Using your Windows 2003 webspace

This page is here to provide answers to some common questions about NetBenefit Win2003 web space.

What version of IIS is the server running?
What file types does my Win2003 webspace support?
What is the default directory structure of my webspace?
Where do I upload my databases?
How many databases can I have for my site?
What sort of databases are supported on my site?
How do I set up ODBC Data Source Names for my databases?
How do I connect to my NetBenefit Shared MS-SQL database from my Win2003 website?
How do I connect to my NetBenefit Shared mySQL database from my Win2003 website?
How do I upload my web pages from FrontPage?
How do I request FrontPage Server Extensions on my site?
What version of FrontPage Server Extensions are supported on my site?
How do I change my webspace password?
How can I send email from a form hosted on a Win2003 site?
Where do I put Perl scripts? Do I need to make a /cgi-bin folder?
Why do I get 404 errors when downloading files with unusual file extensions?
Why do I get 'Disallowed Parent Path' errors when using ../ notation in my scripts?

1. What version of IIS is the server running?

All Windows 2003 servers run IIS 6.0

2. What file types does my Win2003 webspace support?

Our Windows 2003 webservers will support all of the standard files that ship as part of the operating system.
As well as static HTML pages this includes ASP (Active Server Pages) scripts, ASP.NET and SHTML pages.
The servers also support Perl (.pl) files - our Win2003 webservers run version 5.83 of Active Perl.
Please note that the the implementation of ASP.NET on Windows 2003 is different from versions of ASP.NET on previous operating systems such as Windows 2000.
Therefore any ASP.NET applications developed on platforms other than Windows 2003 may behave differently when run on Windows 2003 webspace.
It is recommended that any ASP.NET code intended for use on a Windows 2003 server be developed or tested on a similar platform prior to uploading to Windows 2003 webspace.

3. What is the default directory structure of my webspace?

Once you have made the connection to your webspace using FTP, you will see that the area has been arranged into three areas.

The databases directory is designed to hold your databases securely, outside the main web area. In this folder your databases will have the correct read/write permissions and will be protected from direct HTTP access.

The logs directory holds a series of raw log files which you can use to generate your own statistics; however we automatically generate a statistics report daily which can be accessed via www.yourdomain/stats/

The website directory is designed to hold your web pages, images and scripts, which are to be accessible to visitors to your website.

Inside your website directory you will find a subdirectory called stats. This read-only area contains your website statistics and control panel.

4. Where should I upload my databases?

All databases should be uploaded to the databases folder on your webspace, where they will have the correct read/write permissions and will be protected from direct HTTP access.

5. How many databases can I have for my site?

As many as you want. NetBenefit doesn't restrict the number of Databases that you can have.

Note that all databases should be uploaded to the databases folder on your webspace, where they will have the correct read/write permissions and will be protected from direct HTTP access.

6. What sort of databases are supported on my site?

On the Win2003 webspace itself, you may use MS Access databases, MS FoxPro databases and even MS Excel-based databases.

MSAccess is recommended. You may create ODBC Data Source Names for MSAccess databases, see below.

You may also connect to our shared MS- SQL 2000 and mySQL database servers if you have purchased a database on either.

The recommended way of connecting to these external databases is via a connection string.

7. How do I set up ODBC Data Source Names for my databases?

You may create an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) for any Microsoft Access (.mdb) database that you have uploaded to your Databases folder.

To create a DSN, please go to your statistics page http://www.yourdomain/stats/ where you will find a link to the online DSN management tool for your website.

Your DSN will be of the format username-databasename e.g. if your username was nt1234 and your database was called properties.mdb your datasource would be nt1234-properties. For DSNs for other database types please email support@netbenefit.com.

8. How do I connect to my NetBenefit Shared MS-SQL database from my Win2003 website?

The best way is via a connection string.

You will need to know your username, password, database name and name of the server on which your database is hosted.

Here is an example of an ASP script running a SELECT query on a MS-SQL database:

    StrSQL = "SELECT * FROM tblPlaces WHERE City='London'"

	    Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")

	    ConnStr = "Driver={SQL Server};Server=myserver.netbenefit.com;"

	    ConnStr = ConnStr & "Database=mydatabase;UID=myusername;PWD=mypassword;"

	    Conn.Open ConnStr

	    Set RS = Conn.Execute(StrSQL)

9. How do I connect to my NetBenefit Shared mySQL database from my Win2003 website?

The best way is via a connection string.

