Ultratron FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. This section is updated frequently, so feel free to check back often for helpful hints and tips. If you have a question which is not answered here, please let us know.
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Useful tips and details that you will need to know.
A "test" webpage has been set up for you at: http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/index.html A "test" CGI program has been set up for you at http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/test.cgi
WEB Server Details: ------------------- Hardware: Pentium III/500 OS: UNIX (Redhat Linux 6.1 or later). Domain: ultratron.net or YourDomain WebServer: Apache 1.3.9 Server or later Email: YourEmailId@YourDomain Home Directory: /home/Your_login_id Document Root: /home/Your_login_id/www (this is a subdirectory named "www" under your home).
Use Secure Shell (SSH) for shell access or FTP using YourDomain.[com|org] (after your domain is registered). login/password as per your contract.
To use your account before the Internic has gotten around to registering your domain name, we add temporary aliases for you:
FTP: YourDomain.ultratron.net LOGIN/PASSWORD as per your contract
SSH: scorpion.ultratron.net LOGIN/PASSWORD as per your contract
WEB URL: http://YourDomain.ultratron.net/Remember that your website "DocumentRoot" is the subdirectory named "www" under your home directory. Only files in your DocumentRoot and under it will be accessible from the web. This allows you to keep a section of your server space separate and inaccessible from the web if you should choose to do so (very useful for secure CGI etc.).
Where "YourDomain" is the part WITHOUT the .com or the .org. also "www" is NOT part of the domain name.
You should NOT continue to use the temporary aliases once the Internic has officially registered your domain. We remove temporary aliases within a few days of the official Internic notification.
When your domain is registered, it will be: http://www.YourDomain.com/ The default home page file is index.html You can create subdirectories as you wish, using the command mkdir. In any directory, index.html will become the default home page if it exists. Make it a practice to have one in each directory, or YOU COULD BE OPEN TO SECURITY INTRUSION via the Web if you do not. NOTE *** You are responsible for space usage, security within your directory tree, and backup of your directory.
Every domain is configured with it's own email addresses, for example webmaster@yourdomainname.com There are four types of email: - 1. UNLIMITED FORWARD: all emails to your domain are forwarded to a single external email address like YourName@aol.com - 2. INDIVIDUAL FORWARD: Individual email aliases are forwarded individually, for example webmaster@youdomainname.com goes to jack1234@aol.com sales@yourdomainname.com goes to jill5678@compuserve.com etc. - 3. POP3: Each alias has their own private mailbox with it's own login ID and password and the email resides on OUR mailservers until you pick it up. POP3 has the following parameters: Alias : e.g. jane@yourdomainname.com webmaster@yourdomain.com Login ID : e.g. jane2 (2-8 characters) Password : e.g. ******** (SECRET! never send this by email!) 7 or 8 characters, cryptic, no names or words. INBOUND (POP3) MAILSERVER : mail.yourdomainname.com OUTBOUND (SMTP) MAILSERVER : your ISP's SMTP mailserver If using Eudora set POP3 account to your_login_id@mail.yourdomain.com and set "Reply to:" to your_email_address@yourdomain.com - 4. MIX OF ABOVE You can mix and match so you have some aliases forwarded, some aliases going to POP3 boxes, and a default (unlimited) forward for the rest. TO CONFIGURE OR CHANGE YOUR EMAIL, SEND AN EMAIL TO support@ultratron.net NEVER send POP3 password information via email! For Security, please fax passwords to 937-235-0795 or use our secure control panel (a feature for our customers that gives more control over their accounts).
We maintain multiple levels of backup in case of server failure, disk crashes, etc. etc. However, you are ultimately responsible for backup of your files. Please make sure you have adequately backed up your files whenever you make a change. In case of an emergency, we will do whatever we can to help you restore your files, however we cannot guarantee it. Also please be advised that in UNIX, there is no such thing as an "undelete command" like in DOS/Windows. If you do need files restored, let us know asap because backups are performed automatically every 24 hours.
These are TEXT (ASCII) files, stored anywhere in your directory tree. Rolling your own HTML? Try sausage.com's "Hot Dog" HTML editor, Microsoft FronPage, or any of the fine Web creation programs that are now available.
These are gif or jpg file, and are BINARY files. You can also install ShockWave images and sound, VRML, and other snazzy Multimedia stuff to your heart's content! Please remember the clause in your contract regarding illegal material. We will strictly enforce. If in doubt, don't.
You can install imagemaps. The .map file must be NCSA format, not CERN. Here is an example HTML source for imagemaps: < A HREF="topbar.map"> < IMG SRC="topbar.gif" ALT="toolbar" BORDER=0 ISMAP> < /A> (Remove the space right after the < character in these examples) You can use "mapedit" in MS Windows or any one of numerous map editing tools to create an imagemap for your image.
