Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Contribute Server Environment; Preparing Your Web Server Before You Deploy - Adobe 65015459 - Contribute CS4 User Manual

Chapter 2: Setting up your Contribute
Server Environment
After you have given some consideration to what is involved in deploying Adobe® Contribute® and Contribute
Publishing Server (CPS), you are ready to begin. First you need to prepare your network, then you can install the
software.
• "Preparing your web server before you deploy" on page 11
• "Planning your Contribute site structure and connection path" on page 15
• "Installing Contribute and creating an administrative connection" on page 21
• "Installing Contribute Publishing Server (Optional)" on page 23

Preparing your web server before you deploy

Before you actually install Contribute and roll it out, consider how Contribute will affect your network and prepare
for it by setting permissions, access, and securing special files and folders on your web server.
Understanding network and server permissions
Contribute is unique in that it allows editing of web pages directly on the server hosting your website. This level of
server access makes network permissions and access control especially important.
There are at least three levels of permissions for every Contribute site:
• Permissions defined by the network operating system (for instance, Windows or UNIX® server software)
• Permissions defined by the web server software
• Roles you define in Contribute
Network permissions can be set in several ways through a variety of systems. Contribute always adheres to the
network permissions for read and write access to folders. It also obeys permissions set through LDAP and similar
systems. Contribute can never overwrite any server- or network-level permissions.
Note: The server's network and operating system permissions, and the web server software's permissions, always take
precedence over Contribute permissions.
Whenever you provide access to a web server, take precautions to ensure that the operating system of the server
hosting the site, as well as the web server software itself (and the FTP server, if you are using FTP), are secure. For
the best practices related to securing your website from accidental and malicious tampering, see the documentation
provided with your server's operating system, FTP, and web server software.
Note: You can set folder permissions to allow a user or group of users to modify a folder and later define more restrictive
folder- or file-editing options when you define the Contribute user roles.
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