Nameservers: 

For most raqshaq clients, you will use the raqshaq.com nameserver addresses.

Do not change these addresses unless you are going to run your own dns servers. If you are going to run your own dns servers, please see our quick dns faq to help you get started with that process.

Administrator Password: 

When your service is activated with Raqshaq.com, the server administrator password will be sent to you in the “Service Activation Email”

It is highly recommended that you change this password. It is recommended that you use a password that is between 6 and 10 characters with both letters and digits.

You can change the administrator password by clicking on the “Administrator” link on the menu bar.

Enter the new password twice – then click on save changes. The cobalt server will most likely log you out, and ask to you enter the new password to get back onto the server.

AFTER YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR ADMIN PASSWORD. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO support@raqsahq.com with the new administrator password.

IF YOU DO NOT LET US KNOW THE NEW ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD. RAQSHAQ.COM WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MANAGE YOUR COBALT SERVER AFFECTIVELY. PLEASE LET US KNOW IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU CHANGE YOUR ADMIN PASSWORD.

Email Addresses for Alert Messages: 

Enter the email address of the administrator for this server – this would be the main email address most likely for the owner of this account.

Control Panel: 

Click on the Control Panel to manage the services active on your cobalt.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT ENABLE TELNET!!!! – TELNET is an insecure protocol that can easily be compromised. If you see telnet enabled on your server, immediately uncheck the radio button, and click on save changes to disable the telnet service.

By Default Raqshaq.com installs OpenSSH – in rudimentary terms SSH is a secure telnet program that enables shell access/management of your server through the command line.

In order to use SSH, you will need an SSH client. Free SSH clients can be downloaded from http://www.freessh.org

Another SSH client that Raqshaq.com recomends is called Secure CRT. Demo versions of Secure CRT are available for download at http://www.vandyke.com

Default Services:  

When your service is activated with Raqshaq.com, a couple of services are enabled by Default.

Webserver: (Alwayson – you will not be able to turn this off through the cobalt interface)
Email Server: (Enables email communication between an email client and your server)
FTP Server: (Enables FTP Communication between an FTP client and your server)

Optional Services:  

1. SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol
2. Backup Client Programs:
   Knox Arkei File Backup
   Legato Networker File Backup
   Vertitas NetBackup
3. ASP Administrative Server:
4. Domain Name System Server (DNS):
5. Access By Domain Web Reports:

1. SNMP:
   SNMP is a management protocol that can be used with specific client software to manage your cobalt server. Examples of SNMP management software are HP’s OpenView, and also SNMP by Castlerock Software.

   Raqshaq.com recomends that you do not enable SNMP on your cobalt server. SNMP opens up a couple of communication ports to use this service. Lately there have been a couple of security holes found in all versions of the SNMP protocol that are hazardous to the security of your server. Most users do not use this service. Please leave it turned off.

2. Backup Client Programs:
   By Default Sun/Cobalt installs 3 popular backup client programs. Arkeia, Legato, and Veritas. Enabling any of these services will allow you to use any one of these clients in conjunction with their corresponding Server Software. In order to backup your server using any one of these programs you will need to purchase the corresponding server software. The server software associated with these client programs can be pretty expensive so the majority of the raqshaq.com clients do not use any of these services to backup their server – unless they already have purchased the corresponding server software for their local networks.

   IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT USE ANY OF THESE SOFTWARE SERVICES. ALL OF THEM OPEN UP COMMUNICATION PORTS THAT COULD BE POTENTIAL SECURITY HOLES ON YOUR SERVER.

   Raqshaq.com has a fantastic backup service that is very afforable – Evault. Evault is a web based backup service that will backup your cobalt server reliably and cheaply. For more information on this backup service, please visit http://www.raqshaq.com/raq_baq.html or send us an email at sales@raqshaq.com

3. ASP Administrative Server:
   The ASP Server is the management interface for the ChilliSoft ASP extensions. The ASP server will allow you to use ASP pages on your cobalt server. The management interface has a plethora of options to configure / extend the asp services on the cobalt interface.

   IF YOU DO NOT PLAN TO USE ASP PAGES ON YOUR COBALT SERVER, LEAVE THIS SERVICE DISABLED. THE ASP ADMINISTRATIVE SERVER USES SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION PORTS FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE ASP EXTENSIONS. THEY COULD BE A POTENTIAL SECURITY RISK, AND IF YOU ARE NOT USING ASP PAGES ON YOUR COBALT SERVER, THERE IS NO REASON TO HAVE THIS ENABLED.

