Question.
We're interested in developing a companywide information distribution system on our Banyan Systems, Inc. VINES LAN/WAN using the Web. Is it possible to set up an internal Web server? We do not want to be connected to the Internet for security reason s, nor do we want to buy a TCP/IP server or protocol stack. R. Goodwin via the Internet
Answer.
You bet you can have a compnywide Web service without having to stay connected to the Internet, says Wayne Spivak, president of SBA.NET.WEB of Bellmore, N.Y. All you need to do is create Web pages using HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML).
You will, however, need Internet access in order to download some shareware/freeware programs. To read local files and local HTML links, you'll need licensed copies of a Web browser. You'll also need a Winsock driver on each workstation so that Windows can communicate with TCP/IP. You'll find a shareware version of WinSock at ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/micro/pc-stuff/ms-windows/winsock/apps.
You'll also want a copy of Perl for DOS/Windows so you can create and run Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs. You can get a shareware copy at ftp://ftp.intergraph.com/pub/win32/perl.
If you want to use CGI-related facilities, such as imagemaps, Perl or C scriforms and mail-tos, then you'll need a HyperText Transport Protocol Daemon (HTTPD) Web Server such as Windows httpd 1.4, which costs $99 if you use it for commercial purposes but is free if you don't. Point your Web browser at http://www.city.net/win-httpd/ to download a copy of Windows httpd 1.4 for a free 30-day trial.