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Xitami Xitami
Version 2.1c

Installing Xitami

You can install Xitami in a few minutes on most platforms. You do not need to be a system administrator; Xitami will run in 'user space'; for instance using socket number 5080. For UNIX systems, Xitami is provided as a source kit that you must build on your system. Ready-to-run installation kits are supplied for Windows.

Select your system:

 

Quick Download Corner

FTP sites: Florida.

These self-installing packages are available for downloading:

xic3220e.exe    412635 97/10/12 11:20:12  Executable
xic3221b.exe    463447 97/12/18 17:14:36  Executable
xis3220e.exe    453962 97/10/12 11:20:30  Executable
xis3221b.exe    504189 97/12/18 17:14:54  Executable
xiw1620e.exe    368639 97/10/12 11:25:36  Executable
xiw1621b.exe    416515 97/12/18 17:14:00  Executable
xiw3220e.exe    425825 97/10/12 11:19:36  Executable
xiw3221b.exe    476115 97/12/18 17:14:18  Executable

These zip packages are available for downloading - please read the readme.txt included:

xic3220e.zip    264606 97/10/12 11:20:14  ZIP archive
xic3221b.zip    302494 97/12/18 17:14:40  ZIP archive
xios220e.zip    288061 97/10/12 10:28:34  ZIP archive
xios221b.zip    325609 97/12/18 17:10:20  ZIP archive
xis3220e.zip    306261 97/10/12 11:20:32  ZIP archive
xis3221b.zip    343583 97/12/18 17:14:58  ZIP archive
xiuni21b.zip    664815 97/12/18 17:12:06  ZIP archive
xiuni22a.zip    714916 97/12/29 17:32:06  ZIP archive
xiw1620e.zip    220242 97/10/12 11:25:40  ZIP archive
xiw1621b.zip    255237 97/12/18 17:14:04  ZIP archive
xiw3220e.zip    277857 97/10/12 11:19:50  ZIP archive
xiw3221b.zip    315417 97/12/18 17:14:22  ZIP archive
xsos221b.zip    876795 97/12/18 17:10:16  ZIP archive
xswin21b.zip    903886 97/12/18 17:15:50  ZIP archive

These tgz packages are GZIP/tar versions of the eponymous zip files:

xiuni21b.tgz    664724 97/12/18 17:11:52  Gzip/tar archive
xiuni22a.tgz    714825 97/12/29 17:32:00  Gzip/tar archive

Each package is named as follows: xi<model><version>. The models are: w16 = 16 bits Windows; w32 = 32-bits Windows; s32 = 32-bits service for NT; c32 = 32-bits Windows console version; os2 = OS/2; uni = UNIX.


 

Xitami for Windows 3.1 or 3.11

To run Xitami on a Windows 3.x PC you must have a 386 or higher processor. Xitami will run on a modest system; 4Mb RAM is enough if you do not run any large applications.

Download and run the 16-bit Windows package. The installation program will prompt you for an installation directory, and will build a program group and icons to run Xitami.

To uninstall Xitami, double-click the Uninstall icon. Xitami does not create any files in the Windows directories.

When you have installed Xitami, run it, then connect with any web browser. You should see the "Welcome To Xitami" test page. If another web server is already using port 80, Xitami will not start. In that case, you can choose a new port (e.g. 5080) and then connect using the URL http://localhost:5080/.

We have tested Xitami with some 16-bit Winsock libraries, but these are notoriously unstable. Our best recommendation are the Microsoft winsock libraries, supplied with recent 16-bit versions Explorer. Windows 3.11 is also reasonably robust.

The limitations of 16-bit Windows mean that Xitami does not support CGI programs under Windows 3.x. If someone tries to run a CGI program, Xitami will show an error page. This limitation may be removed in later versions. Otherwise Xitami runs fully.


 

Xitami for Windows 95 or NT

Download and run the 32-bit Windows package. The installation program will prompt you for an installation directory, and will build a program group and icons to run Xitami.

You can uninstall Xitami by double-clicking the Uninstall icon. Under Windows 95 and NT 4.x you can also select the 'Add/Remove Programs' option in the control panel. Xitami maintains various items in the Windows registry.

When you have installed Xitami, run it, then connect with any web browser. You should see the "Welcome To Xitami" test page. If Xitami cannot run on its normal port (80), it shows an error message: this can happen if another server is using port 80. You can use an alternative HTTP port such as 5080. You then connect using the URL http://localhost:5080/.

