PreviousNextUpFAQ Table of Contents

Architecture

The VolanoChat server is actually three servers in one, as shown in Figure 4.1 below.

VolanoChat server architecture

Figure 4.1: VolanoChat server component architecture.

The Servlet Runner

The Servlet Runner runs on port 8080 by default. It is the same Servlet Runner provided by Sun in its Java Servlet Development Kit (JSDK). The servlet runner accepts HTTP requests for Java servlets and sends back their HTTP responses. It reads its configuration from the httpd.txt and servlets.txt Java property files by default.

The Administrative Server

The Administrative Server runs on port 8001 by default. The administrative server accepts network connections from the COM.volano.Status and COM.volano.Shutdown Java applications when given the correct administrator password.

The Chat Server

The Chat Server runs on port 8000 by default. The chat server accepts network connections from the COM.volano.VolanoChat and COM.volano.MyVolanoChat Java applets and delivers chat messages between all connected clients.

It reads its configuration from the properties.txt Java property file, its access control directives from the access.txt file, and its list of permanent rooms from the rooms.txt file.

It writes access records to the access.log, public.log, and private.log files. Errors are recorded in the error.log file, and support information is written to the support.log file.

It sends HTTP GET requests for the membership CGI script in order to verify member names and passwords.


PreviousNextUpFAQ Check HTML Table of Contents