Other Web Servers for Use with Fedora
| Of course, other web servers can be used with Fedora. Apache is by far the most popular, but this does not rule out the others. To determine the best web server for your use, consider the needs of the website you manage. Does it need heavy security (for e-commerce), multimedia (music, video, and pictures), or the capability to download files easily? How much are you willing to spend for the software? Do you need software that is easy to maintain and troubleshoot or that includes tech support? The answers to these questions might steer you to something other than Apache. The following sections list some of the more popular alternatives to using Apache as your web server. Sun Java System Web ServerDespite the Netcraft numbers shown previously in Table 21.1, there is evidence that the Sun Java System Web Server (formerly known as the iPlanet Web Server, and subsequently Sun ONE Web Server) might be even more popular than Apache in strictly corporate arenas. Netcraft has rated Sun Java System Web Server number one in market share among Fortune 100 websites. The server got its start as the Netscape Enterprise Serverone of the first powerful web servers ever to hit the market. Sun Java System Web Server comes in many flavors, and all of them are big. In addition to the enterprise-level web server that can be run on Red Hat, the software features application, messaging, calendar, and directory serversjust to name a few. Sun Java System Web Server is great for handling big web needs, and it comes with an appropriately big price tag: $1,495 (U.S.) per CPU. It's definitely not something to run the school websiteunless your school happens to be a major state university with several regional campuses. For more information on Sun Java System Web Server, you can visit its website (http://wwws.sun.com/software/products/web_srvr/home_web_srvr.html). StrongholdIf you're looking for something a little more secure than Apache but still don't want to lose the Apache functionality, you can purchase Stronghold from Red Hat Software. Although not a web server as such, Stronghold is a server add-on that provides 128-bit cryptography and security certificates to the Apache web server (which is included in your purchase of Stronghold). Stronghold supports SSL and TLS security standards, as well as many of the certificate standards on the market today. The price for this kind of security is not particularly cheap. The software, which can be previewed at http://www.redhat.com/software/stronghold/, was advertised in 2004 at $995 (U.S.) per year. ZopeZope is another open source web server. Although it is still relatively young and might not have as much flexibility as Apache, it is making strong inroads in the web server market. What makes Zope different from Apache is the fact that it is managed through a completely web-based graphic interface. This has broad appeal for those who are not enthused about a command-line-only interface. Zope is a product of the Zope Corporation (formerly Digital Creations), the same firm that made the Python programming language. And, like all things open source, it is free. Information on Zope can be found at both http://www.zope.com/ (for the commercial version) and http://www.zope.org/ (for the open source version). Zeus Web ServerFedora sites can also use the Zeus Web Server from Zeus Technology. This server offers a scalable SSL implementation, security settings across multiple websites, and an online administration server. The current price is $1,700 for a host platform with up to two CPUs, but load balancing via the Zeus Load Balancer costs $12,000 for each pair of load-balancing computers. You can get more information about the Zeus Web Server at http://www.zeus.com/products/zws/.
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