Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Reseller Hosting : Start hosting business with Alabanza

[rayzine]

Hello,

I would like to lease an Alabanza server. However, I still want anyone who using their service tell me what kind of support they will provide for a new starter?

1) As I know ALabanza will provide a program called "Jump Start" program. What is it? Is the learning curve high?

2) Does the following feature come with the server and ready to use (or I need to install it on my own)
a) Server Side Includes
b) Flash
c) Real Audio
d) Apache ASP No
e) Python 1.5
f) Mod_perl & EmdPerl No
g) Apache ASP No

3) Does anyone install ChiliSoft ASP on their Alabanza Server?

Thanks and Regards,
ray

[Brian Farkas]

1. Jump start is just another name for the support system they have for clients within their first 30 days of server activation. In other words, instead of the regular support address you'd send email to the jumpstart address.

2. I think you've gotten most of the things that are not installed already...

3. Haven't tried this, so I couldn't tell you.

[kosmo]

a) Server Side Includes = YES
b) Flash = YES (you can add more MIME Types at any time)
c) Real Audio = NO, you have to install it yourself
d) Apache ASP = No
e) Python 1.5 = No
f) Mod_perl & EmdPerl No = No


kosmo

[akashik]

Speaking of MIME types, does anyone who the procedure of getting WAP to run on an Alabanza server? Is it just a matter of adding the MIME types, or do you have to install a WAP server. I'n thinking the latter as few hosts offer it as yet.

Greg Moore
http://www.akashik.net

[Speedie]

Akashik,

MIME types only as far as I'm aware, the WAP gateway itself is not your problem. The following need to be installed:

WML (.wml) text/vnd.wap.wml
Compiled WML (.wmlc) application/vnd.wap.wmlc
WML Script (.wmlscript) text/vnd.wap.wmlscript
WML Script (.wsc) text/vnd.wap.wmlscript
Compiled WML Script (.wmlsc) application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc
Compiled WML Script (.wsc) application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc
Wireless Bitmap (.wbmp) image/vnd.wap.wbmp

Just to reiterate, your server only needs to serve up the correct pages with the right MIME type - the phone service should take care of the WAP gateway side of things.

Hope this helps.
Speedie.

[akashik]

Speedy,

Thanks a lot. I'd read much the same somewhere else a while ago but have no idea where. Another thing though. If I have it correctly people will be able to type in http://www.akashik.net and as long as I have the MIME types installed they'll see the WAP page as default, not the html.

Therefore, would I place the top 'card' of the WAP deck alongside my index.html page? Does the deck have to be all at top level or can I send the user off to a folder for the rest of the WAP site like html?

Greg Moore
http://www.akashik.net

[Speedie]

Akashik,

No probs, hope all goes well.

>>If I have it correctly people will be able to type in http://www.akashik.net and as long as I have the MIME types installed they'll see the WAP page as default, not the html.<<

Actually no. Your default page is usually set by your server to be index.htm, index.html, default.htm or default.html. You have a couple of choices:

1) Actually have your default page as index.cgi (you would have to set this up in the server config) and have index.cgi detect the incoming browser. It would then serve up either index.html or index.wml depending on what browser was being used.

Pro: Very cool to have the same URL for both WAP and Web users.

Con: A bitch to program, and I haven't seen anything on general release that will detect all incoming WAP browsers. Also has the potential to stuff you up in the search engines because you have a dynamic (i.e. CGI based) default page.

2) Create a subdomain such as wap.akashik.net and store all your WAP content there. Set the default file to be index.wml.

Pro: Pretty easy to remember, looks professional, no messing around with CGI so eases both your load and the server's.

Con: Users with a bad memory may not remember your WAP URL.

3) Create a simple subfolder like http://www.akashik.net/wap/ and store your WAP content there. Set the default file for that directory to be index.wml.

Pro: Easy peesy lemon squeezy. Even for me.

Con: Doesn't look so professional.

As for the rest of your question, I think you're a tad confused with cards and decks (I was too for ages!!). A deck is kinda like a number of HTML pages all strung together in one file and then referenced in hyperlinks via bookmarks. A card is one of those individual pages. Different decks can be stored anywhere you like as long as you reference them properly in links.

Best wishes,
Speedie.

[akashik]

Originally posted by Speedie


Actually no. Your default page is usually set by your server to be index.htm, index.html, default.htm or default.html. You have a couple of choices:

Ahh yeah, that's what I meant. So if I understand correctly I can't just plonk in index.wml next to index.html. Thought that was going to be too easy *lol* Lots of good advice there though and lots to chew over. Thanks again

Greg Moore
http://www.akashik.net

[rayzine]

Thanks for Greg Moore and Speedie for the WAP support issue. However, I have ask the Alabanza sale earlier and they told me their server did not support WAP service due to some software conflict! Is that true?

If you are successfully setup the WAP feature, can you tell me more about your experience...

