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Help / WEBDEV concepts / Part 8 - Hosting WEBDEV websites
  • Overview
  • WEBDEV administrator interface
  • Characteristics of current connections
  • Installed sites
  • Installed web services
  • WebSocket servers installed
  • General configuration
  • Advanced options
  • Setups
  • Logs
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2. WEBDEV administrator in practice
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Overview
The WEBDEV administrator is a module used to manage dynamic WEBDEV websites (Session or AWP).
When developing a dynamic WEBDEV website (in Session or AWP mode), the administrator is mainly used to:
  • test the site via the test page.
  • set site connection parameters for testing: connection timeout, etc.
  • delete the current test connections.
  • choose the web server used for testing.
  • diagnose any problems encountered when launching a dynamic WEBDEV site.
  • ...
During the deployment phase, two types of WEBDEV administrators are available:
  • the WEBDEV Deployment administrator that allows the hosting provider to manage the dynamic WEBDEV websites installed on a web server.
  • the remote WEBDEV administrator that allows the site manager to manage their dynamic WEBDEV websites remotely from any computer.
This chapter presents only the administrator for WEBDEV Development version.
For more details about deployment tools, see the corresponding help pages.
Starting the WEBDEV administrator
To start the WEBDEV Development administrator:
  • in WEBDEV Development version: Go to the "Tools" tab, "Web utilities" group and click "WDAdmin".
  • in Windows: From the Start menu, select "Programs .. WEBDEV 2025 .. WEBDEV administrator".
The WEBDEV administrator starts automatically the first time you test the site from WEBDEV Development version.
The administrator can then be left running in the background.
By default, the WEBDEV administrator allows ten simultaneous connections to the same dynamic WEBDEV website (GO icon).
WEBDEV administrator interface
The WEBDEV administrator includes a window containing several tabs:
  • "Connections" tab.
  • "Sites" tab and "Web services" tab.
  • "WebSockets" tab.
  • "Configuration" tab.
  • "Advanced" tab.
  • "Setups" tab.
  • "Logs" tab.

Characteristics of current connections

The "Connections" tab shows various information about the current connections. This information can be viewed on the server at any time.The "Connections" tab provides the following information:
  • the number of current connections, which indicates the total number of connections to the dynamic WEBDEV websites managed by the administrator.
  • the table of current connections, which contains the following details for each connection:
    • the connection identifier,
    • the site to which the connection has been established,
    • the ID of the connected client. At runtime, the client is identified by an IP address or Internet address,
    • the current connection time,
    • the idle time of the connection.
  • the Automatic refresh option is used to automatically refresh the table presenting the current connections.
The "Connections" tab also enables you to:
  • Test the sites installed on the computer:
    Select the site in the drop-down list box and click "Test". This mode is used test the options specific to the management of cookies on the development computer.
  • Stop the current connection.
    Select one of the connections and click "Disconnect".
  • Stop all current connections and close the administrator. Simply click "Disconnect all".

Installed sites

The "Sites" tab returns the list of dynamic WEBDEV websites installed on the computer and managed by the WEBDEV administrator. For each site, the following information is displayed in a table:
  • the site name.
  • the full installation directory of the site on the computer.
  • the name of the corresponding "project" file.
  • the site status (locked or not). You can check the box to prevent users from accessing the site during the update.
  • the number of scheduled tasks used by the site.
The "Sites" tab enables you to:
  • Delete the site selected in the table.
    Bear in mind this deletes the site from the administrator but not from disk.
  • Refresh the list of sites shown in the table.
    This refresh operation checks if a site has been installed and if it appears in the administrator.
  • Add a site to the table.
  • Individually configure the sites installed on the computer.
    The configuration used by default is the one defined in the "Configuration" tab.
    You can also create a specific configuration for the selected site ("Parameters" button).
    This configuration affects the number of authorized connections, the authorized idle time and whether the site must be locked during an update. For more details, see the "Configuration" tab.
    To validate the new configuration immediately, click "Apply".
    You can also manage scheduled tasks associated with the selected site ("Scheduled tasks" button). This configuration is only available when the site is deployed.
  • Directly test the sites installed on the computer (development version only):
    Select the site and click "Test".

