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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions - Technical Aspects |
Why do I get the message 553 sorry, that domain isn't in my list of allowed rcpthosts (#5.7.1)
Our mail servers requires POP before SMTP authentication.
You have to "authenticate first" on our servers by getting your mail (POP), then the mail server opens a "Relay Window" for you during which you can send email using the SMTP server.
When this window is expired, you will see your outgoing mail bounce back to you with this error.
Solution: Hit your "Get messages" or "Check mail" button to reopen a new window, and resend your message.
Note: To relay using SMTP, you need to enable it in the mail client.
* In Outlook & Outlook Express, check the box saying "My Outgoing Mail server requires Authentication" under the servers tab in the properties of your Mail account.
* In Eudora, check the "Authentication allowed" checkbox under the SMTP server name.
Where can I find documentation for preinstalled scripts?
We currently have the following ready-to-use scripts available:
cgiemail forms-to-email imagemap multi-clickable images newcount "hit" countersback to FAQ
How do I implement custom scripts?
Our servers have the capability to run CGI scripts based on Perl, Unix SH, KSH, CSH, and C (NOT C++) languages. Perl is a our language of choice as it is a world standard and is well suited to CGI. In addition, Perl code does not require manual compilations whereas C code must be compiled* on our web servers prior to use.
If you have a custom CGI script that you need to use, simply upload it to your personal "cgi-bin" Here are some helpful tips to follow when installing Perl scripts:
Other Resources
comp.lang.perl.misc
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi
How can I make my CGI-scripts server independent?
If your scripts contain server-dependent code, that is, code which is specific to a particular server, you would need to rewrite code if you ever decided to move your site to a different web server. One such occasion would be if you decided to upgrade to or downgrade from a Plan 4 or High Volume account, since these accounts reside on high volume servers. Another occasion would be if you ever decided to reuse your scripts for other accounts, or give your scripts to other people. You should always try to write code that will run correctly regardless of what web server it runs on.
The most common kind of server-dependent code is code which accesses files or programs using an absolute path (such as "/www26/web/someid/somefile"). Instead of using the absolute path to your home directory ("/www26/web/someid"), you should instead use the DOCUMENT_ROOT environment variable ($ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT} in Perl) to determine the path of your files or programs within a script.
For example, if a guestbook script reads:
# Path to your guestbook file
$guestbook =
"/www23/web/examp9/data/guest.html";
You should change it to:
# Path to your guestbook file
$guestbook =
"$ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/data/guest.html";
If you are writing scripts for others besides yourself to use, you may wish to take advantage of the many other environment variables which allow you to write server-independent code. See the CGI Tutorial at _insert a link to a CGI reference site_ for more details.
(Note: if you are writing scripts or recipes for use with procmail, you must use the HOME environment variable in place of DOCUMENT_ROOT. CGI environment variables are not available while running under procmail.)
Usenet Newsgroups
An extremely useful source of information is Usenet News. There are many newsgroups devoted to the discussion of Internet applications and problems associated with them. When you are experiencing a problem it is always a good idea to check the newsgroups to see if someone else has reported a problem. Often the solution is not far away!
Here are some of the more popular Usenet support groups:
The servers have the capability to run CGI scripts based on Perl, Unix SH, KSH, CSH, and C/C++ languages. Perl is our language of choice as it is a world standard and is well suited to CGI. In addition, Perl code does not require manual compilations whereas C/C++ code must be compiled* on the web servers prior to use.
If you have a custom CGI script that you need to use, simply upload it to your personal "cgi-local" Here are some helpful tips to follow when installing Perl scripts:
eg. /u/web/<userid>/... <- if file resides in root /u/web/<userid>/cgi-local/... <- if file resides in cgi-localSubstitute the path to the file beginning with your userid. Your userid is the directory name of your account.
*** SUNNY OASIS can run only two C/C++ compilations for you. As such, we suggest Perl as an alternative scripting language. A work around may be available to seasoned C/C++ developers -- contact support@sunnyoasis.com for more information.
Other Resources
comp.lang.perl.misc
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi
By default, ALL mail is set up to automatically forward to the email address that was provided when your account was set up. This email address is called the "default" mail forwarding address. This address can be changed in Email Settings within your Control Panel. As such, you do not need to set specific forwarding options for addresses associated with your domain name. (eg. webmaster@yourname.com, sales@yourname.com, etc.)
You can also set up to specific mail forwarding options for email addresses which are to forward to an address other than the default.
In addition to mail forwarding options, email can be retrieved from
POP mailboxes using a program like
Eudora.
Instruction
on setting up POP accounts and configuring your mail program is available.
You can create a basic HTML form within your account along with a template which defines the format by which the form data will be sent. You can customize the form and template or modify an existing form to work with the preinstalled cgiemail script.
Imagemaps allow the user to click on predefined sections of a graphic picture on your page and have the server respond as if they clicked on a text hyperlink. A complete tutorial is available including a sample imagemap and helpful tools. You are encouraged to review the entire tutorial.
How do I implement client-side imagemaps?(recommended)
Client-side imagemaps do not require the presence of a server-side script in order to interpret the coordinates of the "hot" regions of your multi-clickable image. The client-side imagemap is more efficient than the server-side imagemap and it allows the visitor to see the actual URL associated with the mapped regions in the status bar of their web browser.
Here is a sample client-side map file created using MapEdit:
<map name="sample"> <area shape="rect" coords="20,27,82,111" href="hotspot1.html"> <area shape="circle" coords="129,113,29" href="hotspot2.html"> <area shape="rect" coords="21,158,170,211" href="mailto:support@hway.net"> <area shape="default" nohref> </map>
<img src="image.gif" usemap="#sample">
Substitute the name of the desired image above and note the relationship between the HTML tag, <map name="sample"> and the usemap="#sample" attribute above. You can test your new client-side imagemap offline if the links refer to files on your local PC.
More information is available.
Virtual domain accounts also have the ability to use the popular RealAudio® server. Follow these detailed instructions.
You can add sound or music to spice up your web site by embedding a MIDI file in your page. MIDI files are typically only about 15k to 25k in size, so they do not take very long to load. You can use MIDI files as background music on your page by adding the following code to the section of your html file:
Replace "yoursong" with the name of the MIDI file that you are using. This code excerpt will support people using Netscape or Internet Explorer.
To make a MIDI file play "on request" in the foreground, you link to directly to the MIDI file using a hyperlink.
An autoresponder is an automatic program that will respond to an email message sent to a predefined address in your domain. This is useful for automatically sending out information via email based on a user's emailed request.
All domain accounts support SSL (Secure socket layer)
secure transactions. This method allows for secure, encrypted
communication between the user's web browser and your web site. SSL
requires that a secure host have a "certificate" signed by a
secure certificate issuing company.
Sunny Oasis can purchase these for you, if required, and install them on your web site.
What type of SSL encryption is used?
A 1024-bit RSA encrypted key and a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate signed by a certificate issuing company. The SSL is RSA-encryption based. Our secure server software is Apache-modSSL.
Yes, you can password protect specific directories within your website. You can begin assigning unique ids and passwords by selecting 'DIRECTORY' in your Control Panel. As such, visitors will be prompted for id and password to gain access to any web page within such a directory. This does NOT affect FTP access.
Virtual domain account users can allow anonymous FTP access to visitors wishing to download or upload files to your web site as if you were running your own FTP server. You can enable (and disable) ANON FTP access within Account Settings under your Control Panel.
support@sunnyoasis.com
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