We will only create redirects for directories on the "WebDev" file system that follow one of the patterns listed below:
Please note that we cannot redirect from a TYPO3 site to a pubweb site.
Beginning July 1, 2009, NDSU faculty, staff and departments will have a new option for putting Web content online.
The new Public Web hosting plan is known as "pubweb" and it provides an option for hosting basic and an option for enhanced Web sites. Choose this new service if you wish to build and maintain your own Web site(s). The service will replace the "WebDev" system. "WebDev" will continue to function through November 23, 2009, but no new WebDev accounts will be created after July 1, 2009.
There is no charge for a pubweb basic site, which includes 100 megabytes of storage. However, additional file storage space for Web content will cost $2.10 per gigabyte per year and is available in 10Gb increments (annual charge to the department or unit will be $21 for 10Gb). The enhanced hosting option is available for $150 per year and includes access to a database and options for adding multiple authors to your Web content team. Additional file storage space will cost $2.10 per gigabyte per year under the enhanced hosting plan and is available in 10Gb increments (annual charge to the department or unit will be $21 for 10Gb). An outline of each hosting plan is included below, as well as on the following sign-up site.
Signing-up for either of the new, pubweb hosting plans is easy. Visit the following address, authenticate, and you will find two forms.
https://apps.ndsu.edu/publicweb/
You may return to the pubweb sign-up site at any time to request adjustments to your service or to upgrade from the basic hosting plan to the enhanced hosting plan.
Once you have a pubweb account, you and visitors to your pubweb
site need to know the following addresses:
To copy files and folders to your account, use sFTP SSH (Secure FTP using Secure Shell). Open your favorite sFTP client program and use your UNIX ID and password to connect to:
pubweb.ndsu.nodak.edu
Basic sites owners: Use sFTP to put your files in the "public_html" directory.
Enhanced site owners and content providers: Use sFTP to put your files in the enhanced site directory -- you will recognize this folder by its name.
You and your site users will see these pages and folders at one of the following addresses (depending on the type of account you requested):
The URL (Web address) for basic account holders
is:
https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~<your UNIX name>/
{Note the trailing slash}
The URL (Web address) for enhanced sites without a redirect is:
https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/<your UNIX GROUP or HOST
name>/
{Note the trailing slash}
The URL (Web address) for enhanced sites with a redirect is:
https://www.ndsu.edu/<your UNIX GROUP or HOST name>
If you requested a "redirect" from an old site to a new pubweb site, you and your site visitors may use the old address to arrive at the new address. We will only create redirects for directories on the "WebDev" file system that follow one of the patterns listed below:
Please note that we cannot redirect from a TYPO3 site to a pubweb site.
Complete information regarding the Hosting Agreement and the Terms of Service is available online. The service information is available in Adobe Acrobat format and intended for NDSU constituents, so the download requires Adobe Reader and authentication, if accessed from off-campus.
Below is an outline the the basic and enhanced hosting plans to help you decide whether one or another hosting plan meets your needs. Some of the esoteric terms in the following outline are defined in the "glossary" that may be found immediately after the outline.
We will only create redirects for directories on "WebDev" file system that follow any of the patterns listed below:
Please note that we cannot redirect from a TYPO3 site to a pubweb site.
TYPO3 content-management system is also used extensively by many departments across campus and it has worked well for most departments to publish content online, so evaluate the TYPO3 option also when choosing the best solution for your circumstances. If TYPO3 is news to you, take a tour of a page by visiting: http://www.ndsu.edu/cms/kb/tour/
Request a TYPO3 site by visiting:
http://www.ndsu.edu/cms/request_site/
Topics covered in the FAQ include:
Question 1: We currently use Dreamweaver to design our site and edit the site's content. Can we continue to use Dreamweaver on "Publicweb?"
Answer 1: You may continue to use Dreamweaver to design your site and edit the site's content.
Question 2: My WebDev site includes Web forms. Visitors to my site can fill out the forms and a program called "FormMail" sends me the contents of the forms via email. Will my forms work on "Publicweb"? May I create new, "FormMail" forms on pubweb?
Answer 2: "FormMail" Web forms work on pubweb without modification and pubweb basic and enhanced site owners may create new "FormMail" Web forms.
Refer to the "FormMail" instructions for creating new forms.
There is, however, one quirk. You and your visitors must access the site using the following URL format.
For basic sites:
www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~<your UNIX name>/<YourDirectory>/<YourWebForm>
For enhanced sites whose "redirect" is live:
www.ndsu.edu/<YourSiteName>/<YourDirectory>/<YourWebForm>/
For enhanced sites without a "redirect":
www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/<YourSiteName>/
(please note: you must use the trailing slash in this scenario)
Question 3: How secure is pubweb?