CGI is available to Gold and higher accounts. Binary executables or perl scripts can be installed anywhere in your webspace. You can create subdirectories and install your CGI there too. You may name your directories anything you like, EXCEPT the following reserved names: cgi-bin *** DO NOT CREATE A DIRECTORY WITH THIS NAME *** icons *** DO NOT CREATE A DIRECTORY WITH THIS NAME *** imagemaps *** DO NOT CREATE A DIRECTORY WITH THIS NAME *** A directory named "cgi-bin" has been created for you in your space. This directory is outside of your "www" directory i.e. "DocumentRoot" and is thus a good place to put cgi for security reasons. This directory can be referenced via the alias "/cgi-bin/" for example: http://www.yourdomainname.com/cgi-bin/yourcgi.cgi You can also place your cgi anywhere in your "www" directory or DocumentRoot. For example you could create a directory named mycgi (UNDER www) and reference it like so: http://www.yourdomainname.com/mycgi/yourcgi.cgi Also, all cgi files MUST have the extension ".cgi". All server side includes MUST have extension ".shtml" Gold and higher accounts can upload their source files, and use the C compiler/editor facilities on line for free. Perl version 5 is installed (latest). Remember, perl files are TEXT (ASCII), and executables are BINARY files for FTP. C files are ASCII (source) but BIN when compiled. gzip'd and tar'd files are binary (of course). If you are building binaries remotely, the binaries MUST be built on an identical machine, i.e. a Pentium 500 running RedHat Linux 6.1 and 2.2.x kernel. If in doubt, it is better to use perl (version 5.003). Do not use shell scripts for CGI. Very inefficient and stressful for Web Servers, and no longer popular. CGI is pure programming, and not that easy. If you need help, do holler ... we will try and answer any questions, or point you in the right direction. Send email to support@ultratron.net for quicker response.
You may notice a file "404error.html" in your home directory. This is the file that your visitors receive when they encounter a non-existent link (usually a HTML or CGI bug on your part :-). This file is prettier than the usual grey "File not found, Error 404" message that you are probably familiar with. You can edit this file as you wish. Leave the name unchanged. It is just a regular HTML file.
Raw access logs (in NCSA format) are stored in your webspace in the "logs" subdirectory. You can run various logs analysis tools on these such as "wwwstat". The wwwstat [ackage (version 2.0) is installed on the webserver. You will need to tweak it to your specific domain and directories to get it to work as follows: In your home directory a file named .wwwstatrc has been placed. Edit the following two variables to suit your domain name: $DefaultLog $AppendToLocalhost Then, whenever you wish, telnet into your account and run the following command: wwwstat > logs.html And you can view the result at http://www.yourdomain.com/logs.html NOTE: This is a CPU intensive command. Please keep it to a minimum. And also, please keep your log files trimmed. To trim the logs execute the following command in telnet: clearlogs yourdomain.com NOTE: Logs can take up a significant amount of disk space and do count toward your account quota. Because of this, they are disabled by default. If you would like logging enabled for your account, please send email to support@ultratron.net.
support@ultratron.net <--- Tech support billing@ultratron.net <--- Accounting/billing, non technical webmaster@ultratron.net <--- Only for http://www.ultratron.net/ DO NOT USE: root root@ultratron.net
NCSA "htaccess" password security is available, or you can write your own CGI for it. ********************************************************* *** NEVER SEND PASSWORDS OR CREDIT CARD INFO BY EMAIL *** *** ALWAYS SEND THESE BY PHONE/FAX, OR ENCRYPTED. *** ********************************************************* The server is backed up nightly, though individual files and directories are YOUR responsibility. We will try to help if you accidentally delete a file or whole directory, but no promises. Unix is not very forgiving about things like that, unlike DOS! Occasionally there will be network outages beyond our control, and other times we will be down for emergency maintenance etc. Hopefully these will not affect you 99% of the time, but hope you will bear with us when it happens :-) If you experience consistent problems over a long period or days, do tell us about it and we will work with the network providers to straighten it out as far as we can.
Needless to say, please keep your ID and password secure, do not give it out unnecessarily and *NEVER* send it over email. Change your password every couple of months by faxing in the new password to us at any time. THERE IS NO CHARGE TO CHANGE PASSWORDS AT ANY TIME. Make your passwords easy to remember but hard to "crack". DO NOT use first or last names DO NOT use any word that can be found in the dictionary DO NOT make the password the same as the account name DO use a mix of numbers and letters (* NOW REQUIRED*) DO make your password at least six characteres long (*REQUIRED*) DO use a mix of upper case and lower case if you like DO use non-alphanumeric characters (! @ $ % &) DO use an easy to rember mnemonic, For example: "fhi1jgf" For He Is ONE Jolly Good Fellow "dd4pres" Donald Duck FOR PRESident
Ask us, we may already have it or we can get it and install it (for free or whatever it costs us).
The InterNIC charges for domain registration and maintenance. If you sign up for your domain name on our page we invoice you directly. If you sign up for your domain with another registrar, they will bill you seperately. You are responsible for the admin and billing information of your name, as well as for any trademark/copyright issues regarding your domain name. Ultratron does not charge a seperate fee for "domain setup" when signing up for an account. Internic's fee is annual.
Please remember, this is "server-ready" space, i.e. you provide all the HTML and/or CGI. However, if you do have any questions, we will always be ready to help ... send us email, and we will respond, and even look at your HTML and/or CGI on a time-available basis (free of course, unless it is something horribly complicated :-). Again, welcome aboard, and I hope you enjoy our service and the world of the Internet!
Any questions? Email support@ultratron.net.