You can also download the source package for Windows. This compiles under MSVC 4.x or 5.x, and is necessary if you want to extend the server using the WSX add-on protocol. To build from the source package, unzip it into a directory (e.g. c:\xitami\src) and double click on the xitami.mdp file. This launches MSVC. Click on the 'Build' button, wait until everything compiles, then click on 'Run'. Note that this source package contains the console (DOS box) version of Xitami.


 

Vanilla Xitami for Windows 95 and NT

The console version of Xitami is less good-looking than the full Windows version, but runs a little faster. Otherwise it offers exactly the same functionality, and is fully compatible in terms of log files, security, etc. Download and run the 32-bit Windows console package. The installation program will prompt you for an installation directory, and will build a program group and icons to run Xitami.

When you have installed Xitami, run xidos32, then connect with any web browser. You should see the "Welcome To Xitami" test page. If Xitami cannot run on its normal port (80), it shows an error message: this can happen if another server is using port 80. To use an alternative HTTP port, use the '-b' option. This shifts the standard HTTP and FTP ports by some 'base'. For example, '-b 5000' runs the Xitami HTTP service on port 5080 and the FTP service on port 5021. You would then connect using http://localhost:5080/.

To halt Xitami, press Ctrl-C. This shuts-down the server cleanly.

You can uninstall Xitami by double-clicking the Uninstall icon. Under Windows 95 and NT 4.x you can also select the 'Add/Remove Programs' option in the control panel.


 

Xitami Service for Windows NT

Download and run the NT service package. The installation program will prompt you for an installation directory, and will install Xitami as an NT service. You can start and stop the service using the Service Control Manager or the Xitami control panel (in the Control Panel window). If you want to download the smaller zip file, follow the manual install instructions below.

The Xitami Service version accepts various command-line arguments when run in a Dos window:
Argument: Has this purpose:
-i Installs Xitami as a service.
-u Uninstalls the Xitami service.
-d Run Xitami as a console program.
-d -h Show help for command-line arguments.

You can pass any command-line arguments except -i, -u, and -d in the 'Startup Parameters' field in the Service Control Manager. When you run the Xitami service as a command-line program, it acts identically to the vanilla console version. You can use the service version on Windows 95, although the -i and -u switches will not work.

The Xitami service version has the same performance as the normal 32-bits version, but will continue to work after you log off. Xitami runs on NT 3.51 and later versions.

Under Windows NT 4.0 and later you can select the 'Add/Remove Programs' option in the control panel to de-install Xitami. A bug in NT means that the control panel itself (xiwinntc.cpl) will not be deleted. Xitami maintains various items in the Windows registry, but these can be removed at any time without affecting the server.

Manual Installation Of The Xitami NT Service

On some (broken) NT systems that have problems running 16-bit code, the self-installing .exe file may cause an error. In such a case you can install the NT service by hand. Unzip the .exe install file (use WinZip or similar) into a directory like C:\Program Files\Xitami. You can also download the xis3221c.zip file, in which case this manual installation is necessary.

In a DOS box, in the Xitami directory, run 'xiwinnt -i' to install the Xitami service. Then copy xiwinntc.cpl to the Windows NT system32 directory. You can check that this works by using the NT service manager to stop/start Xitami, and using the Xitami Control Panel.


 

Vanilla Xitami for OS/2 With EMX

The OS/2 version of Xitami was built using GCC 2.7.2.1 and runs with the EMX 0.9c environment. The EMX DLLs will be required, and are available from fine FTP sites everywhere (e.g. ftp.leo.org, ftp.cdrom.com, hobbes.nmsu.edu). Compiled with assertions and gdb debugging information disabled. The OS/2 version of Xitami was built by Ewen McNeill who also ported SFL and SMT to OS/2.

The current distribution of Xitami for OS/2 was built for EMX 0.9c fix 2, and we have had reports of problems from people using EMX 0.9c fix 4.

Download the OS/2 binary package -- you'll need an unzip tool to extract the archive. You can also build the server from the OS/2 source package, using the supplied build.cmd file. Actually, the source kit will also build nicely on Unix, OpenVMS, and Windows, but that's another story.

When you have installed Xitami, run xitami.exe, then connect with any web browser. You should see the "Welcome To Xitami" test page. If Xitami cannot run on its normal port (80), it shows an error message: this can happen if another server is using port 80. To use an alternative HTTP port, use the '-b' option. This shifts the standard HTTP and FTP ports by some 'base'. For example, '-b 5000' runs the Xitami HTTP service on port 5080 and the FTP service on port 5021. You would then connect using http://localhost:5080/.

