Our Servers:
Our computers are Pentium class machines running Apache over Red Hat Linux. Apache is the standard in Web Server technology while Linux Red Hat has become a dominant variant of the Unix operating system. We also support Perl, PHP4.
Every customer gets his own password protected userid under Linux. We also give a unique Ip address to each customer.
By logging in with his userid, the customer gains access to his web storage space. Every userid "owns" a structure of disk subdirectories in the Linux file system. The "root" of this structure is the "home" directory, found at path /www/htdocs/yourdomain/.
Files placed in the site's "web" directory are visible to remote browsers over the Internet, so this is where you want to place all your shtmll documents, graphics, sounds, files, etc. which you want people to be able to access from the world wide web. For example, when a browser asks for URL http://yourdomain.com/page.shtmll, Apache looks for the file located at: /www/htdocs/yourdomain/page.shtmll and sends it out.
Index page
The filename of your home page should be index.shtml or index.shtmll. When a browser looking to access your site specifies the address http://www.yourdomain.com/ the web server will automatically send a visitor to the path /www/htdocs/yourdomain/index.shtmll.
When your account is set up, there will be an index.shtmll page already installed and a test page will show.
If you wish to use CGI features that use Server Side Includes (SSI), you must name your page with the .sshtml or .sshtmll extension.
You can put an index.shtml file in any subdirectory that you wish, and it will be the default page served when you don't want
your visitors to have to type a full page URL reference
FTP access:
Now that we know where the files have to be located in order to be visible from the Internet, just how do we put the files there? There are several ways, depending on your computer system. For the Macintosh, a program called "Fetch" is used. Microsoft Windows systems use "WS_FTP or Cute-FTP."
Uploading Your Files to the Server
The process by which files are transferred to the web server is called "FTP" (File Transfer Protocol). You have unlimited access via FTP, 24 hours a day. As such, you can create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your leisure.
Online services which offer an Internet gateway, such as AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy may have a built-in FTP interface. If you have a PPP Internet account, you need an FTP program.
Please refer to each individual program for instructions and support. We will give you an example of hwo to set up your site with WS-FTP which is our program of choice. The other programs are quite similar in how they are used. Please look to whatever program you are using for technical support should you need assistance before you contact us.
For PC Users (WS_FTP)
The following information is contained within your account activation notice and is needed to connect you to your website via FTP:
USERID
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME
Each time you run WS-FTP the Session Profile window will be displayed. A profile contains the information needed to connect to your website. Creating a profile now will eliminate the need for you to configure the software each time you wish to connect to the web server via FTP. To create a profile, click the "New" button and enter a generic profile name at the top of the Session Profile window, such as "My Website." Next, enter your Host Name/Address (yourdomain.com), User ID, and Password for your website as illustrated in Figure 1A. You can start uploading your web site even before you have transfered your domain to our nameservers usig the IP address we send you. This ensures zero downtime during the transit period if you're changing hosts.
Next you need to click "OK" to continue. This will connect you to the web server, where you will connect to your USER directory (/www/htdocs/domain). WS-FTP will display a split screen where files on the left-hand side are within your own computer.
You will then see some folders on the right-hand side such as cgi bin and images
If you need to upload to a sub directory, double click on it to get into it,
You need to double click on the web folder to get into your web directory. This is where all your files will be downloaded, and/or you will create subdirectories. To make your home page load automatically, name your main shtmlL document "index.shtml" in lowercase and upload it to the web directory of your site directory.
To upload a file or files, simply highlight the file(s) on the left which represent the files on your computer's hard drive and click the right arrow button (->) in the center of the window. Be sure to upload shtmlL documents and scripts in ASCII mode and images in Binary mode. To transfer a file to a subdirectory, double-click the appropriate subdirectory to open it before transferring the desired file(s). To create a new directory, click on the MkDir button when you are inside the web directory or subdirectory.
As soon as a file is uploaded to the web server, it is available for all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are still unable to see the updated file via Internet Explorer or Netscape, try hitting the "Refresh" or "Reload" button. If that fails, you need to clear both disk and browser cache.