You will need to know your username, password, database name and name of the server on which your database is hosted.

Here is an example of an ASP script running a SELECT query on a mySQL database:

    StrSQL = "SELECT * FROM tblPlaces WHERE City='London'"

	    Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")

	    ConnStr = "Driver={MySQL ODBC 3.51 Driver};Server=myserver.netbenefit.com;"

	    ConnStr = ConnStr & "Database=mydatabase;UID=myusername;PWD=mypassword;"

	    Conn.Open ConnStr

	    Set RS = Conn.Execute(StrSQL)

10. How do I upload my web pages from FrontPage?

Before you attempt to publish your FrontPage web, you should request that the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on your website (see below). This will ensure you are able to use FrontPage components and features in your web. If you do not have FrontPage Extensions, you will be unable to publish using the conventional method; FrontPage will default to FTP mode and parts of your site may not work as a result.

After creating and saving your web in FrontPage, select from the menus "File"-"Publish Web...". You will then be presented with the Publish Web dialog box. The top of this box asks you to specify where to publish your web to - enter your URL. Clicking on the Options button will give you the choice whether to publish only the changed pages or all pages (overwriting any already on your web site). Then click on the Publish button. A new dialog box will pop-up asking you for your UserID and Password for your web site. After entering these FrontPage will publish your web to your Win2003 webspace.

11. How do I request FrontPage Server Extensions on my site?

From your stats page you can request to have FrontPage extensions added.
We aim to get these installed within one working day.

12. What version of FrontPage Server Extensions are supported on my site?

Our Win2003 webservers support FrontPage 2002 Server Extensions.

13. How do I change my web space password?

You will need to send a fax on headed paper to +44 (0)20 7549 5274 or login to your control panel at https://control.netbenefit.com/ and send a request using the request form in the Support section.
Please state your company ID, domain name and webspace username (e.g. nt1234).

14. How can I send email from a form hosted on a Win2003 site?

For ASP scripts you could use the CDOSYS component.

A sample form and form-to-email script using CDOSYS, plus examples of CDOSYS usage, may be found here.

15. Where do I put Perl scripts? Do I need to make a /cgi-bin folder?

You may put Perl scripts anywhere on your website.

You do not need to put them in /cgi-bin or /cgi, nor do you need any special permissions setting.

The only condition is that all Perl scripts must use the .pl file extension. (.cgi will not work.)

16. Why do I get 404 errors when downloading files with unusual file extensions?

Any file that is requested via HTTP from a Windows 2003 webserver is first checked in the MIME type database.

If the file extension is not found, then the file will not be served and a 404 error will be returned.

Windows 2003 will serve files commonly associated with websites (e.g. .html, .gif, .jpg), file extensions associated with Microsoft products (e.g. .doc, .xls) and file extensions associated with popular third party products (e.g. .pdf, .zip, .swf) because they are registered in the MIME types database.

More unusual file extensions, especially those for lesser used third party or custom products, are unlikely to be recognised.

This is a new security feature on Windows 2003.

Previous versions of Windows would treat an unrecognised file extension as indicative of a binary file and would display the message Would you like to open the file or save it to your computer? but this no longer happens on Windows 2003.

You can work around this issue by placing the files within ZIP files (.zip extension).

The .zip extension is registered in the MIME type database. ZIP files can be opened on any Windows XP or Windows 2003 machine, or any client machine with Winzip installed.

This should not be detrimental to the operation of your website as the file types that fall into this category typically cannot be displayed in a browser anyway and have to be saved to the visitor's local drive.

17. Why do I get 'Disallowed Parent Path' errors when using ../ notation in my scripts?

Parent paths are disabled by default on Windows 2003 servers.

This means that if you attempt to use code such as

MyPath = Server.MapPath("../includes/myfile.inc")

...you will get an error:

Active Server Pages error 'ASP 0131' Disallowed Parent Path The Include file 'filename' cannot contain '..' to indicate the parent directory.

You need to either specify the full path to the file (E:\Inetpub\XXXX\website\<your folder>\<your file>), or specify the virtual path relative to the root 'website' folder (/<your folder>/<your file>), e.g.

MyPath = Server.MapPath("/includes/myfile.inc")