Chapter 7: Keeping a Clean and Healthy Kitchen
(Staying On-line)

Ingredients:

  • System and site maintenance
  • Security
  • Server log files and their formats
  • Tools to manage log files
  • Handling errors found in log files

That terrible moment has arrived - washing-up time. An unfitting end to a wonderful meal. You can defer the chore, but sooner or later you have to deal with it. The longer you have waited, the more unpleasant it will be. You can wash-up by hand or use a dishwasher.


Table 7-0 Miscellaneous URLs

Product Description
NetMechanic by Monte Sano Software Provides free and fee-based checks of your server with their online tools.
Power Supplies by Yahoo! A listing of resources for uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors.
Timely Mac Tune-ups by John Rizzo A feature on Mac system maintenance in the December 1997 issue of MacWorld.

Table 7-2 File Synchronization Tools

Product Description
SiteEdit Pro by Pacific Coast Software Adds remote file administration to your server.
SiteEditor.com by NewMedia Workshop A Web site development tool that stores page templates, and allows users to fill the templates via a Web interface. The filled templates are used to generate and upload finished pages to a web site.
Synchronize! by Qdea Provides file synchronization, mirroring, and backup services between remote Macintoshes.
Synchronize! Pro by Qdea A professional-strength file server mirroring, synchronization, and backup utility
TimbuktuPro by Netopia One of the leading remote operation software tools for the Macintosh.

Table 7-3 Crash Recovery Tools

Product Description
AutoBoot and Keep It Up by Karl Pottie Belgian shareware that restarts your Macintosh after a system crash and that restarts an application that quits unexpectedly or accidentally.
PageSentry by Maxum Development Uses real HTTP, FTP, SMTP, DNS, and Telnet client services to test the server for crashes.
PowerKey by Sophisticated Circuits An "intelligent" power strip with the ability to restart a machine or a crashed application.
Server-Restarting Devices by Mel Beckman A comparison in the December 1998 issue of MacWorld of MacCoach and PowerKey Rebound. MacCoach gets 4 stars while Rebound gets 3.

Table 7-4 Programs for Summarizing Web Server Log Files

Product Description
Analog by Jason Linhart Freeware that provides multiple report options, but shows its Unix roots in its interface. Recognizes NetPresenz log format.
Flash Stats by Maximized Software Commercial log analysis tool.
FunnelWeb by Active Concepts Includes real-time monitoring and notification features.
LogTran by Summary.Net Translates Web logs into common formats and split up log files based on virtual server.
Mac log tools by Grant Neufeld A listing of Mac log tools and utilities.
ServerStat by Kitchen Sink Software Kitchen Sink distributes both a commercial and (free) promotional version.
Summary by Summary.Net Shareware log analysis tool with many different reports.
WWWStat4Mac by RedPoint Software Shareware log analysis tool.

Table 7-5 ServerStat Freeware Snapshot

Product Description
ServerStat Promo by Kitchen Sink Software A commercial giveaway log analysis tool.

Table 7-6 Security tools

Product Description
CGI-Bolt by Grant Neufeld Can restrict unauthorized CGI scripts from running.
DoorStop by OpenDoor Networks A "personal firewall" that provides added security for your Macintosh by blocking connection attempts to particular TCP ports (services) from particular client IP addresses.
WebSentinel by Purity Software Commercial software to supplement your server&Mac185;s security.

Table 7-7 Security Information

Product Description
IETF Security Area by IETF The Web page of the IETF Security Area Directorate.
Java Security Resources by Donald Fischer Scholarly Papers, Mischievous Links, and Corporate Propaganda
Secure Sockets Layer by Netscape The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol page.
Security resources by Yahoo! A list of computer security-related organizations.
Web cookie security issues by Cookie Central Cookies have some security risks attached to them.
WWW Security FAQ by Lincoln Stein A security white paper from the W3 Consortium.