4. Domain Name System (DNS) Server:
   IF YOU ARE NOT RUNNING YOUR OWN DNS SERVER – PLEASE LEAVE THIS SERVICE OFF. DNS USES SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION PORTS THAT COULD BE A POTENTIAL SECURITY RISK TO YOUR SERVER. IF YOU ARE NOT RUNNING YOUR OWN DNS SERVER – LEAVE THIS SERVICE DISABLED.

   DNS Defined: DNS is an internet service that translates domain names into IP Addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic they are easier to remember. The internet however is really based on IP Addresses. Every time you use a domain name a DNS Server must translate that name into the corresponding IP Address.

   If you are running your own DNS Server, please see our DNS quick start FAQ available at http://www.raqshaq.com/cobaltdns.html

5. Access By Domain Web Reports:
   By enabling this service you will effectively have the cobalt server generate graphical log files of all your virtual sites. These graphical reports can be accessed through your cobalt server.

   RAQSHAQ.COM HAS FOUND THAT THIS SERVICE IS NOT VERY HELPFUL TO OUR USERS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU LEAVE THIS SERVICE DISABLED AS IT EATS UP CPU WHILE PROCESSING THESE LOG FILES.

   If you would like to have better statistical reporting on your cobalt server, please see http://www.raqshaq.com/webalizer.html – or http://www.raqshaq.com/urchin.html.

   Both of these packages are statistical reporting packages that enable you to see graphical reports of your server usage.

   Webalizer is an opensource reporting package that can be installed on your server for a very small monthly fee. Please email sales@raqshaq.com for more information. Urchin is a commercial statistical software package – it comes highly recommended by Raqshaq.com and also integrates beautifully with the Miva Merchant Software Package. For more information on Urchin, please email sales@raqshaq.com

Now that all of your basic server settings have been completed, it is time to setup your first virtual site. There are many different options / settings that can be configured on each virtual site, but on all of them there are a couple of settings that remain the same.

Add Virtual Site: 

From the main server interface, click on “Add Virtual Site” – this will create a new virtual site on your server.

This will bring up the site properties of the Add New Virtual Site Window. Configure the following Properties:

1. IP Address: Your IP Address Range was sent to you in the service activation email. If this virual site that you are creating is not going to utilize SSL / https – use the same IP Address for more than 1 virtual site. This will save your IP Addresses, and is standard policy for sites that are not using SSL.

2. Host Name: most of the time the host name is www – unless this is part of a specific subdomain.

3. Domain Name: this is the domain name for the site – it must contain only lowercase letters, numbers, dash’s or periods. A valid example is yourcomany.com

4. Web Server Alias: enter additional host or domain names into this box – for this virtual site to accept web requests. Separate multiple entries with a comma “,”.
   Example: youcompany.com, mail.yourcompany.com, www.similardomain.com, similardomain.com

5. Email Server Alias: enter additional host or domain names into this box for this virtual site to accept mail for. Separate multiple entries with a comma “,”. Most common usage / example: mail.yourcompany.com, yourcompany.com

6. Max Allowed Disk Space / Quota: This is the maximum amount of disk space for this virtual site. Most virtual sites use very little disk space. By default cobalt puts in 200megs as the max amount of disk space. This is what raqshaq.com recomends.

7. Max Number of Users: This is the maximum number of user accounts that can be created. A user account is synonmous with an FTP account or a pop mailbox.
   Raqshaq.com recomends that you keep this number as small as possible. If you need to add more accounts to a virtual site – this can be done at a later time through the site settings of the particular virtual site.

8. Enable Frontpage Extensions: IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT WITH MICROSOFT FRONTPAGE – LEAVE THIS OPTION DISABLED. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER ISSUES WITH FRONTPAGE IS YOU TRY TO PUBLISH TO A VIRTUAL SITE WITH BOTH A REGULAR FTP CLIENT AND ALSO MICROSOFT FRONTPAGE.
   Enabling Frontpage Extensions will allow users to publish/edit their web content with Microsoft Frontpage 2000. The Frontpage extensions that are installed are for Microsoft Frontpage 2000 ONLY!!!! – Frontpage XP extensions will not work with this server. Sun/Cobalt has not yet released a patch for Frontpage XP yet.
   To enable Frontpage Extensions for a virtual site, select the correspoing radio button, and also enter the webmaster password twice.
   The webmaster password is the password that you will use to edit the Frontpage web for this site.
   Username – webmaster
   Password – (whatever password you specified in the text area)

9. Enable Anonymous FTP: WARNING – IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT ENABLE ANONYMOUS FTP. ANONYMOUS FTP IS A HUGE SECURITY HOLE. INSTEAD OF USING ANONYMOUS FTP – PUBLISH THE FILES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISTRIBUTE TO SOME PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEB SPACE.

10. Enable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): This option will enable SSL communication on your site – (https) – you need to enable this in order to setup the ssl keys. If you are not using ssl / https on your virtual site – leave this option disabled.
    Also – each site that uses SSL / https will require its own IP Address.

11. Enable Active Server Pages: this option will enable .asp pages to be served on this virtual site.
    IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE ACTIVE SERVER PAGES ON THIS VIRTUAL SITE, LEAVE THIS SETTING DISABLED.

12. Enable PHP Embedded Scripting: This option will enable php coded pages to be served on this virtual site. Currently php version 4.06 is supported.

    IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE PHP ON YOUR VIRTUAL SITE – LEAVE THIS OPTION DISABLED.

13. Enable Shell Accounts: LEAVE THIS DISABLED!!! (nuff said)

14. Enable Secure POP3 (APOP): enable/disable at your discretion.

15. Enable CGI Scripts: enables/disables cgi scripts on each virtual sites.
    IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE CGI OR PERL SCRIPTS ON YOUR VIRTUAL SITES, LEAVE THIS SETTING DISABLED.

16. Enable Server Side Includes: enables/disables .shtml’s – server side includes on this virtual site.

    IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE SERVER SIDE INCLUDES ON YOUR VIRTUAL SITE, LEAVE THIS SETTING DISABLED.

For each virtual site that you setup, you will need to create a site administrator, and users for each virtual site.

Please note that usernames are specific to the whole server, and not each virtual site. Raqshaq.com recomends that each username have some sort of significance to the users first and last name. This will solve the problem of each of your users wanting to use their first name as their username.

1. From within the virtual site management, click on User Management, then click on add-new user. This will bring the new user screen.

   

2. Configure the following properties
   • Full Name – this is most likely the users first and last name
   • Username – if you filled in the users, first and last name – then hit tab twice, the username will automatically be filled in the the first initial, and last name of the user. (Raqshaq.com recomends to use this username as it most likely does not conflict with another username on the server)
   • Password – fill out the password twice – to confirm the users password.
   • Max Disk Space – this is the total amount of disk space this user will be allowed to use on the virtual site, - this quota also includes email space, so plan accordingly.
   • Telnet / Shell Access – this should be disabled
   • Site Administrator – If this user is going to be the site administrator for this virtual site, then select this option. Most cases it will not be. Please note – Raqshaq.com does not recommend that you have more than 1 site administrator per virtual site.
   • Enable Frontpage User Web – most likely this should be disabled, unless Frontpage Extensions have been enabled on this virtual site. Raqshaq.com recomends that this is left turned off.
   • Secure POP3 (APOP) – most likely this will also be disabled unless Secure POP3 (APOP) – is enabled for this virtual site.
   • Email Alias’s – You can enter as many alias as you would like to in this text area. Raqshaq.com recomends that you put multiple alias entries on separate lines.

3. Confirm the New User –
   Once all of the options have been configured, select Confirm New User – this will add a new user to this virtual site. If you run into any problems, the server will let you know before letting you add the new account. Most times, users forget to confirm the password, else there is a username conflict.

   Chapter 4 – Summary

   You have now completed all of the basic steps to get your cobalt server configured properly. Now you can go ahead and start publishing your pages/content to the cobalt server.

   Please remember that security on your cobalt server is very important. The easiest way to protect your server and data is to:

   1) Turn off Services that you are not using 2) Bakup your data – please contact sales@raqshaq.com for our affordable backup solution

   Support Information:

   If you have trouble with your cobalt server, you can always contact support@raqshaq.com. Please include the following with your request.

   Subject Line: Your First/Last Name, title of your problem

   Body of Message: Please include a detailed description of your problem, if you feel that raqshaq.com will have to access your server through a SSH, or through the Cobalt Administrator – please also include the admin username and password. Otherwise this could delay the resolution of your problem.

   Thank you very much for your business. Raqshaq.com looks forward to working with you.