MiniPortal: Setup Test InformationOverviewSetting up a web server and web site for access from the internet requires several software components and services be setup and configured. If you made it to this point, you have already done most of the setup work (whether you knew it or not). The MiniPortal Setup Test will guide you through the remaining steps without requiring you to understand all of the details for each step. For those interested, the details are described below. Software Components and Services1. Web Server
2. Internet Connection and Network Configuration
3. Domain (or subdomain) Name
4. DNS
Item 1 is done when MiniPortal is installed. But, always check that MiniPortal is running before completing the setup process. Items 2, 3, and 4 are usually the cause of any problems. The MiniPortal Setup Test for these items and instructions if this test fails are given below. The instructions for test failure are also given when the tests are run. Note: the details of the test for Item 4 will vary greatly, depending on if a trial subdomain name, a domain name, or a non-trial subdomain name is used. This is because the domain name registrar, the DNS service (which is also the domain name registrar in some cases), and the MiniPortal configuration are likely to be quite different for each case. Setup Test: Internet Connection and Network ConfigurationThe MiniPortal Setup Test performs a 'basic access test' of the web server from the internet to test the internet connection and network configuration (see basic access test for more details). This test will only pass if:
Note: since the test can not directly check if MiniPortal is running, you must manually check that MiniPortal is running before using the test. If MiniPortal is not running, the test will fail, but the reason given may be incorrect. If MiniPortal is running but the test fails, then the most likely cause is that the local network configuration is incorrect; the most common reason for this is a user's firewall, router, or proxy server is preventing access to the web server (see firewall and router information for more details). If MiniPortal is running, and the web server machine is directly connected to the internet (no firewall), or the user's the firewall, router, or proxy server configuration is correct, it is possible that the web server port (port 80) is being blocked by an ISP. In some cases, recent internet 'worm' activity has caused some ISPs to temporarily block access to this port. (It has been reported that a number of ISPs will re-enable access if a customer requests that they do so. Please tell the ISP that you are using the 'Apache' web server, which is not known to be affected by these 'worms'). In other cases, the ISP may be using a proxy server which translates the user's originating IP address to another address. The proxy server may completely block access to the web server, or it may change the (translated) IP address so rapidly that the web server cannot effectively be accessed. In either case, a web server cannot be run if the ISP has such a proxy server. Setup Test: Domain (or subdomain) NameThe MiniPortal Setup Test performs a 'domain (or subdomain) name test' to check that the web server can be accessed using a given domain (or subdomain) name. This test will only pass if:
The domain (or subdomain) name must be a registered internet domain name in order to use it to access the web server. That is, it must either be a bonafide domain name, or a subdomain name which is handled by the DNS of the corresponding domain name. For example, 'instantservers.com' is a domain name, and 'instantservers.instantws.com' is a subdomain name that is handled by the DNS of 'instantws.com'. The domain (or subdomain) name must map to the correct IP address. That is, the DNS serving the domain (or subdomain) name must contain the current IP address for the internet connection to the web server. This may either be a static (non-changing) IP address, or a dynamic (changing) IP address. Further, it may be the external address of a router (if present) or the address of the machine running the web server (if connected directly to the internet). Since this test must be run from the machine with the web server, the test checks that the IP address from the DNS is the same as the external IP address of the machine running the test ('external' means 'the IP address as seen from the internet'. It may be the IP address of the machine itself, or the address of a router between the server machine and the internet). Setup Test: DNSThere is currently no specific setup test for DNS. The reason is that most of the DNS setup for either domains using the InstantServers dynamic DNS service or for trial subdomains is automatic. For all other domains, the DNS setup and operation are entirely controlled outside of the MiniPortal environment: the only 'test' for these domains is that the user should manually verify that the MiniPortal domain name has been configured (use the MinPortal System Administrator to check this) and that the proper DNS configuration has been selected (depends on the DNS vendor used). If a domain uses the InstantServers dynamic DNS service, or if a trial subdomain name is used, the DNS account is configured with the proper information when the domain or trial subdomain name is created. MiniPortal includes a DNS client which works with either a domain (using the InstantServers dynamic DNS service), or a trial subdomain name. This client is installed along with MiniPortal. The DNS client will configure the DNS service to use the web server's IP address for the domain (or trial subdomain) as soon as the domain (or trial subdomain) has been configured into MiniPortal. MiniPortal is configured with the domain or trial subdomain name when 'Save & Logout' is selected from within an InstantServers account. Not doing so is the 2nd most common setup failure found (misconfigured firewalls or routers is the most common setup failure found). |