CGI Scripts that are Very Secure, Reliable & Free! 

Server Setup Tips

If you are a hosting company or running your own server. You've probably discovered that Linux/Apache or Windows/IIS don't come configured out of the box. Getting a web page loading isn't enough, as soon as you have some clients problems start arising when they want to run certain programs. Be that CGI, ASP, PHP or Perl. To help you skip past a lot of these problems and keep your servers running smoothly with happy clients. We have compiled a quick guide that'll save you a lot of headaches in the future. These tips are split into two sub-sections of the OS, 'Keeping clients happy' and 'Preventing server downtime'.

Linux - Apache
Windows - IIS

SafeRun.pm - The project to make perl the safest scripting language to run on any system by far.
ActivePerl campaign

Linux

Linux is by far the most popular web server operating system and for good reason. It's very reliable, performs well and most of the software you'll need to install down the line is free. If you are used to Windows systems then there is a learning curve (an often frustrating but very rewarding one). Here are some of the things you should do to get your server up to speed.

Preventing server downtime

• Apache configuration - Prevent runaway scripts and overloads
• suEXEC the CGI wrapper - Get scripts running properly and safely
• Starting Apache - Things to do if Apache refuses to start

Keeping clients happy

• Perl modules - Install popular modules now
• PHP - Give more scripting choice
• JSP - Even more scripting choice
• ASP - Not restricted to windows servers
• MySQL - Most popular DB for online applications

Windows

Windows is by far the most popular desktop operating system. From Windows2000 onward it's also a candidate as a web server. Much of the software to add new features to the server can be very expensive, such as MSSQL. As you'll find as a host (if you haven't already) clients will also require much of the open source (free) features such as MySQL. As the majority of web scripting software, even that designed for Windows servers prefer to utilize open source programs. Here are some of the things you should do to get your server up to speed.

Preventing server downtime

• IIS configuration - Prevent runaway scripts and overloads
• Timeout.pm - Get ASP style control over CGI scripts

Keeping clients happy

• Perl - Installing Perl enables more than just CGI, it also extends ASP
• Perl modules - Install popular modules now
• PHP - Give more scripting choice
• JSP - Even more scripting choice
• MySQL - Most popular DB for online applications

SafeRun.pm

We think Perl should be the safest scripting language to run on any system. We have started the project named SafeRun.pm, a perl module that can be loaded by scripts or set by default by the web server (Apache, IIS). The aim of this module is to provide easy to set features that:-

• Allow CPU throttling within Perl itself
• Allow advanced timeout control
• Allow advanced memory consumption control

If you are an advanced Perl programmer with experience of XS and C/C++, we would greatly appreciate your help with this project. We are building up a team and funding, and can pay for some of the work.

ActivePerl campaign

By default Perl distributions do not come with some very popular modules that many programs require. As ActivePerl is our preferred Perl distribution and the one we always recommend. We are campaigning for 3 things.

a) For them to include the following modules in their distribution by default:-

• LWP
• DBI
• DBD::mysql
• DBD::ODBC
• Image::Size
• Archive::Zip

b) That in IIS by default the .cgi extension is associated with Perl the same way .pl files are after install.

c) To add a recommendation in their documentation that Win32 users running Windows2000 should use Timeout.pm. This is to prevent server crashes when scripts runaway in a certain kind of loop.

Please add your support to our campaign. And contact ActiveState with your request for them to include these modules in their distribution. Please follow up with them if you did not get a response. You can copy and paste the text below, but make sure you enter your own name and any extra details you feel fit.

Hello ActiveState, I am contacting you to show my support for the ActivePerl campaign run by CosmicScripts.com. Campaign details can be found at:- http://www.cosmicscripts.com/server/index.html#ActivePerl My request is that:- A) Your distribution be updated to include the following modules by default:- LWP DBI DBD::mysql DBD::ODBC Image::Size Archive::Zip B) That in IIS by default the .cgi extension is associated with Perl the same way .pl files are after install. C) That your documentation be updated for Win32 users, specifically Windows2000 users. Recommending them to utilize the module Timeout.pm to prevent server crashes when a perl script goes into a certain runaway loop. With the Timeout.pm module installed you can change the IIS App Mappings for .pl and .cgi from:- C:\Perl\bin\perl.exe "%s" %s to C:\Perl\bin\perl.exe -MTimeout=300 "%s" %s This stops runaway scripts from going after (in this example) 300 seconds. We know there is a CGI timeout in IIS, but it doesn't work when certain runaways occur and the system becomes unusable. Without this in place many Windows2000 hosts are forced to hit the reset switch.