Internet platforms
Internet
platforms overlap with, and must relate to, the firm's general networking
infrastructure and hardware and software platforms. Internet-related
infrastructure includes the hardware, software and services to maintain
corporate Web sites, intranets, and extranets, including Web hosting services
and Web software application development tools. A Web hosting service maintains
a large Web server, or series of servers, and provides fee-paying subscribers
with space to maintain their Web sites
1)Apache :
What is
Apache?
The Apache web server, more popular as simply
Apache, represents an open-source web server platform lying in the basis of
most of the websites we see today on the World Wide Web. Looking back at the
time when it was introduced in mid 90's and gradually adopted as a preferred
server platform on the web, we could state that Apache acted as the main
driving force behind today's web expansion. As a web server 'pioneer', Apache
has turned into a standard for the development of other successful web server
platforms
The
Benefits of Apache:
Apache
is a popular open-source web server and has been the most popular open source
web server on the internet for the last 15 years.
·
it will allow you to run multiple Tomcat
instances behind a single instance of Apache
·
it
allows you to create virtual hosts on your server so that you can give the
appearance of many different hosts all operating on the same IP address.
·
the
ability to rewrite URLs based on regex patterns to achieve certain perceived
navigation. One example, which can be extremely useful when securing your
application, is the ability to rewrite specific URLs to use HTTPS based on
their relative path.
·
Load Balancing : Perhaps
the single greatest use of a web server is the ability to load balance traffic
in a cluster. Apache makes this easy through the use of two modules, mod_proxy
and mod_proxy_balancer. Load balancing allows Apache to act as your bouncer,
dividing traffic evenly among all members of your cluster. You have your choice
of three different algorithms for configuring how loads are balanced
1.
Request Counting
2. Weighted Traffic
3. Pending Request
2) Microsoft Internet Information
Service:
Microsoft’s IIS is the second most popular Web server software. It consists of a
series of services including File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and others that enable a Windows machine to manage Web sites.
The latest version also includes various modules for security, caching, logging, compression and diagnostics.
Because IIS is provided for Windows systems only, the choice to
use IIS necessitates the choice of a Windows Server, and therefore increases
running costs. Windows is also prone to more malware attacks, and has a
reputation as a less secure server option.
why might you consider an Windows/IIS option
over a LAMP system?
- Windows and IIS are supported by
Microsoft, whereas Apache is supported only by the user community
- IIS supports Microsoft’s .NET framework, and ASPX
scripts
- Media pack modules are available to
enable audio and video content streaming
Windows IIS vs apache:
if security is your primary consideration, Apache is widely
acknowledged as the more secure option. If you want to run anything other than
a Windows operating system on your servers, you not be able to run IIS. However,
if you want to run a script that relies on ASPX, you will be tied to the IIS on
Windows platform
3)Unix:
Unix operating systems are widely used in servers, workstations, and mobile devices. The Unix environment and
the client–server program model were essential elements in the development of the Internet and the reshaping of computing as centered in networks
rather than in individual computers.
4)Java:
Java is an operating
system-independent, processor-independent, object-oriented
programming language that
has become a leading interactive programming environment for
the Web.
The
Benefits of java:
Java enables users to work with data on
networked systems using Web browsers,
reducing the need to write
specialized software. At the enterprise level, Java is used for more
complex e-commerce and
e-business applications that require communication with an
organization’s back-end
transaction processing systems.
Nearly all Web browser
software has a Java platform built in. The Java platform has
migrated into cell phones,
automobiles, music players, game machines, and, finally, into
set-top cable television systems serving interactive content.
Java software is designed to
run on any computer or computing device, regardless of the
specific microprocessor or
operating system the
device uses. Java achieves this neat trick by
using a Java virtual machine
built for each type of computer and operating system. The virtual
machine enables it to run
Java applications. A Macintosh PC, an IBM PC running
Windows, a Sun server
running UNIX, and even a smart cell phone or PDA can share the
same Java application,
reducing the costs of software development and creating the same
user experience regardless
of what kind of computer the user is working with.
In network environments,
such as the Internet, Java is used to create miniature programs
called applets that are
designed to reside on centralized network servers. The network delivers
to client computers only the
applets required for a specific function. With Java applets
residing on a network, a
user can download only the software functions and data that he or
she needs to perform a
particular task, such as analyzing the revenue from one sales territory.
The user does not need to
maintain large software programs or data files on his or her
desktop machine.
5) .NET:
The .NET Framework
(pronounced dot net) is a software
framework developed by Microsoft
that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It
includes a large library and
provides language
interoperability (each language can use code written in other
languages) across several programming
languages. Programs written for the .NET Framework execute in a software
environment (as contrasted to hardware
environment), known as the Common
Language Runtime (CLR), an application
virtual machine that provides services such as security, memory management,
and exception
handling. The class library and the CLR together constitute the .NET
Framework
Benefits of .NET:
Interoperability
Because computer systems commonly require
interaction between newer and older applications, the .NET Framework provides
means to access functionality implemented in newer and older programs that
execute outside the .NET environment. Access to COM
components is provided in the System.Runtime.InteropServices and
System.EnterpriseServices namespaces of the framework; access to other
functionality is achieved using the P/Invoke
feature.
Common
Language Runtime engine
The Common
Language Runtime (CLR) serves as the execution engine of the .NET
Framework. All .NET programs execute under the supervision of the CLR,
guaranteeing certain properties and behaviors in the areas of memory
management, security, and exception handling.
Language
independence
The .NET Framework introduces a Common
Type System, or CTS. The CTS specification
defines all possible datatypes and
programming
constructs supported by the CLR and how they may or may not interact with each
other conforming to the Common Language Infrastructure
(CLI) specification. Because of this feature, the .NET Framework supports the
exchange of types and object instances between libraries and applications
written using any conforming .NET
language.
Base
Class Library
The Base
Class Library (BCL), part of the Framework Class Library
(FCL), is a library of functionality available to all languages using the .NET
Framework. The BCL provides classes
that encapsulate a number of common functions, including file reading
and writing, graphic
rendering, database
interaction, XML document
manipulation, and so on. It consists of classes, interfaces of reusable types
that integrates with CLR(Common Language Runtime).
Simplified deployment
The .NET Framework includes design features and
tools which help manage the installation of computer software to
ensure it does not interfere with previously installed software, and it
conforms to security requirements.
Security
.NET provides a common security model for all
applications.
Portability
While Microsoft has never implemented the full
framework on any system except Microsoft Windows, it has engineered the
framework to be platform-agnostic, and cross-platform implementations are
available for other operating systems .
Microsoft submitted the specifications for the Common Language Infrastructure
(which includes the core class libraries, Common Type
System, and the Common
Intermediate Language the C# language and the C++/CLI language to both ECMA and
the ISO, making them available as official standards.
This makes it possible for third parties to create compatible implementations
of the framework and its languages on other platforms
