprise Server 2.0
Netscape'sEnterprise Server is a definite front runner for Editor's Choice because of itsease of installation and use. SuiteSpot includes Enterprise Server, Mail Server,News Server, Catalog Server, and LiveWire Pro for online development and contentauthoring, and Netscape Navigator Gold--a combination Web browser and HTMLauthoring tool.

You have to set up Navigator Gold before you can install the EnterpriseServer (note: Enterprise Server requires Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows NT4.0). The process is clean and simple, with no surprises other than a dialogreporting that the installer is optimizing some TCP/IP settings in the Registry.To configure the server, you follow the defaults, enter your sample Web pagewwwrootdocs directory name, and restart the system. With our predesigned pagesfrom the Windows NT Magazine Web site, installing the package took usfewer than five minutes. The Web server had trouble displaying page icons untilwe mapped the default icons directory to the wwwrooticons directory.

You administer your Web server by connecting your Web browser, as in Screen9, to your server's administration port (a number you assign) and entering ausername and password. The server offers special pages for all administrativefunctions so you can use any Web browser, not just Navigator, from any local orremote location.

Web masters will like Netscape's straightforward administration andpage-generation features. For example, you can set up a page footer to place thesame information (such as email addresses, dates, etc.) on every document theserver displays without using server-side includes. You also get version controlfor your custom application and user management for Web-based subscriberservices. These features differ from the user management in some other Webserver software. Netscape uses NT's file security and user accounts for servermanagement and provides separate user accounts for Web clients to access specialcontent such as online magazines. Basic authentication prevents users fromadministering the Web server; they can only interact with it.

Netscape's documentation is extensive and clear, and online Help isavailable through a Java applet on the server. We liked how easy this package isto configure and use. Its range of features and standards support make it idealfor most Internet and intranet applications. For example, Web sites with largenumbers of files and contributing members will appreciate an embedded catalogingfeature that can help manage, organize, and index information on the server.Netscape also offers FastTrack Server 2.0, which doesn't have EnterpriseServer's advanced management capabilities.

SuperWeb Server 1.1
SuperWebServer 1.1 from Frontier Technologies contains every component you need to setup a Web site or corporate intranet server: WebMaster for administeringyour server, WebDesigner for Web authoring, ImageMaster for assigning hyperlinksto image maps, and Hypercheck for verifying hyperlinks to other Web pages andURLs.

To administer your Web server, you run WebMaster from any LAN-connected orremote system (either dialup or over the Internet). WebMaster is convenient foradministering multiple Web servers remotely, and its interface is easy tounderstand, once you get used to it. Screen 10 shows WebMaster's GUI with itsWin95 Explorer format for managing files, users, and individual sites (whenyou're running multiple servers). To add HTML or image files to a Web site,click the View icon to open the NT File Manager. From the File Manager, dragfiles and directories to SuperWeb's hierarchical file store (this approachcreates multiple copies of files on your disk--an administrative hassle).

On the intranet side, your Web master can assign administrators and usersto different portions of the Web server, such as an engineering group andaccounting group. Each group can own its pages, which can be useful for managinga large Web site. You can also use this feature for basic Web-userauthentication services.

We liked SuperWeb's easy-to-use interface, page preview capabilitiesthrough the WebDesigner tool, and the easy authoring through WebDesigner andImageMaster. Administrators will appreciate that SuperWeb runs as an NT serviceand comes with a tutorial and online Help. Although the package was easy toinstall, we had to reboot twice during configuration to get SuperWeb to run.

We had some other problems. We knew SuperWeb was a Win95 program with an NTlabel when it said it couldn't find (and subsequently created) an autoexec.batfile that has to run before the system boots. Also, when we were importing filesinto the datastore, SuperWeb crashed on large groups or directories--it wassquirrely about which directories it copied. Last, the documentation explainsthe Internet and how to use HTML and CGI but doesn't tell you how to make theprogram work or how to debug it.

Although SuperWeb will fit into small corporate LANs as an intranet andInternet server, we're not convinced it's ready for high-volume Internet Websites that require easy administration and short configuration times. Also, forthis package to serve large-scale Web sites, Frontier Technologies needs to linkthe file and user management for multiple administrators to NT's internal userand file security.

Web Commander 1.0
Web Commander is one of the strongest Web server packages we tested. Thedocumentation is comprehensive and covers everything from configuration tosample HTML and Perl code, without a lengthy introduction. Luckman Interactiveuses InstallShield to set up Web Commander, which helps minimize the time fromopening the package to having a running Web site.

Web Commander is optimized for NT. Web site configuration can be quick anddirty--just tell the installer about your root document directory (so you caneasily integrate existing files), company name, etc. Or you can go through eachadministrative setting to customize your server (you can configure any settingat any time, but using the defaults gets you up and running quickly). A handytool, the Domain Name Wizard, helps you create the file you must email toInterNIC to obtain a domain name for your Web site. You still have to pay the$100 registration fee. (For more information on InterNIC, see Richard Reich, "Registeringa Domain Name Is Easy," page 88.)

Web Commander includes everything you need to connect to and run on theInternet: Web Commander for administering your Web server, WebMap for assigninghyperlinks to image maps, WebStudio for HTML and forms authoring, the WebPagewizard for quickly setting up Web pages, Excite for adding search capabilitieson your site, and browsers for your Internet and intranet clients. You also geta wizard for setting up a secure Web server and getting certified for SecureHypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTTP) and SSL--Web Commander is fully RSAcompliant--and WebCharge for secure credit card transactions. For development,you get SDKs for Java, Internet Server API (ISAPI), CGI, and Perl 5.0. Awide-area Internet search (WAIS) toolkit for searching full-text databases andODBC for creating dynamic pages from database information are also included.

The administration tool has an easy-to-understand GUI, as in Screen 11. Itshows active servers running on the system and provides access to all runtimeapplication features. Unfortunately, you have to run the Web Commanderadministration tool for your Web server to operate (you can minimize theadministration tool, but don't exit it when you finish setting up). By default,Web Commander server doesn't run as an NT service. However, you can manuallyinstall Web Commander as a service: Start the administration tool, go to ControlPanel/Services, and click Install Service. After NT detects Web Commanderrunning and sets it up as a service, you can set boot-time attributes.

Web masters will appreciate Web Commander's wealth of HTML features such aspage footers and other Internet necessities. One glaring omission in WebCommander's feature set is a remote tool for administering a Web site if you'renot sitting in front of the console. Web Commander's user and group managementis separate from NT's security database (individuals can manage their pages withsecurity, but this feature adds another layer of administration when you'recreating a corporate Web server). This feature lets you manage subscriber orWeb-user access to restricted pages and data (basic authentication).

Web Commander is a strong contender for Editor's Choice, but its lack ofremote administration is a serious strike against it. This package's manyfeatures make it worthy of consideration for any Web site.

WebSite Professional 1.0/ WebSite 1.1
Another-front runner for Editor's Choice is WebSite Professional 1.0, anexcellent combination of features, performance, and usability that's missing insome Web server packages. Installation and configuration were simple, and we hada working Web site in the time it took to load the software onto the hard driveand type in a few commands. As you see in Screen 12, WebSite Professional is abeefed-up, secure version of O'Reilly & Associates' WebSite application.

WebSite Professional includes several components. The WebSite Pro Serverlaunches the background service. The Server Administration Tool lets you manageserver attributes. Certificate Manager has a wizard to generate and managedigital certificates. WebView lets you log statistics and manage server text,data, and image files, and has links to other wizards such as a template HTMLpage generator. ImageMap Editor lets you assign hyperlinks to bitmap images.WebIndex tracks indexes and hyperlinks to other URLs. HotDog HTML Editor is acomplete HTML authoring tool. Monitor Server is a link to NT's Perfmon and hasadded counters such as Requests per Second and Average API Time. And, if youmove your WebSite server to another system, you can use WebSite's uninstaller.

O'Reilly, a longtime book publisher, provides comprehensive documentationon WebSite's basics and advanced features, with programming examples,statistics, etc. WebSite supports all the popular new standards, authoringtools, and scripting languages, and provides SDKs for Java, Visual Basic (VB),WebSite API (WSAPI), and Perl 5.0.

Administrators and MIS managers with an eye on dynamic page generation foronline catalogs or other database-oriented functions will appreciate theinclusion of Cold Fusion Standard with WebSite Professional (for a review ofCold Fusion, see Joel Sloss, Tim Daniels, and T.J. Harty, "dbWeb 1.0 andCold Fusion Pro 1.5," April 1996). You can perform remote administration byrunning the Server Administration Tool locally and accessing a remote server,either on the LAN or over an Internet or dialup connection. Although WebSiteProfessional is missing some integrated Internet services, it can simulate anFTP server through directory mapping with an upload facility.

WebSite hits the mark--an extensive Web server feature set, remarkable easeof use, and helpful online and printed documentation. Wizards help witheverything from creating your first page to managing server security. Thispackage requires serious consideration for corporate use. O'Reilly also offers arevamped version of its WebSite 1.1, a nonsecure Web server that offers most ofthe goodies (except application development tools) of WebSite Professional at alower price.

Corrections to this Article: