Accessing and Using Services

This topic describes the available services. Your service provider determines which services are enabled for your site.

User Names and Passwords for Accessing Services

You use your Site Administrator user name and password to access services. If you change your Site Administrator password, you are also changing the password you use to access services such as FTP, Telnet, and SSH. These services all use the same password.

If you have Microsoft FrontPage Extensions enabled for your site, however, be aware that the Microsoft FrontPage Administrator password is on a separate system and does not change automatically. You can change the FrontPage Administrator user name or password using the FrontPage Extension Permission Management Interface.

Service Description and Access Information

Note: Your site might not have all of the services listed. For more information about a service, contact your service provider.

Service name

Description

Apache Web server

Responds to requests from Web browsers.

The Web server serves requests from browsers by retrieving a requested file or executing a CGI script.

Domain Name Server

Translates site names into IP addresses.

DNS is a distributed database that performs name translations. To manage this information effectively, DNS has a distributed architecture, composed of many DNS servers in a hierarchical fashion. Each server is responsible for both name-to-IP-address and IP-address-to-name translations.

Mailing Lists (Majordomo)

Manages mailing lists.

Mailing lists are commonly used to circulate topic discussions. A mailing list includes a set of list members. Whenever a list member posts an email message to the mailing list email address, that email message is distributed to all list members.

Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions

Allows you to support users who want to use Microsoft FrontPage to manage their Web sites.

In the control panel, you can access FrontPage administration Web pages from the Web Server Manager.

WebDAV Server

WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) allows you to collaboratively edit and manage files on the remote Web servers.

Miva Merchant

Provides ecommerce support for sites.

Miva Merchant enables you to create multiple online storefronts and support ecommerce on a site.

mod_perl for Apache

mod_perl enables you to create dynamic content by utilizing the full power of the Apache web server to create stateful sessions and customized user authentication systems. You can use Perl to manage Apache and respond to requests for Web pages.

MySQL Database

Allows you to work with your SQL databases.

MySQL is a widely used relational database management system for SQL databases. A relational database stores data in separate tables rather than in one big table. A database management system allows you to add, access, and process data stored in a SQL database.

In the control panel, you can use phpMyAdmin to set up, configure, and view your databases.

Open SSH Secure Shell

Provides secure remote access to another system over a network.

In the case of the control panel, SSH allows you to log on to the server remotely and move files, run scripts, or search across multiple files in a secure environment.

To use an SSH connection you need to be familiar with the UNIX operating system and commands.

Open SSL Secure Web

Provides secure Web pages.

SSL is a protocol that transmits private documents through the Internet. It creates a secure connection between a client and a server over which any amount of data can be sent securely. SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data transferred over the SSL connection.

In the control panel, you can secure your site through the Web Server Manager.

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor for Apache

Creates dynamic Web pages. PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side, cross-platform, HTML embedded scripting language.

phpMyAdmin Web-based MySQL Administration

Allows you to manage your MySQL databases over the Internet.

phpMyAdmin can handle administration of entire MySQL database servers or just a single database over the Internet by removing any platform-specific limitations.

Power Tools

Streamlines the installation and use of off-the-shelf Web applications. Power Tools provide ecommerce, content management, forums, chat, and other dynamic features of Web sites.

POP3 + IMAP Server

POP3 (Post Office Protocol, version 3) is a protocol used to retrieve email from a mail server.

IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) is a protocol that retrieves messages from the mail server.

Using IMAP, you can search through your email messages using keywords and selectively download messages. The IMAP server allows users to archive email messages in folders, share mailboxes with other users, access multiple mail servers at one time, and more efficiently access email attachments.

Both POP and IMAP mail servers accept SMTP-formatted email messages.

FTP

Transfers files over the Internet.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to transfer files over the Internet. Anonymous FTP (if available) allows you to use an FTP site without creating a user account.

To use FTP, you need to be familiar with FTP commands or use a program that manages those commands for you.

Anonymous FTP

An anonymous way to transfer files over the Internet.

Anonymous FTP allows you to use an FTP site without creating a user account.

To use anonymous FTP, you need to be familiar with FTP commands or use a program that executes those commands for you.

Email

Routes outgoing and incoming mail using SMTP.

Sendmail is an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) mail server that routes SMTP email messages through the Internet to be stored on a mail server. SMTP is the most common email protocol on the Internet.

Sendmail also allows you to manage your email features, such as email aliases, responders, and spam filters.

SquirrelMail Web-based Email

Provides Web-based access to email accounts.

Squirrel Mail is an email client that uses IMAP to provide your email account users with Web-based access to their email messages.

Telnet

Provides remote access to another system over a network.

Telnet is a common terminal emulation protocol that connects computers locally or across the Internet. It allows a user at a local computer to log onto a remote computer and run a program.

To use a Telnet connection you need to be familiar with the UNIX operating system and commands.

Vacation message

Automatically responds to incoming email.

MailScanner

Email scanning service that scans incoming and outgoing emails for viruses.

Spam Filtering

Spam filtering service that scans email messages for spam and enables user level control and management of spam.

AWStats Web/FTP Log Analyzer

AWStats is a free powerful and featureful tool that generates advanced web and ftp server statistics, graphically.

Analog Web/FTP Log Analyzer

Measures the usage traffic on your Web and FTP servers.

Analog Web/FTP Log Analyzer compiles statistics about which Web pages are most popular, which countries people are visiting from, which Web site visitors tried to follow broken links from, and other such information.

Webalizer Web/FTP Log Analyzer

A free log file analysis application. Webalizer generates highly detailed usage statistics for Web and FTP servers in easily comprehensible graphical and tabular formats. The logs generated are a statistical encapsulation of user traffic on your server.