Answer 3: Pubweb was designed from the ground up to address the security. Basic sites are enabled with "https" for secure transmission. Enhanced sites each run as their own instance of the Webserver.
Question 4: In order to know how much storage space to request on pubweb, I need to know how much storage space my current site uses. How do I determine my current and future storage space needs?
Answer 4: You may examine the size of your copy of the site on your hard-drive (if you edit your files on your workstation and upload content changes to "WebDev" using Secure FTP (sFTP). Use the features provided by your operating system to examine the current disk usage (file storage).
If you edit files directly on "WebDev" using a UNIX Shell editor, then you may issue a UNIX "Disk Usage" command after authenticating via Secure Shell (SSH). Below is an example command:
du -h (where -h yields a human-readable report).
Once you have a pubweb site, you will need to monitor your use of storage. The command above may be used on pubweb to review your use of space in your basic account. To review disk utilization for an enhanced site, use this command: quota -g
Question 5: If someone wants someone else to have access or to have additional content authors, do they have to upgrade to the enhanced site? What if someone wants to request additional or remove current content authors? What type of request verification should be done?
Answer 5: A basic site is reserved for one content author who is the site requester. Others may contribute content to a basic site by sending the content to the site owner, but only the site owner will be able to access and to update the content on a basic site.
If you need to share access to a site with multiple authors, upgrade to an enhanced site.
Answer 5, for basic sites: If the site is a personal site we can offer to recover content and provide redirects but we will not change ownership or resurrect an expunged site.
Answer 5, for enhanced sites:The current site owner must approve the change. If the current owner is no longer associated with NDSU, we'll need to escalate to the dept VP, Assistant VP or Associate VP for approval (for dept/division sites).
Question 6: I want to migrate from "WebDev" to an Enhanced site on pubweb in stages -- that is, I want visitors to use my "WebDev" site while I build and test the new pubweb site. Is this possible? How do I alert IT that I have finsihed testing and wish to have vistors using only the new pubweb site?
Answer 6: You can bring your new site up on pubweb in parallel to your existing site. Simply leave the following two fields blank in your Enhanced Site request:
- redirecting visitors from my old Web site to my new, pubweb
host;
- a host name
Before the July 2010 deadline, when you wish visitors to use only the new, "Publicweb" site, visit https://apps.ndsu.edu/publicweb/ and request an adjustment to your enhanced site configuration by filling in the previously blank fields for redirect and hostname.
In the meantime, visitors to you old site will see the content and will use the functionality on "WebDev" while you can develop and test the new pubweb version.
Question 7. Our website uses an existing database and is currently built in PHP using MySQL. Will any modifications need to be made to the database or the connection script to accommodate the migration of PHP from "WebDev" to pubweb?
Answer 7. You can continue to use the same database connection string on pubweb that you currently use on "WebDev". Your database will not need to move. Your database username and password will be private and will only connect to the database server from the enhanced site that you request, migrate or build on Publicweb.
Question 8: Will any modifications need to be made to existing PHP applications after the applications are migrated from "WebDev" to pubweb?
Answer 8: Probably. Publicweb uses PHP 5 while "WebDev" relied on PHP 4. PHP 5 has many new features and functions, some of which replace those in PHP 4. Some PHP 4 functions are depreciated while a few are no longer supported in PHP 5.
See question and answer number 6 regarding migrating your application in stages. Once your site's developer has resolved all errors and warnings on pubweb and tested end-user functionality, it will be safe to request that visitors to your old "WebDev" site be redirected to the new Publicweb site and to request a hostname for that site. Return to https://apps.ndsu.edu/publicweb/ and request an adjustment to your enhanced site configuration by filling in the previously blank fields for redirect and hostname.
Question 9: What redirects are allowed from the old "WebDev" accounts to the new pubweb server?
Answer 9: We will only create redirects for directories on the "WebDev" file system that follow one of the patterns listed below:
Please note that we cannot redirect from a TYPO3 site to a pubweb site.
Question 10: Are there Web guidelines or standards that will guide my work?
Answer 10: Yes, Publication Services, University Relations, have defined the basics in a Web Guidelines and Standards document. All sites with addresses that match the following pattern must conform to these basic guidelines and standards: >www.ndsu.edu/<YourSiteName>
Question 11: I used to be able to configure my
WebDev folder on my Windows workstation so that the folder(s)
appeared in "My Metwork Places" and I could add content to the
mounted folder and the content would appear on my Website. Can I
do this on Windows for my pubweb site(s).
Answer 11: Mapping Web folders on Windows was accomplished using SAMBA File Shares (SMB). SMB is not supported on pubweb for security reasons. Transfer files from your workstation to the pubweb server using Secure FTP.