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Getting Started

his chapter tells you how to begin using your Netscape Collabra Server. It describes how to install, upgrade, start, stop, uninstall, and remove your server. It also discusses the information that you need to know before installing your server. This chapter describes the following tasks:

Overview

The Netscape Collabra Server CD-ROM contains installation programs for Netscape Navigator 3.01 and for Netscape Collabra Server 3.0. You'll need to install a copy of Netscape Navigator 3.01 or a later version to administer the Collabra Server.

The Collabra Server installation process automatically installs Netscape Administration Server and Netscape Collabra Server. The administration server provides a single interface, called the Server Administration page, from which you can administer all of your Netscape servers. The administration server can be accessed with a JavaScript and forms-capable web browser, such as Netscape Navigator 3.01, which is included on the Collabra Server CD-ROM. For more information about the administration server, see Managing Netscape Servers.

Important terminology

You should understand the following terms before you install your Collabra Server.

Netscape Administration Server: This is a component of Netscape SuiteSpot and SuiteSpot Pro that allows administrators to remotely manage their SuiteSpot servers through a single interface.

Netscape Collabra Server: This is a component of Netscape SuiteSpot and SuiteSpot Pro that replaces the Netscape News Server. Netscape Collabra Server allows users to share information through the use of discussion groups.

Netscape Directory Server: This is a a component of Netscape SuiteSpot and SuiteSpot Pro that provides an LDAP-complaint directory service.

Netscape Navigator: This is Netscape's Internet browser.

Netscape News Server: This is the predecessor to Netscape Collabra Server.

Netscape SuiteSpot and SuiteSpot Pro: These are suites of intranet and Internet server software from Netscape Communications Corporation.

discussion group: This is a collection of articles kept on one or more Collabra Servers. A discussion group is related to a particular topic, which is usually reflected in the discussion name. Synonymous with newsgroup, discussion group is the term more commonly used in enterprise environments.

Server Administration page: This is the interface of the Netscape Administration Server from which an administrator can configure SuiteSpot servers.

server root: For the purposes of this manual, this is the directory into which you install your Collabra Server.

Before you install

Before you install your Netscape Collabra Server, be sure that your computer system meets the following requirements.

Supported Platforms

Netscape Collabra Server 3.0 for Windows NTruns on the following platforms:

Hardware and Software requirements

 Netscape Collabra Server needs specific hardware and software to operate. Before you can install a server, your computer must have the following:

Other technical requirements

 Once you have the proper hardware and software for installing Netscape Collabra Server, you should also be aware of the following:

Choosing a directory service

 You will need to use a directory service with your Collabra Server. You can choose from either of the following directory services:

The local directory service is intended primarily for sites running a stand-alone Netscape server. This service will not support more than 1,000 discussion groups. Sites running multiple Netscape servers that need to share user and user group or discussion group information must use Netscape Directory Server. You should also use Netscape Directory Server if you plan to have more than 1,000 discussion groups on your Collabra Server and are concerned about your server's performance. If you want identical access control in replicated versions of discussion groups, the discussion groups can either use the same directory server or the directory information can be replicated into multiple directory servers.

For more information on directory services, see Managing Netscape Servers.

Choosing port numbers

You need two port numbers: one for the administration server and one for the Collabra Server. The administration server does not have a standard port number. The standard Collabra Server port number is 119 and the secure Collabra Server port number is 563, but you can install the Collabra Server to any port. When you access the administration forms, you are using the administration server's port number-not the Collabra Server's port number.

Make sure the port number you choose isn't in use.

Note
Most ports under 1024 are reserved for specific uses. If you choose a port number less than 1024 for either the administration server or the Collabra Server, you must start that server as the root user.

Installation instructions

The Netscape Collabra Server CD-ROM contains installation programs for both Netscape Navigator 3.01 and Netscape Collabra Server 3.0. Because you need a copy of Navigator 3.01 or later to administer your server, you should install Navigator onto your machine first.

Installing 2.x and 3.x administration
servers together

There are times when you'll want to install both 2.x and 3.x administration servers on the same computer.

Netscape Directory Server 1.02 uses a 2.x administration server and Collabra Server 3.0 uses a 3.x administration server. Therefore, it is important that you take note of the instructions in this section if you plan to install both servers on your machine.

Because the 2.x version of the administration server isn't fully compatible with more recent versions of the administration server, you need to take special precautions before installing both versions on a single computer. For a list of Netscape servers that use the 2.x administration server, see Managing Netscape Servers. You should consider the following items when using servers of both versions:

Installing Netscape Navigator
NT will accept either backward () or forward (/) slashes. For consistency, all slashes in this book will be / slashes.
To install Netscape Navigator:

  1. Go to the ntx86/nav301 directory on the CD-ROM.

  2. From the file manager or DOS Console Window, run the setup.exe program. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Installing the Collabra Server
Note
If you are using Netscape Directory Server version 1.02 or greater as your directory service, install the directory server before installing the Collabra Server. For information on installing the directory server, see the Netscape Directory Server 1.02 readme. You can run the SuiteSpot Integration tool before installing the Collabra Server to automatically generate configuration information necessary to the Collabra Server installation process. For more information on the SuiteSpot Integration tool, see the Netscape Directory Server 1.02 readme.
The Collabra Server installation program automatically installs an administration server
To install Netscape Collabra Server:

  1. Log into the system using an account that can fully administer the system.

  2. Put the Netscape Collabra Server CD-ROM in the drive.

  3. Go to the ntx86/col30 directory.

  4. From the file manager or DOS Console Window, run the setup.exe program.

  5. Follow the onscreen instructions. You will need to enter values for the following:

Note:
If you installed Netscape Directory Server 1.02 or Netscape News Server 2.x on the same machine, you must install the Collabra Server into a different server root. These servers install and use a different version of the administration server from Collabra Server 3.0.
You may now start the administration server to begin administering your Collabra Server.

Migrating a 2.x News Server to Collabra Server 3.0

 If you have Netscape News Server 2.x already installed on your machine, you can migrate it to Collabra Server 3.0. You can migrate only after you have installed Collabra Server 3.0. The migration process imports all of the users and groups from the 2.x server's database into the 3.0 Collabra Server. For secure 2.x News Servers, the migration process also imports the certificate database into the 3.0 Collabra Server. For more information on the migration of the 2.x users and groups, see "How 2.x users and groups are migrated" on page 20.

Warning!
The Access Control model for Collabra Server 3.0 has changed, therefore, at the completion of the upgrade process, you will need to manually migrate your 2.x access control rules into your new 3.0 server. For more information on manually migrating your 2.x access control rules into your 3.0 server, see "Migrating access control rules" on page 18.

To upgrade a 2.x Netscape News Server:

  1. From either the Start Menu or the Program Manager, open Control Panel|Services. The Services window appears.

  2. Shut down your 2.x server and change startup to manual.

  3. Start the 3.x administration server. For more information on starting the administration server, see "Starting the administration server" on page 24.

  4. Start the upgrade process by clicking the "Migrate from previous server" link on the Server Administration page. For more information on the Server Administration page, see "Using the Server Administration page" on page 26.

  5. Specify the directory where Netscape News Server 2.x resides and press Enter.

  6. Click on the checkbox for the server(s) you wish to import and press Enter. The Upgrade form appears.

  7. Read the information on the Upgrade form.

  8. Enter the following information:

  9. Migrate your 2.x access control rules into your new 3.x server. For more information on migrating your access control rules, see "Migrating access control rules" on page 18.

After the migration of your 2.x News Server, the article spool remains in the same location and the 3.0 Collabra Server points to this spool. All articles are retrieved during the upgrade. If you wish to change the spool location of your 3.0 server, you need to copy the spool and follow the instructions for changing the spool location in the Collabra Server Administrator's Guide.

Warning
Uninstalling or removing your 2.x server will remove your 2.x spool if it is located under your 2.x server root. Therefore, you should not uninstall or remove your 2.x server if your 3.0 server points to the same spool. If you must uninstall or remove your 2.x server, you must first copy the spool to a new location (not in your 2.x server root) and then change the spool location of the 3.0 server. The instructions for changing the spool location of the 3.0 server are discussed in the Collabra Server Administrator's Guide.

Warning
If you leave both the 2.x and 3.0 server pointing to the same article spool, Netscape recommends that you do not restart your 2.x server. If you need to switch back and forth between 2.x and 3.0 servers that share the same spool, be aware of the following:

Migrating access control rules

 To migrate access control rules,

  1. From the Server Selector for your 2.x News Server, select Access Control|View/Manage Access Rules. In the View/Manage Newsgroup Access Rules form that appears, you can view the 2.x access control rules that you will need to migrate to your 3.0 server.

  2. From the Collabra Server 3.0 interface, select Discussion Groups|Manage Discussion Groups. The Manage Discussion Groups form appears.

  3. In the "Discussion group to manage" field, enter the name of the discussion group for which you are defining access control rules. If you want to define access control rules for several discussion groups, leave the asterisk in this field.

  4. Click OK. The Discussion Group Manager form appears.

  5. Select the discussion group to which you wish to add an access control rule.

  6. Click the Access Control Rules tab. The Access Control Rules form appears in the lower frame.

  7. Enter the appropriate access control rules. For more information on using the Access Control Rules form, see the section entitled "Controlling access to a discussion group" in the Collabra Server Administrator's Guide.

How 2.x users and groups are migrated

 After upgrading is complete, the 2.x users and groups will be in the 3.0 Collabra Server. The upgrade process creates the following files in the
3.x server root/authdb/2.x server database name directory:

Note
In the following list, the 2.x server database is the name of the database that the 2.x News Server was using. The 3.x server database is the directory service that the Collabra Server is using (either the local directory service or a remote directory server). The 3.x server root is the directory where the Collabra Server is installed. The LDAP server can be a local directory service or a remote directory server.

Installing additional Collabra Server instances

 You can install another Collabra Server instance from the Server Administration page. Installing another server instance creates a new directory for the new server's configuration files. The new server instance shares the program binaries with your existing server.

To install another Collabra Server instance:

  1. Start the administration server. For more information on starting the administration server, see "Starting the administration server" on page 24.

  2. Click the "Create New Netscape Collabra Server 3.0" link on the Server Administration page. For more information on the Server Administration page, see "Using the Server Administration page" on page 26.

  3. Enter values for the following:

  4. Click OK. You can return back to the Server Administration page after installing the server.

Installing multiple server instances on different ports

 You can install multiple server instances on different ports on a single computer. The software license allows you to install the Collabra Server multiple times as long as all the installations are on one computer. For example, you can install two server instances with one using encryption and the other not. Using the administration server, you can manage both servers from a single Server Administration page interface.

Uninstalling and removing the
Collabra Server

You can either uninstall or remove a Collabra Server from your machine. To uninstall a server is to delete all associated files, including the binaries. Removing a server is simply removing an instance of the server. The binaries still remain intact and can be used to create a new instance of the server.

Uninstalling the Collabra Server

There are two methods for uninstalling the Collabra Server.

Option One
  1. From the Start Menu or Program Manager, open the Netscape folder.

  2. Select the Uninstall Collabra icon.

  3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Option Two

  1. Start the administration server. For more information on starting the administration server, see "Starting the administration server" on page 24.

  2. Click the "Remove Server" link on the Server Administration page. For more information on the Server Administration page, see "Using the Server Administration page" on page 26.

  3. Follow the onscreen instructions choosing to delete the Collabra Server binaries from your machine.

  4. Click OK.

    Note
    While uninstalling the Collabra Server, you should not switch to any other program window.

Removing a Collabra Server instance

 To remove an instance of Netscape Collabra Server,

  1. Start the administration server. For more information on starting the administration server, see "Starting the administration server" on page 24.

  2. Click the "Remove Server" link on the Server Administration page. For more information on the Server Administration page, see"Using the Server Administration page" on page 26.

  3. Follow the onscreen instructions choosing not to delete the Collabra Server binaries from your machine.

  4. Click OK.

Starting and stopping the administration server

 The administration server allows you to configure and manage your Netscape server. The administration server starts automatically at the completion of the Collabra Server installation process. For more information on the administration server, see Managing Netscape Servers.

Starting the administration server

There are two ways to start the administration server:

Once you have started the administration server, you need to connect to it. Using a browser that supports frames and JavaScript, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0, enter the following URL for the administration server:

http://servername.sub_domain.domain:port_number

In the previous URL, use the port number for the administration server (not the port number for the Collabra Server) that you specified during installation. You will be prompted for a username and password. Type the administration server username and password you specified during the installation. The Server Administration page appears. For more information on the Server Administration page, see "Using the Server Administration page" on page 27.

Stopping the administration server

To stop the administration server:

  1. Open the Control Panel|Services applet.

  2. Select Netscape Administration Server 3.0.

  3. Click Stop.

Using the Server Administration page

When you start the administration server, you see the Server Administration page screen, as shown in Figure 1.1.

Server Administration page

From the Server Administration page, you can perform the following tasks:

Starting and stopping the Collabra Server

 Once you have started the administration server, you can start your Collabra Server. There are several ways to start and stop the Collabra Server. The following sections discuss these methods.

Starting the Collabra Server

To start a Collabra Server, the administration server must be running. The Collabra Server installation process automatically starts the administration server. You can start the Collabra Server in one of the following ways:

Using the Server Administration page

From the Server Administration page, you can start the Collabra Server by using one of the following options:

Option 1

Select the On/Off toggle button next to the server you wish to start.

Option 2
  1. Select the name of the Collabra Server you want to start.

  2. Choose System Settings|Start/Stop the server.

  3. Click Start.

Using the control panel

 From the control panel:

.
  1. Open the Control Panel|Services applet from the NT main folder

  2. Select the Netscape Collabra Server that you want to start.

  3. Click Start.

Using the file manager

 Run the start-news.exe found in C:/server root/news-name,
where C:/server root is the directory where your Collabra Server is installed and name is the name of your server.

Stopping the Collabra Server

You can stop a server in one of the following ways:

Using the Server Administration page

From the Server Administration page screen, you can stop the Collabra Server by using one of the following options:

Option 1

Select the On/Off toggle button next to the server you wish to start.

Option 2
  1. Select the name of the Collabra Server you want to stop.

  2. Choose System Settings|Start/Stop the server.

  3. Click Stop.

Using the control panel
  1. Choose Control Panel|Services applet from NT main folder.

  2. Select the Netscape Collabra Server that you want to stop.

  3. Click Stop.

Using the File manager

 Run the stop-news.exe found in C:/server root/news-name,
where C:/server root is the directory where your Collabra Server is installed and name is the name of your server.

Using your server

Once you have installed your server, you can begin to configure and manage it. For information on how to administer your server, see the Collabra Server Administrator's Guide.

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