Thanks and Regards,
Ray

[Speedie]

Rayzine,

I don't have my Alabanza server yet so cannot give a definite answer. What I would say is that if it doesn't support WAP I would be very surprised.

Like I said to Greg earlier, there are two distinct parts: actually serving up the WML pages, and those pages being processed correctly. The former is a function of MIME types whereas the latter is a function of gateway software. There is an excellent tutorial on this at:

http://www.iec.org/tutorials/wap/topic04.html

To give the basics, a phone makes a request for a page and this request goes to the gateway. The gateway then makes a standard HTTP request to the relevant internet server. The internet server responds with the correct pages, using the correct MIME types in the HTTP header. The gateway then takes the information and compiles it into a compact binary format which it sends to the phone. The phone displays the resulting page.

To put this in really simple terms, an HTTP header for a standard HTML page contains the line:

Content-type: text/html

The HTTP header for a WML page would contain this line instead:

Content-type: text/vnd.wap.wml

It's no big deal and makes not one jot of difference to the server as long as the correct MIME types have been installed.

It might be worth you rephrasing the question to their salespeople as "Can custom MIME types be installed on the server, including those required to serve WAP filetypes correctly?". The answer to this is yes I'm 99.9% certain (no certainty guarantee though *wink wink*). They probably think you want to install a WAP gateway, which would be an entirely different kettle of fish.

Best wishes,
Speedie.

[rayzine]

Since I am a newcomer here, can anyone tell me more about how to install MIME types for Flash/WAP?

Thanks and Regards,
Ray

[akashik]

Interesting. So the server itself doesn't process the information, it just has to recognize the call from the WAP gateway elsewhere on the web? Essentially it's nothing more than a storage container which is used by another server (ie. the gateway) to make the site there, then pass it onto the phone/pda etc.

So as long as the server knows what is meant when the gateway contacts it, via MIME types, it should just release the information as needed to be built elsewhere.

Hmmm, sounds perfectly sensible and practical. However things have a nasty habit of falling over once you get online *lol* With all that in mind I may do a bit of reading on the subject. WAP's still a bit of a white elephant at the moment but better to have that string in your bow if it does take off Gawd, if I could get most of my clients via WAP I'd never come close to maxing my transfer ever again

Greg Moore
http://www.akashik.net

P.S. Sorry about this - it seems we've inadvertantly highjacked this thread.

[Speedie]

<-- Runs into the forum wearing a black balaclava and carrying a water pistol.

"EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR....THIS THREAD BELONGS TO US NOW. MWUHAHAHAHAHA."

Indeed. Anyway Greg, you've hit the nail right on the head old fruit (only a Brit can say that and get away with it). The server doesn't even have to know about the MIME types when it receives the request, the gateway will simply ask it for uvwxyz.wml and the server looks for it. It's when the server returns it that it must know the correct MIME type to put in the header. IOW a server can send a WML file back even without the MIME types installed, it just won't be recognised at the other end since the server will have defaulted to Content-type: text/html in the header.

There's nothing mystical about WAP, this is pretty much the same way that all server requests work. Someone using (e.g.) IE5 makes a request, the browser passes that request (via nameservers) to the server, the server responds with the correct file using the correct MIME types, the browser interprets it (using applications according to the MIME types e.g. Flash plug-in), and the user sees the end result. With WAP the bulk of the conversing is done by the gateway since it's far quicker than using the phone directly. The gateway also compresses any resulting files which makes transmission back to the phone much quicker.

To answers Ray's question, there are several ways to install the MIME types (assuming an Apache server):

1) As the owner of an Alabanza server, you can do it right from the control panel (so I believe, Alabanza owners are welcome to tell me I'm a moron if this isn't so)

2) If you have root access to the server, you need to find a file named srm.conf (usually in /etc/httpd/conf), find the AddType section and add the following:

MIME Types for WAP
AddType text/vnd.wap.wml .wml
AddType image/vnd.wap.wbmp .wbmp
AddType application/vnd.wap.wmlc .wmlc
AddType text/vnd.wap.wmlscript .wmls
AddType application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc .wmlsc

Save the file and then restart Apache HTTPd.

3) If you do not have root access to the server (e.g. you're a customer on a virtual server and the host won't install the new MIME types for you) then you can still do it on a per directory basis. In each directory that will hold WAP-type documents, you need to create a file named .htaccess (the leading . is intentional). The file should look something like this:

DirectoryIndex index.wml
addtype text/vnd.wap.wml wml
addtype application/vnd.wap.wmlc wmlc
addtype text/vnd.wap.wmlscript wmls
addtype application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc wmlsc
addtype image/vnd.wap.wbmp wbmp

Note that this also specifies index.wml as the directory default. This means that if you created a folder http://www.mydomain.com/wap/ and added the above .htaccess to it, anyone surfing to http://www.mydomain.com/wap/ would receive index.wml as the home page. Also note that some servers are configured to ignore .htaccess files for security reasons.

I know that the last suggestion works as I did it for my own WAP news service - works fine.

Best of luck,
Speedie.