Last updated: 4:35pm on 3/11/97
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The Frequently-Asked-Question:
>Just wondering if anyone knew where I might find a copy of an OS/2
>http server. {...} I can't get a hold of a unix/aix/other machine.
The GoServe program is 32-bit and fully multi-threaded, as was the previous 1.x versions. However, it is roughly twice as fast - rivaling some Unix servers in "snappiness". According to the author, this new version provides integrated HTTP server capabilities, and "is *much* faster than anything else around, especially if scripts are involved." It does not, however, provide Imagemap or Forms support "off-the-shelf".
Also, as of v2.44, GoServe supports Persistent Connections -- allowing multiple HTTP requests on a single connection. Several advanced web browsers such as Netscape Navigator v2.0, Newer versions ofX/Mosaic, and Microsoft Internet Explorer already take advantage of this capability, which lessens the transaction overhead for both client and server.
Note: Netscape Navigator 2.0 (all beta versions so far for Windows and Macintosh) "fumble" in their handling of Persistent connections with small files. (<1K) In the Windows versions, Netscape waits to display the last image/text returned over a persistent connection until the server times out and drops the connection. In the Mac version, it tends to delay display of all small image files until the connection is dropped by the server. This bug was reported to Netscape in beta #1, and has not yet been fixed. Please feel free to complain to Netscape...
Note 2: As of v2.45, GoServe seems to cause occasional TRAPs when persistent connections are enabled on some machines. Mike Cowlishaw and I are working on this -- his machines are stable, only one of mine still traps with v2.47. Both 2.45 & 2.47 are very stable with persistent connections turned off. Version 2.48 is in testing right now, and so far seems to be very stable. If all goes well, it should be available in a few days...
The GoServe v2.47 package can be found at: http://www2.hursley.ibm.com/goserve/goserv.zip
For more information, try Mike Cowlishaw's GoServe Home Page.
I have extended the REXX filter for v2.XX in the same fashion as I did for v1.XX, providing imagemap & forms functionality. (Unlike in the old version 1.41, the POST method is supported by the Server executable, therefore POST-method forms are now possible.) The forms support in my version is CGI/1.1 compatible, and the imagemap support has a few extra features. I've also added Common Log Format logging to provide compatibility with the various usage statistics software available, as well as Basic Authentication, Aliases, multiple CGI directories, and a lot more...
The GoHTTP package, my version of the GoServe REXX filter for HTTP services can be found at: http://w3.ag.uiuc.edu/DLM/GoHTTP/Distribution.html. (Currently at version 2.01.9-Q)
Another alternative filter is being provided by the Austrian OS/2 Users Group. (Currently at version 1.09999) Look to the
OS/2 Forum Austria Extended GoServe Filter page for more info.
Note: On 25 February, 1995, Frankie released v1.04, which incorporates the fixes of the previous patches, and also is reported to solve the problem with "zombie" child processes hung with sockets in the "CLOSED" or "CLOSED_WAIT" state. (As of 7 March, there is a non-critical fix package available for v1.04 - P_950307.)
On the plus side, it is a true HTTPD -- it supports CGI/1.1, server side includes, user authentication, etc. -- all the things you want in a server. (Except encrypted transfers, but that's another server... ;-)
On the down side, I've identified two problems that may impact use of the system. These problems, however, are somewhat arcane / exotic, and will not generally be encountered by most sites using a standard installation.
I have not done any load testing on this server. (Since there is *currently* no GUI to report stats back, it is very difficult to gain a feel for what the load is at any given time.)
For more information, you may want to try the author's pages.
This package can be obtained from: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/kf/kfan/web2-104.zip
Fixes & Patches:
The current fix package is P_950307.
The current version, v4.01r9, integrates several servers into the basic package -- in addition to the 32-bit multithreaded SET compliant, SSL 3.0 and 2.0 HTTP server with Proxy support, it also sports integrated FTP, SMTP, and POP3. Other server functions scheduled to be added include: Gopher, & Search Engines. It also provides direct API interfaces for languages such as C, C++, Cobol, Fortran, REXX, & PERL. (John Viveiros: "These interfaces provide webmasters with an uncompromising interface to the calls we use in our code, boosting even CGI performance to new levels.")