If you need to set permission levels on a directory or file that is on the server you need to highlight the file you want to modify and then right click with your mouse. This will give you a box with many new options. Choose the CHMOD option and modify the permissions as you need and then click OK.
These are the basics to using WS-FTP. If you need more information, please use the "Help" menu in the application or read any documentation that came with the program.
Remember that you must first be connected to the Internet through your local Internet service provider in order to connect to the web server.
We do not give support for every FTP program on the market. Please refer to the FTP instructions from your program before you contact us should you run into difficulties.
Frontpage:
We do support FrontPage extensions but these are installed on individual accounts as requested. We do not support Frontpage 2000 extensions, however you can design sites in frontpage 2000 and upload using CuteFTP, WS_FTP or another FTP client.
We do this all the time. It also saves you from the dependence on Frontpage for uploading because once you are using FrontPage as your Web Site Publisher, you cannot FTP your files to our servers. It may work but it may also cause your site irreparable damage. Use FTP programs on FrontPage sites at your own risk.
Basic Guidelines
You should use one form or the other for your file transfers and stick to it. If want to use your FrontPage as your web editor only, do not use the FrontPage "Publish Your Web Site" option to upload your files.
To use FrontPage as your editor only you should work on your site offline and then use a regular FTP program lie WS-FTP to upload your site. You do not need to have FrontPage extensions installed to use this method of file transfer.
If you request to have the FrontPage extension installed then you should only use the FrontPage "Publish Your Web Site" option from within the FrontPage program to upload your site.
Please note that whichever method you use to upload your files, you will need to be online in order to successfully transfer your files to our servers.
Telnet
A telnet account is just another means for you to access your account through Unix/Linux. When you sign up with us, you get a userid and password.
You need a telnet program to access your telnet account. Simply put in yourdomain.com as the host, and connect to the server. When you are connected, you will be prompted for your userid and password.
Some of the programs available at the shell prompt are:
mail - a very basic email program
pine - a more powerful email program
ftp - to FTP onto other sites
telnet - to telnet to other sites
pico - an easy to use text editor
vi - a not so easy to use (but standard) text editor
lynx - a text-based world wide web browser.
You access these programs by typing in their names and then following commands relevant to each program. If you need help with any of the programs, at the shell prompt, type man and the name of the program to get instructions for that program online. If your problem is not knowing the name of the program, try apropos subject (i.e. apropos mail). It is important to remember that Unix is case-sensitive, and that "Index.shtml" is not the same as "index.shtml."
Note: We do not provide support for clients using UNIX/LINUX commands. Only experienced users should attempt to work using UNIX commands through Telnet since one wrong command may do major damage to a site. Back up your work.
We provide telnet access to our customers but please use these at your own discretion. One wrong command can cause damage to a site which cannot be fixed. Also back up your site periodically.
E-mail set up:
For e-mail you may use any POP3 e-mail client.
Here's the information you will need:
Incoming mail server: yourdomain.com
(Replace 'yourdomain.com' with your domain name)
Outgoing mail server: This will be the same as your ISP.
User id: The same as provided to you.
Password: As provided to you.
Your FTP account will also function as the default e-mail account where all mail that is not meant for an existing mail account, reaches. This is because we offer unlimited e-mail aliases. So if someone sends a message to georgebush@yourdomain.com it would still reach you.
You can use the control panel to create e-mail accounts too.
CGI paths
Here are your paths to the common server resources that CGI scripts often require:
Sendmail: /usr/sbin/sendmail
Perl5.004: /usr/bin/perl
Date: /bin/date
Domain path: /www/htdocs/yourdomain
(puts you in your web directory)
cgi-bin path: http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-yourdomain/
Contact
Our office address is:
VMC Infotech P. Ltd.
19/8, Shivaji Raje Complex, Kandivali west..,
, Bombay 400 067
India
Tel: 91-22-6996298/ 91-22-6997992
