Transcript Externally-Hosted Web Services

Externally-Hosted Web Services
Brian Kelly
UK Web Focus
UKOLN
University of Bath
Summary
This talk describes a
variety of externallyhosted Web services
and ponders on their
applicability for UK
Email: [email protected]
URL: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ Public Libraries
UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries,
the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher and Further
Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the
European Union.
UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.
Ring Any Bells?
• You manage a Web service or create
departmental Web pages
• Your job was fun once, but now it's difficult to
keep on top the job
• You need extra resources, but can’t get them
• Your good Unix systems staff have left for $$$$
• There is a software solution, but it's expensive
• You tried to install the 14 day evaluation version,
but couldn't get it to work
• When you eventually got it to work, your PC
wasn't powerful enough to run it
• You can't afford an upgrade to your PC
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An Answer To The
Webmaster's Prayer?
A solution may be available:
• A solution which is free (in many cases)
• A solution which requires no software installation
• A solution which requires no investment in
hardware
• A solution which exploits the network – remember
Sun’s slogan “The network is the computer”
The solution is deployment of externally-hosted Web
services
Sounds great? But will it mean
outsourcing your IT department?
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What Do We Mean?
Remember HTML Validation services:
• Enter a URL into a Web
form and check it validates
• Add an image if your page
is valid HTML
• Link the page to the
validation for on-the-fly
validation - an externallyhosted web service
Another example is the hit counter
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Your View So Far
Sounds great, no software to install, available
for free. What else can be done in this way?
Sorry
I'm indecisive.
What edge
of this spectrum
youdecide.
closest to?
Iare
can't
Question
Has anyone
made use of
externallyhosted Web
services?
No way! I don't want to be reliant on anyone
else. Besides, I'll be out of a job if this idea
takes off – this is out-sourcing.
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D
Hit Counters to Web Stats
Hit counters have developed into comprehensive
Web statistical services
Model
• Link to image
held on remote
Web site
• Follow link to
remote site to
get graphical
display of hits
• Use JavaScript
to record PC
profile
See <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/indicators/>
Comparison of externally-hosted and licensed approaches to be
published in Exploit Interactive in issue 7.
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D
eGroups Mailing Lists
eGroups lets you set up
free mailing lists
eGroups provides
an email and Web
interface
Calendars, polls and
databases are also
provided by eGroups
How does this
compare with
Listproc or
Majordomo
installed locally?
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You can use www.smartgroups.com
if you want a UK-based equivalent
D
Managing Link Gateways
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LinkBank.net enables
link gateways to be
managed:
• Bulk upload
• Email
notification of
broken links
• Summaries of
usage
• User "sort by"
option
See also
JumpList.com
D
User Feedback
User feedback can include
voting systems, quizzes, etc.
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See <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
issue23/web-focus/> and
<http://ezpolls.mycomputer.com/>
http://www.responders.net/
See also
<http://www.
freepolls.com/>
Ticket Booking Service
The Web site for booking
tickets at the Moscow State
Circus has an externallyhosted service for ticket
bookings.
See
<http://www.ts.com/>
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D
Notification Services
You can register a page
at Netmind.
You will receive a
message when the page
is updated.
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The Netmind service is
used at Exploit Interactive
to provide notification of a
new issue.
Server Down - Notification
Recently the
Exploit Interactive
Web server
crashed after a
virus checker
caused memory
leaks.
Internetseer's
free Website
monitoring
service is now
used to check the
site hourly.
Up to 230 URLs
can be checked
12for free.
http://www.internetseer.com/
Submit-it Services
Rather than manually
submitting key resources to
many search engines you
can:
• Purchase and install
an application locally
• Subscribe to a Webbased service
• Use a free Webbased service
Exploit Interactive has used
ScrubTheWeb – reviewed in
issue 6
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http://www.submitit.com/
http://www.scrubtheweb.com/
Web Site Evaluation
Many Web
services are
available
which can be
used for
auditing and
evaluating
Web pages
and Web sites
(See hands-on
workshop)
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http://www.linktool/.com/
Search Engines
If you do not have a search
facility, why not let a third-party
index your Web site? All you
need is a few lines of HTML
Kendall and Perth and Kinross
Libraries use Atomz, East Sussex
County Library use FreeFind and
Wolverhampton use HotBot
The Hertfordshire Grid for Learning <http://www.thegrid.org.uk/>
use Atomz and avoid branding problems
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Calendars
Why bother with Outlook when you
can get calendar facilities for free?
<http://my.netscape.com/>
You can also add your
See also http://www.when.com/ & own local news feeds
http://www.ft.com/personaloffice/
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File Store
Your file store can be stored remotely
Note:
• Tools can
integrate with
Windows
Explorer
• Growing
interest in
Storage Area
Networks
(SANs)
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See <http://www.idrive.com/>
Content
http://ezpolls.mycomputer.com/
Free news feeds, classified ads,
jokes, cartoons, quotations) can
be included on your Web site
Get Guardian news feeds for free from
<http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/free/>
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http://notinmybackyard.com/
Your Intranet
Why not host your
Intranet remotely?
Intranets.com provide:
• Document
management tools
• Email capabilities
• Group calendars
• Instant messaging
• …
As we’ve seen your WAP site
can also be hosted remotely
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D
Content Management
Manilla is a Web-based content management tool.
You can buy the software
for $899 or use it for free at
Editthispage.com
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Your Web Site
You can use externallyhosted services to create
and host your Web site
http://www.bcentral.com/
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http://www.webnow.com/
Issues
Many externally-hosted web services are available, but:
• What about the dependencies of the network(s)?
• What about the reliance of the third-party? Will
the company stay in business?
• The interface isn't as rich as desktop applications
• If the service is funded by advertising revenue,
with use contravene the AUPs and guidelines?
• Will large-scale use of such services generate
large network bills?
• Is my data secure and private?
• Is my data reusable and available in an open
format?
• Is is sensible for a mission-critical service?
Remember the WebTechs incident?
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RDN Include
The Resource Discovery Network Centre (RDNC)
coordinates the work of RDN hubs, such as SOSIG,
EEVL, BIOME, etc.
Institutions may be reluctant to link to hubs as they
want users to stay on the
University Web site.
The RDNC is
developing the RDN-I
(Include) service to
give the appearance
that the hub is located
within the institution.
The RDN will be providing
an externally-hosted service
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What About The Users?
"I use the external services because the University
doesn't allow me access to install on the server and
because it doesn't make any appropriate tools
available."
Tom Wilson, Department of Information Studies,
University of Sheffield
"Our search facility is currently hosted by atomz.com ,
some calendering by Yahoo!, so I'm increasingly drawn
to externally hosted solutions... more time to catch up
on other, more pressing work, until they all stop
At oneworking."
university 60% of UGs arrived with a HotMail account,
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which they usedIan
in Usher,
preference
to the University
email
account. UCL
Webmonger,
Department
of Geography,
• Should the university support use of HotMail?
• Can they afford not to?
• What will happen when they arrive with a calendar service?
ASP
Application Service Providers
(ASP):
• Commercial sector already moving in
this direction
• Sun promote access to StarOffice
across network in preference to MS
Office on local PC
• Futurelink.net renting MS Office
across network for £79 / month
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Further Information:
<http://www.aspcommunity.org/>
<http://www.aspindustry.org/>
<http://www.mi8.co.uk/>
<http://www.progress.com/>
Search Yahoo! for ASP
Computer Weekly, 21 Sep
Do I need an ASP?
Useful if:
• You don’t have any inhouse IT staff
• You need software for a
fixed time
• You want your IT staff to
concentrate on
“competitive edge” projects
• You’re a small organisation
with remote sites to
support
• You want to try out
software without buying it
• You prefer monthly rental
to upfront hardware /
software costs
Conclusions
Externally hosted web services:
• Are available in many different areas
• Arguments against their use (reliability, privacy,
trust, performance) should diminish as they mature
• Their usability will improve as W3C developments
(DOM, XHTML, SVG) become more available
• Your user community will use them (are using
them) in any case
• Of particular interest to the public sector
community?
• Will we see a move towards use of Application
Service Providers (ASPs)?
• A valuable resource for the Web Manager
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Any Questions?
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Useful URLs
Sorted Webmaster Tools Free Of Charge
<http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/mineralogie/freeof.htm>
Linkcheckers and Site Maintenance Tools
<http://www.unn.ac.uk/central/isd/links.htm>
Automated Web Testing
<http://www.internetqa.com/>
All Things Web
<http://pantos.org/atw/testing.html>
Web Site Analyst
<http://www.website-analyst.co.il/>
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