John Viveiros: "We honestly can claim to be the fastest( please check yourself, don't take our word for it). We claim to be faster than Netscape and Novell's servers."
According to "The Power Team", version 2.07+ supports Persistent Connections, and Byte Ranging was added in version 3.
Version 4.01 release 9 is currently available, as of 13 November, 1996. (pricing info / Release notes) There is also a special pricing arrangement for OS/2 User Groups...
The demo package for version 4.01, (release 9) is available from the following:
available in versions for OS/2, as well as for
AIX, HP/UX, Windows NT, Solaris, OS/390, and AS/400. (A beta version is available for Win95... ;-)
The standard server is evidently being deprecated, as I can no longer find it distributed for free. However, the secure server is available as a free evaluation, and it simply stops supporting the security functions after 60 days, becoming essentially a standard server.
The Secure Server evaluation is available via the following URL: "http://www.ics.raleigh.ibm.com/icserver/downloads.htm".
Version 4.2 of the Secure Server supports both SSL v3 & S-HTTP security protocols, as well as HTTP/1.1.
For more information on their servers or browsers, you may want to Ask IBM...
Version 1.1.3
is now available.
James Drash reports that as of v1.1.1, Apache now includes Proxy support.
Version 1.1.3 can be found at the following locations:
Refer to http://www.apache.org for licensing and general information on Apache. On-line documentation is available.
Garey Smiley, the person-behind-the-port, can be reached at garey@slink.com.
Garey now has a home page on-line dedicated to Apache for OS/2.
There are also two mailing lists available there as well.
For a look at an OS/2 Apache server, try http://www.slink.com.
From the author: "A new bug-fixed version of cern/2 3.0 is out. It corrects some minor problems with the cache administration and indexing of directories which don't have a welcome page, plus the "welcome" feature of cern finally works as designed :-). "
The CERN HTTPD 3.0 OS/2 version 1.05 (24-Nov-1995) package is currently available from the following sites:
These two sites still seem to have version 1.03: (10-July-1995)
Note: the author states that 1.03 is broken. It probably should not be used... DLM
As of version 1.07, it now supports passing specific environment variables from the master environment to CGI scripts, as well as alternative OS/2 command shells.
As of version 1.08, it "now supports MultiDrive. (Allows alias to specify different drives.) Also, fixes bug in Password/Security in the Authxxxx DRM keywords, as well as fixes code to check password in a password file. (CRYPT)"
The Bearsoft HTTPd OS/2 home page is also available...
TSwww alpha 2 is available at the following site:
As Jigsaw runs on the Java interpreter/runtime, performance is not up to that of the fastest servers available. But neither is it the slowest, either, falling in the middle of the pack. (It definitely seemed faster than the CERN 3.0 httpd for OS/2 and the old OS2HTTPD server.)
Jigsaw touts the ability to maintain the server remotely, including the ability to PUT files onto the server. (If your web client supports PUT, that is...) Jigsaw also supports the persistent connection specification. It is also readily extensible if you can write in Java...
Jigsaw v1.0 alpha 3 is available at the following site:
ExpressO is a commercial product currently under development. The beta is available at the URL below -- the distribution server was very slow, perhaps over-subscribed.
By the online materials, ExpressO is a full featured server, supporting pretty much everything I needed. Though I wasn't able to get through the registration process to get the beta code, this package looks like it could be handy. It is slated to be available in a personal version, and a full package.
The ExpressO demo/beta code is available at the following site: (You must register in the beta program...)
Peter Meerwald writes: "This is my attempt to move Squid to the OS/2 platform, the port is in a very early stage, comments are very welcome."
Requirements:
The following files are available from
The current public release (v1.0b - beta) of the OS/2 based PlanetWide WWWeb server software is now available for download from the server home page:
<http://www.pr.uoguelph.ca/cpayne/planet.htm>
The following info is taken from their announcement posted to comp.os.os2.networking.www:
PlanetWide is a multithreaded 32-bit OS/2 web server. It is meant to serve high volumes of data efficiently. It provides a lot of useful information about your web site operation and utilizes very little memory.
Features in this release:
The current public release (v1.0d) of the cross-platform Xitami web
server software is now available for download from the Imatix home page: