Instant ASP 2.1 Release Notes

System requirements

Instant ASP requires Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.1.7 or later to be installed and functional on your system. We strongly recommend using the latest JDK available from http://java.sun.com. For Linux, We strongly recommend using the latest JDK available from http://www.blackdown.org.


Table of Contents

I.

Installation

II.

List of enhancements and fixes

III. Support notes
IV. Security Advisory
V. Unsupported Functions



I. Installation

A. MS Windows (Win32)

For Win32 just run the InstallShield executable setup file and follow the on-screen instructions

B. UNIX/Linux

  1. Verify that you have gzip, tar utilities, and JDK/JRE 1.1.6 or newer installed on your system.

  2. Extract the tar.gz package in a temporary directory by running the following command:

    gzip -dc iasp_xxx.tar.gz | tar xvf -

  3. Run the installation shell script

    ./install.sh

  4. Follow the installation instructions displayed by the installation script.

C. Novell NetWare

Using the Windows Installer

NOTE: Before installing iASP on your NetWare system, you MUST have the Novell Servlet Gateway installed and running properly. To configure the Novell Servlet Gateway for iASP, please see "Configuring Servlet Gateway for iASP" page in the iASP online docs.

  1. To install Instant ASP on a Novell Netware system, map a drive from a Windows NetWare client to the NetWare SYS volume and use the iASP Windows installer as if you were installing iASP for Windows.

  2. Once iASP is installed, you can run the iASP Connector Wizard and choose the Novell NetWare 5.x option.

NOTE: Choosing "Netscape FastTrack/Enterprise" option in the iASP connector wizard may lead incorrect iASP configuration for Novell NS Enterprise/FastTrack servers. Please choose the Novell NetWare 5.x option instead.

Using the JAR installation package (iasp.jar)

To install iASP on Netware system using the iASP Jar package, follow the instructions below:

  1. Copy iasp.jar to the NetWare SYS volume.

  2. From the Netware console, launch iASP setup with following command:

    java -classpath /iasp.jar;/java/lib/classes.zip setup

    NOTE: the command above assumes the Jar file is located on the SYS volume.

  3. Follow the iASP setup interface to install iASP onto the Netware volume.

  4. After the Instant Installer installation is completed, go back to Netware console, launch HConfig Wizard to enable iASP to work with Netscape Webserver via ServletGateway.

Online documentation for the iASP NetWare installation can also be found at the following link: Instant ASP NetWare Configuration.

D. RPM Installation Instructions

NOTE: In the following instructions, x.x.x refers to the latest iASP version number.

  1. Copy iasp-x.x.x.i386.rpm to a RedHat 5.x (or later) system.

  2. Install the iASP RPM by typing the following at the command prompt:

    rpm -Uvh iasp-x.x.x.i386.rpm

    (NOTE: by default, iASP will be installed to /usr/iasp-x.x.x directory)

  3. You can install iASP in a different directory by entering the following command:

    rpm -Uvh --prefix /opt iasp-x.x.x.i386.rpm

  4. Run the connector.sh script located in the iASP root directory.

  5. JAVAHOME must be set to the JDK root directory within the following scripts in the iASP directory:

    connector.sh
    start-admin.sh
    start-server.sh
    stop-admin.sh
    stop-server.sh


  6. You can uninstall the iASP RPM by entering the following command:

    rpm -e iasp-x.x.x

II. List of enhancements and fixes

Please see the following page: Instant ASP Enhancements and Fixes.


III. Support notes

If you're using FrontPage extensions with Apache Web Server and are having trouble using Instant ASP, please send email to support@halcyonsoft.com. The problem is caused by a FrontPage extension modification to the Apache data structures.

Related to the above issue, a number of Apache-based webservers such as StrongHold, IBM HTTP server, and Raven have been tested. For those webservers, customized libraries can be arranged/provided by Halcyon Software upon request. Please send email to support@halcyonsoft.com for detailed information.


IV. Security Advisory

ASP scripts in any virtual (public) directory can be executed with the same permissions as that of the user who is running the iASP server and iASP administration server. Therefore, ASP scripts/applications have permissions on all the files and directories as the user who started the iASP server.

This can potentially lead to security holes in cases when you run iASP as 'root' and do not have full control over the ASP applications that are being deployed.

We highly recommend, therefore, that your run the iASP server as a user whose permissions are set according to your specific needs. For instance, you can create a user 'iASP' that has restricted read/write access to a specified directory.

The ASP scripts from this point on will only have access to this particular directory.

Customizable security has been a part of iASP since 1.0.4. You can find documentation on security features at the following link: Instant ASP Security Features

NOTE: The samples distributed with iASP are for demonstration purposes only. These samples are not intended as ASP applications sitting on production systems and we advise you to grant public access to them only after reviewing their functionality thoroughly. For instance, the File I/O sample should not be made publicly accessible unless you are sure that this exactly what you wish to do.


V. Unsupported Functions

For a list of functions that are currently not supported by the Instant ASP engine and components, please see our Unsupported Functions page. If you require immediate support for a particular unsupported function, please contact support@halcyonsoft.com.


Copyright © 1998-2002, Halcyon Software Inc. All rights reserved.