To halt Xitami, press Ctrl-C. This shuts-down the server cleanly.

Using TCP/IP With OS/2

In all cases where TCP/IP is bundled with OS/2, it is an installation option. Obviously the TCP/IP software must be installed to use TCP/IP-based programs like Xitami.

As far as we know, OS/2 can be used without a nameserver available (we use a Linux machine as the nameserver for our network), if a 'hosts' file is set up in the %ETC% directory (i.e. the directory pointed at by the ETC environment variable. This directory is typically d:\tcpip\etc, or d:\mptn\etc, where d: is the boot drive). The 'hosts' file should contain the normal host information, i.e. the IP address, and then the name associated with that IP address, on the same line separated by (one or more) spaces. OS/2 can be told to use the hosts file before checking DNS by setting the environment variable; set this line in config.sys and reboot:

USE_HOSTS_FIRST=1

Configuring The EMX System

The default number of file handles for an EMX is around 20-40. This is too little for a heavily-used server, and you may get errors logged as "out of file handles".

The number of file handles available in programs that use EMX can be controlled via a runtime settable environment variable, EMXOPT.

From the EMX runtime documentation (emxrt.doc):

7 emx options
=============
You can customize emx by setting the EMXOPT environment variable. This
environment variable contains a list of options, similar to command line
options. The options must be separated by at least one blank.  Example:
    set emxopt=-c -h40
7.1 emx options (OS/2)
----------------------
-c      Disable core dumps caused by signals and exceptions
-h#     Set OS/2 file handle limit to #.  The number # must be between
        10 and 65536
[...]

For a busy web server, a good value would be 100:

set EMXOPT=-h100

 

Source Installation For UNIX

With an ANSI C compiler, you can rebuild Xitami on your system. Note that the Xitami sources are ANSI C/POSIX compatible, and should build cleanly on the majority of UNIX systems. We have directly or indirectly tested Xitami on these systems:

To install the source kit you need about 15Mb of disk space. You can download the Xitami sources as a tgz file or a zip file. To unpack a tgz file you need GNU gunzip; to unpack a zip file you need InfoZip's unzip tool.

Download one of these files:

To unpack the tgz file, give these commands:

gunzip xiuni21c.tgz
tar -xvf xiuni21c.tar

To unpack the zip file, you need unzip. Give these commands:

unzip xiuni21c
tar -xvf xiuni21c.tar

The resulting directory structure includes the full sources for Xitami (basically the SFL and SMT packages), plus a build script, xibuild, plus the directories and web pages you need to get started with Xitami.

The xibuild script compiles Xitami and installs the executable program in the top directory (where xibuild is located). To run xibuild, give these commands:

chmod +x xibuild
./build

When you have built Xitami, run xitami, then connect with any web browser. You should see the "Welcome To Xitami" test page. If Xitami cannot run on its normal port (80), it shows an error message: this can happen if another server is using port 80. To use an alternative HTTP port, use the '-b' option. This shifts the standard HTTP and FTP ports by some 'base'. For example, '-b 5000' runs the Xitami HTTP service on port 5080 and the FTP service on port 5021. You would then connect using http://localhost:5080/.

If Xitami does not build cleanly on your system, the problem will usually lie in non-standard code in the SFL library upon which Xitami is based. It's possible that your system (or compiler) does not do what SFL expects. In general the only file which you may need to change is the prelude.h file in the SFL directory. Read the SFL doc if you think you want to make changes to this library (it's pretty simple, really, and many people done this).


 

Source Installation For OpenVMS

With UCX and Vax C or Dec C, you can rebuild Xitami on your OpenVMS system. OpenVMS 6.1 or prior may not work correctly. Note that the Xitami sources are ANSI C/POSIX compatible, and depend on support from the OpenVMS system libraries to some extent. These were not fully POSIX in OpenVMS prior to 7.0, through Xitami (actually, SFL, which provides the portability layer) gets around the most blatant differences.

The section on building Xitami must still be completed. However, the process is fairly simple:

Xitami runs fully, except for a couple of restrictions. The directory list functions do not (yet) work. To run a CGI program you must define an external command before starting the server. This is necessary so that Xitami can pass arguments to the program. For example:

$ testcgi :== $DKA300:[.cgi-bin]testcgi.exe
$ xitami -b 5000

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