Installed web services

The "Web services" tab gives information about the dynamic WEBDEV web services installed on the computer.
The "Web services" tab lists the dynamic WEBDEV web services installed on the computer and managed by the WEBDEV administrator. For each web service, the following information is displayed in a table:
  • the name of the web service.
  • the complete web service installation directory on the computer.
  • the name of the corresponding "project" file.
  • the web service status (locked or not). The box can be checked to directly block access to the web service during the update.
  • the number of scheduled tasks used by the web service.
The "Web services" tab also allows you to:
  • Delete the selected web service from the table.
    Bear in mind this deletes the web service from the administrator but not from disk.
  • Refresh the web services shown in the table.
    This refresh operation checks if a web service has been installed and if it appears in the administrator.
  • Add a web service to the table.
  • Individually configure the web services found on the computer.
    The configuration used by default is the one defined in the "Configuration" tab.
    You can also create a specific configuration for the selected web service ("Parameters" button).
    This configuration affects the number of authorized connections, the authorized idle time and whether the web service must be locked during an update. For more details, see the "Configuration" tab.
    To validate the new configuration immediately, click "Apply".
    You can also manage scheduled tasks associated with the selected web service (Scheduled tasks" button). This configuration is available when the web service is deployed.

WebSocket servers installed

The "WebSockets" tab lists the different WebSocket servers installed on the computer and managed by the WEBDEV administrator. For each WebSocket server, the following information is displayed in the table:
  • the server name,
  • the full installation directory of the WebSocket server on the computer,
  • the WebSocket server status (locked or not). You can check the box to directly block access to the WebSocket server during the update.
The "WebSockets" tab also allows you to:
  • Delete the selected WebSocket server(s) from the table ("Delete" button).
    This only deletes the WebSocket server from the administrator (not the disk).
  • Refresh the list of WebSocket servers in the table ("Refresh" button).
    This refresh operation checks if a WebSocket server has been installed and if it appears in the administrator.
  • Add a WebSocket server in the table ("Add" button).

General configuration

The "Configuration" tab allows you to define the default connection options for WEBDEV websites located on the server and managed by the administrator.
The "Configuration" tab allows you to:
  • Configure connections.
  • Configure sessions and requests.
  • Manage remote debugging.
  • Manage users (Deployment version only).
You can configure connections by setting the following options:
  • Maximum number of connections for the server:
    Maximum number of simultaneous connections allowed for all sites managed by the administrator (one connection = one user).
  • Maximum number of connections for a site:
    Maximum number of simultaneous connections allowed for each site managed by the administrator. This number can be modified for each site in the "Sites" tab.
  • Maximum number of connections of a user to a site:
    Maximum number of simultaneous connections allowed for a given user to each site managed by the administrator.
    If this parameter is set to zero, the user who tries to connect simultaneously to the same site will be automatically disconnected then reconnected.
    If this parameter is greater than zero, an error message will be automatically displayed after x simultaneous connections.
    This number can be modified for each site ("Sites" tab).
    The "Only one connection per automatically recycled IP" option limits to one the number of connections of a user. The same connection will be reused. To allow multiple connections from the same IP address (users through a router or proxy), select "Limits the number of connections to" and specify the number of connections allowed for the same IP address.
You can configure sessions and requests by setting the following options:
  • Disconnect idle users since:
    Maximum connection time allowed without any action performed by the user. When this time is exceeded, the user is automatically disconnected and an error message is displayed.
    This number can be modified for each site in the "Sites" tab.
  • Duration of AWP contexts:
    Validity period of AWP contexts. If the specified time has elapsed and no new requests have been made, the context file is deleted. For more details on AWP contexts, see AWP: Managing contexts.
  • Duration of Webservices contexts:
    Validity period of web service contexts. If the specified time has elapsed and no new requests have been made, the context file is deleted. For more details on the management of web service contexts, see Generating a web service.
  • Maximum request duration:
    Maximum timeout allowed between the beginning of an action performed by the user (via a button or a link) and the display of a response. If this time is exceeded, an error page is displayed, but the user is not disconnected.
  • Maximum task duration:
    This option limits the execution time of a scheduled or deferred WEBDEV task. If the task exceeds this time, it will be automatically stopped.
    For more details, see WEBDEV: Scheduled tasks and deferred tasks.
  • Allow pre-launched sessions: Makes it possible to manage pre-launched sessions on the WEBDEV Application Server. This option optimizes the connection time to the WEBDEV websites and web services located on the server. If this option is checked, you must:
    • modify the project to manage pre-launched sessions properly. For more details, see Pre-launched sessions.
    • configure the site or web service to indicate the number of pre-launched sessions required ("Sites" or "Web services" tab, "Parameters" button).
Remote debugging
You can enable remote debugging of dynamic WEBDEV websites in the WEBDEV administrator. If remote debugging is enabled, the following parameters must be specified:
  • Main port (27 271 by default).
  • Session port range (between 27 282 and 27 289 by default).
The "Default" button restores the default values.

Advanced options

The "Advanced" tab enables you to configure advanced options of the server:
  • Manage the web server:
    • Choose one of the web servers installed on the current computer to run the WEBDEV websites.
    • Check the configuration of the current computer.
    • Specify the name or IP address of the current computer.
  • Display a test page:
    • Display a page in the browser to run all WEBDEV websites installed on the current computer.
    • Display a page in the browser to run all WEBDEV web services installed on the current computer.
  • Perform a search for expired pages.
  • Manage print jobs.
  • Configure error messages displayed in the browser.
  • Perform various configurations:
    • Manage emails in asynchronous mode.
    • Manage server sockets.
    • Prevent from changing IP while browsing.
    • Prevent access to AWP context identifiers from JavaScript.
    • Manage the fCopyFileWebFolder and fDeleteFileWebFolder functions.
    • Require a secure connection (https) for remote administration sites.
The following options are available for the web server:
  • Server used: The "Server" button allows you to choose one of the web servers installed on the current computer to run WEBDEV websites. Caution: This server will be used for all the dynamic WEBDEV websites installed on this computer.
    If the server used does not appear in the list, choose "Other". You will need to manually configure the web server used. For more details about the configuration of specific servers, see the online help.
  • Diagnostic: This option checks the configuration of the current computer. This diagnosis checks:
    • whether the FTP/IP protocol is installed
    • whether a web server (HTTP server) is started
    • whether the AWP protocol manager is configured properly
    • whether the necessary WEBDEV executable files are included.
    If one of these conditions is not met, the dynamic WEBDEV websites will not run. For more details, see the online help.
  • Name or IP address of the current computer: The WEBDEV administrator allows you to specify a name or an IP address to identify a specific computer. You can also specify the port number. For example: localhost:8080. This computer will be used:
    • when using the "Diagnostic" option.
    • when using the "Test page" option.
    • when testing a site, page or report from the WEBDEV editor ("GO" icon).
  • Test: The "Test page" button opens a page in the browser, which allows running all the dynamic WEBDEV websites and web services installed on the current computer. For more details on testing a WEBDEV website, see 5. Website test in practice.
In the "Find expired pages" section, you can search for expired pages. The "Allow searching for expired pages" option allows you to enable and configure the search for expired pages in WEBDEV websites handled by the WEBDEV Application Server.
In "Print jobs", you can choose the default printer (Intranet sties only). Click the "Print jobs" button to select the printer to be used when printing directly to a local printer or to a network printer on the web server.
In the "Errors" section, you can configure the error messages shown in the browser. The "Errors" button shows the different error messages that can be displayed in the user's browser. You can customize the error message and the HTML page where the error message is displayed.
The "Miscellaneous" section includes the following options:
  • Emails: If the "Disable mail spool" option is unchecked, your sites will be able to send emails without blocking the execution of the different processes (asynchronous mode).
    Asynchronous mode must be enabled when starting the email session (with EmailStartSMTPSession or EmailStartSession).
    If asynchronous mode is enabled, all outgoing emails will be redirected to a "Spooler". Emails are queued up before being sent. Executing Email functions does no longer block the rest of the program. EmailStatus is used to determine the status of an email.
    Note: If the WEBDEV administrator is closed, the email spooler is cleared. Pending emails are not sent and are removed from the spooler.
    If there are pending emails and the "Disable mail spool" option is checked, these emails will not be lost. The administrator continues to send them, but the spooler will not accept any new emails.
    Caution: Asynchronous mode can only be used when starting a session on an SMTP server (EmailStartSMTPSession function to send emails, or EmailStartSession). This mode is ignored in all other cases.
  • Sockets: If "Allow server sockets" is checked, your sites will be able to handle server sockets (using WLanguage Socketxxx functions).
  • If the Prevent from changing IP while browsing option is checked, the IP address associated with the session cannot change while browsing. This prevents "session hijacking" attacks, which occur when an attacker impersonates a legitimate user connected to the server.
  • Prevent access to AWP context identifiers from JavaScript: In an AWP site, the site context is stored on the server. The identifier of this context is sent and stored in the browser via a cookie.
    If "Prevent access to AWP context identifiers from JavaScript" is checked, the type of cookies used will be "HTTPOnly", which cannot be read from JavaScript code. This mode prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
    By default, access to AWP context identifiers is not allowed from JavaScript.
  • fCopyFileWebFolder and fDeleteFileWebFolder: The "Allow the fCopyFileWebFolder and fDeleteFileWebFolder functions" option must be checked if these functions are used in the website.
    These functions are mainly used to copy images from the data directory to the site's image directory. This can be images that have been uploaded and published on the site.
    Note: The WEBDEV administrator (WD300ADMIN.EXE), which is installed on the server, performs this copy operation. The Windows account running it must have sufficient rights to the target location of the copy.
  • The option "Require a secure connection (https) for the remote administration sites" allows you to use the remote administration sites provided with WEBDEV in secure mode. The administration sites are as follows:
    • the remote WEBDEV administrator,
    • the remote HFSQL administrator,
    • the remote SaaS administrator.

