INTRODUCTION

Welcome to CBSR 4003 Web Server Technology. This course is one semester three-credit, graduate-level course for OUM students seeking a bachelor of in Information Technology in network computing.

COURSE AIMS
CBSR 4003 Web Server Technology is geared towards information providers and Web developers who wish to acquire a solid background in the standards, protocols and technologies needed to operate professional and commercial websites. This course aims to: Examine the fundamental technologies that make up todays World Wide Web and the Internet, from the perspective of the Web server. Present and evaluate the methods and options available for designing and implementing Web applications. Enable you to set up and maintain Web servers. Enable you to develop secure, scalable and comprehensive Web applications using a combination of server technologies.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, you should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Explore a broad range of server-based technologies that are needed to build dynamic, interactive and scalable Web applications. Explain the underlying protocols behind current Web technologies. Describe the role and operation of Web servers. Contrast, describe, and differentiate indexing, catalogueing, and search technologies for the Web. Design and develop server-side programs and scripts.

COURSE GUIDE

COURSE ORGANIZATION
The following chart gives a general overview of the course structure.
Unit Title Weeks Assessment activity (end of unit)

1 2 3 4

The Web and the Internet Web servers and HTTP Server-side programming Web indexing and search engines

4 4 4 4 TMA1

STUDY UNITS
There are four study units. Please remember that you have to plan your own study schedule. It is essential that you complete your assignments on time. The course is structured so that each unit builds upon previous knowledge. Each unit contains various ways to help you study. To get the most out of the course, you should: 1. 2. 3. 4. read each study unit; log on to the many recommended websites to read some additional readings and to complete interactive activities; test your comprehension and analytical skills by working through the activities and self-tests that appear throughout the units; and complete the assignments.

While you are working through study units, please keep in mind the objectives of each study unit. After you have finished each unit, please check whether you have achieved the set objectives. If you encounter any problems, please make notes and raise these problems with your tutor as soon as possible. A brief summary of the four study units in CBSR 4003 follows

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Unit 1 The Web and the Internet Unit 1 describes the design principles, technologies and protocols behind the Web and the Internet. These fundamental concepts underlie the Web server technologies that will be discussed throughout the rest of the course. Unit 2 Web servers and HTTP Every request that is sent by a user sitting at a Web browser is ultimately served by a Web server at the other end. Web servers are the real workhorses of the Web, and this unit provides a detailed look at this vital piece of software. We examine how documents are stored and structured on a Web server, and the process by which these documents are pushed out over the Internet in response to incoming requests. The other major topic in this unit is HTTP, the language used by Web browsers and servers to communicate with each other. We will examine the HTTP messages that are transmitted between the Web browser and server, and study the structure and meaning of these messages. Unit 3 Server-side programming Unless your website is entirely made up of static HTML pages, server-side programs are needed to generate webpages that meet specific user requests in realtime. Server-side programs are also required in order to serve online transactions such as bill payment and shopping. Without the capability to execute programs on the Web server, the Web would be a much less useful and interesting place than it is now. This unit provides an overview of how server-side programs are executed by the Web server, and brings you on a tour of the languages that can be used to write these programs. Unit 4 Web indexing and search engines Search engines allow users to locate and retrieve relevant documents via a userfriendly, point-and-click interface. They are frequently used as the starting point of any Web surfing session. Therefore, it is important for Web information providers to understand how search engines work: how they gather documents, determine keywords and build search indexes. This knowledge can also be valuable in optimizing search engine rankings. In this unit, we will discuss the current options and technologies for implementing local search engines on a website.

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COURSE GUIDE

How to do your assignments

For each assignment, please carefully read through the question and the instructions in the assignment. Please make sure you understand what is required before attempting an assignment. If you do not understand an assignment or the instructions, please contact your tutor. Once you have completed each assignment, you must send it to your tutor. Please make sure that each assignment reaches your tutor on or before the deadline. If your assignments call on you to write a research-type paper, you must be careful when you are using other references in the research for your assignments. If you commit plagiarism, you will be penalized severely. Plagiarism is theft of somebody elses work or ideas. This applies just as much to using the work of other students as it does to authors of books. However, you may include parenthetical references to the works you cite, e.g. (Stott 2002, 38). You should include a section at the end of your assignment called References where the full name, title, date and place of the publication of any references that you have used appear. The way to cite a reference is: Stott, V (2002) Web server technology, 2nd edn, London: ABC Publishing.

ASSESSMENT METHOD
Refer to myVLE for the latest information regarding the assessment method for this course.

STUDENT SUPPORT
Many kinds of support are available to you during the course. They include: direct personal support; and electronic support.

DIRECT PERSONAL SUPPORT

The course includes five tutorial meetings of two hours each 10 contact hours in total. The tutorials are conducted to provide an opportunity for you to receive some course progress guidance from the tutors. In addition, you have an opportunity to share your study experiences and difficulties in your peer-to-peer

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group discussions. Although the tutorials are not compulsory, you are encouraged to attend the tutorial meetings as far as possible.

ELECTRONIC SUPPORT
OUM Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
You may also discuss your study problems with your tutors using VLE. This VLE provides flexibility to both tutors and students in overcoming the limitations of tutorials.