Citation:    MacUser, March 1995 v11 n3 p117(2)

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Title:       Roll your own Internet server. (Tutorial)

Authors:     Wiseth, Kelli

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Subjects:    Internet;  Data Communications Software;  Data
             Communications Software_!;  Tutorial;  Software Design;  
             Computer software industry_!

Companies:   Tenon Intersystems Inc._Product introduction

Products:    MachTen (Operating system)_Usage

Reference #: A16043407

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Abstract: A Macintosh can be used as an Internet server with relatively
          inexpensive hardware and software. Tenon Intersystems' MachTen
          is a version of Unix that runs on top of the Mac OS and has
          all of the networking software processes necessary for
          Internet connectivity. MachTen is easy to install and
          configure and works well even on 68030-based Macs; the minimum
          requirement is a Mac SE/30 with 5MB of RAM and 30MB of free
          hard disk space. Some early Macs will require the MODE32
          extension for the 32-bit addressing MachTen needs. MachTen
          servers can be connected to the Internet via dial-up SLIP or
          PPP, available for a monthly fee from an Internet service
          provider, and setting up an FTP server is virtually automatic.
          A company can also set up a World Wide Web server to offer
          dynamic presentations. Remote users can dial into an Internet
          server to pick up e-mail through POP server software.

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Full Text COPYRIGHT Ziff-Davis Publishing Company 1995

The Internet

With an old Mac and some inexpensive software, you can put your business
on the information highway.

It's fairly easy for an individual to get started cruising the Internet,
given the healthy range of affordable offerings from Internet-access
providers. But what about Internet access for everyone on your company
network? For even a small company of 25 people, SLIP accounts, at around
$30 a person each month, would add up to $9,000 annually (see "Shopping
for Internet Access," December '94, page 133). Large companies lower
per-user costs by setting up their own UNIX Internet servers, a route
many small companies can't afford.

Fortunately, you don't need an expensive UNIX workstation or dedicated
connections to a service provider to enable your business to slip into
the Internet. You can create your own UNIX gateway server by using an
old Mac and MachTen ($495), a version of UNIX from Tenon Intersystems
(805-963-6983) that runs on top of the Mac operating system. You can
even use your Mac UNIX server to publish material on the Internet to
provide information to clients and potential customers.

MachTen is a full-fledged UNIX operating system that has all the
networking software processes necessary to turn a Mac into an Internet
host. It is also a cheaper implementation of UNIX than Apple's upcoming
PowerOpen, which will run on a Power Mac. (Apple's A/UX is being
replaced by PowerOpen.) And MachTen is very easy to install and
configure as Internet server software.

A World of Information

Even an older 68030-based Mac running MachTen supplies all the
advantages of LAN-based Internet access without the cost and support
burden of UNIX hardware. All Mac and PC users on your company network
get the same type of access to the Internet that they would have with
individual accounts, including access to ftp (file-transfer protocol)
sites and WWW (World Wide Web) sites, as well as use of UUCP
(UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Protocol) for e-mail and access to Usenet groups.
(See "Access for Everyone.")

MachTen also offers Internet access for users while they are on the
road. For instance, remote users can dial in to an Internet server to
pick up their e-mail through the POP server software, which is part of
MachTen. And they can also dial in to their in-house network through
SLIP or PPP server software, also part of MachTen.

As a further plus, you can offer your own Internet services to the rest
of the world, giving your company a high-tech profile with a presence on
the most widely hyped medium available today. Large firms are now doing
this by posting financial reports and product information on ftp and WWW
servers.

Stress-Free Installation

For the Internet-server Mac, you need at least a Mac SE/30 with a
minimum of 5 MB of RAM (we recommend having at least 8 MB) and 30 MB of
free hard-disk space, meager requirements by UNIX standards. You won't
need a large supply of patience, since the MachTen system is easy to get
up and running, its scary-looking documentation notwithstanding. MachTen
doesn't take over your Mac, so you'll work within the familiar
environment of the Finder. And because most of the setup is automated,
it doesn't require a lot of fiddling with configuration files.

Much of the configuration occurs in the MachTen control panel (see
figure 1). Here you set the size of MachTen's virtual memory and
swap-disk file and enter network-address and subnet information. After
the configuration is complete, many of the network processes will start
automatically when MachTen boots.

However, we found that there are two things to be careful about. If
you're installing MachTen on a Mac SE/30, II, IIx, or IIcx, be sure to
install the MODE32 extension -- free for the downloading from
CompuServe, America Online, and other commercial services (see end of
article). Without MODE32, the ROMs in these four older Macs don't
support 32-bit addressing, which MachTen requires. Second, avoid the
temptation to reorganize the various files and folders MachTen installs
on your hard disk. Rearranging the file and folder structure prevents
you from logging in at the root level, something you'll need to do in
order to limit access to the appropriate individuals or groups and to
perform other administrative tasks.

You can connect your MachTen server to the Internet via a SLIP or PPP
dial-up account from a service provider, a company that charges a
monthly fee for your link. The newer PPP is better than SLIP, because it
handles errors and supports compression. The service provider will give
you unique IP (Internet Protocol) node addresses for the Macs on your
in-house LAN, which will also need Apple's MacTCP software (bundled with
System 7.5) in order to access the Internet. You'll then need to type an
IP node-address number into MacTCP on each Mac. You may find the IP
numbering scheme the least attractive aspect of the entire Internet-
server-setup process, but if you simply approach it as an organizational
task -- keeping track of which machine has which number -- it'll be a
lot easier than you might think.

With MachTen installed on the server and MacTCP on the users' Macs, you
can now set up the Internet services. Setting up an ftp server is
virtually automatic when you install and configure MachTen, if you've
checked the Enable Incoming Connections box in the MachTen control
panel. Doing so enables MachTen to run a UNIX process called ftpd (short
for ftp daemon), which invokes the ftp server software.

Users have access privileges on the ftp server as long as their names
are listed in MachTen's password file. The person doing the setup can
enter the name Anonymous in that file to allow users from around the
world to access specific files. Don't worry about strangers weaseling
their way into other sections of the server Mac's hard disk or into the
rest of your LAN. MachTen includes instructions, via a HyperCard-based
manual, for setting up the ftp server so that users are restricted to
specified areas.

To offer dynamic presentations -- walk-throughs of homes, using video
images and sound, for example -- a company can set up a World Wide Web
server, which users access with Mosaic or other graphic browsers. Tenon
offers a MachTen version of the WWW server software, called httpd (for
hypertext-transfer-protocol daemon), which you can get by accessing
Tenon's ftp server (ftp.tenon.com). Creating the hypermedia documents is
a time-consuming, labor-intensive task, however -- harder than setting
up the WWW server itself.

Gateway to the World

There are other ways to use a Mac to give your business access to the
Internet, such as using WWW and ftp server software, but these
approaches are limited. MachTen brings you the functionality of an
Internet server without the costs of supporting and maintaining UNIX
hardware.

Because MachTen is a bona fide implementation of UNIX, you can build a
complete Internet gateway for accessing the Net from your LAN. And the
server can become a purveyor of your company's marketing, tech-support,
and other kinds of literature to the millions of Internet users around
the world.

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