Setups

The "Setups" tab allows you to:
  • Configure the server for the site installations and updates.
  • Manage the installation log file.
Setup/Update
These options are available in the deployment version. They allow the hosting provider to authorize and configure the site setups and updates remotely.
The "Lock server (for update)" option simplifies site updates by preventing any new connections. When new users try to connect to one of the sites on the server, they receive a message indicating that the site is temporarily unavailable and asking them to try again later. Users who are already connected can continue to use the current WEBDEV website.
When the "Activate the following page to list installed applications: "http[s]://<server>/" option is enabled, the administrator can authorize the use of the "http[s]://<server>/" syntax to list the sites on the server. In this case, the "http[s]://<server>/" syntax shows a page with a link to each site installed on the server.
Installation log file
The installation log file contains records of the installed elements of a site. This log is particularly useful if you need to contact Technical Support in case you encounter any errors during deployment.
To use the installation log, simply specify the full path of the corresponding file ("WDInstall_log.txt" file by default).

Logs

The "Logs" tab is used to:
  • view the log details for a specific period.
  • configure the sending of error reports by email.
Caution: To use this feature, site logs must have been enabled. The logs can be enabled:
  • in the "Logs" tab to create a general log,
  • in the "Sites" and "web services" tabs ("Parameters" button) to manage a specific log.
When the statistics log is enabled, an error log is automatically created.
The WEBDEV administrator can generate a specific log file to track your website traffic.
  • Generate a log file (.log):
    This option allows you to generate a log file (".LOG" extension) used to see the traffic statistics of WEBDEV websites via WDStatistics. For more details, see the help page on WDStatistics.
    You can specify the location of the log file.
    This option can be modified for each site in the "Sites" tab.
  • Also include app-level logs:
    This option records statistics in the log file of both the application and the server. If the log file is defined at both server and application level ("Sites" tab), some information may be "lost".
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Last update: 09/24/2024

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