• What is FlashCONNECT?
• What is installed?
• What are the Security issues?
• What does FlashCONNECT cost?
• Where is the FlashCONNECT FAQ?
• What Web servers can run FlashCONNECT?

• Is there a FlashCONNECT customer support discussion forum?
• What ongoing administation is needed for the Web server component?
• What resources does the FlashCONNECT Web Server component consume?
• What are the configuration options?

What is FlashCONNECT?

FlashCONNECT, Using a CGI, ISAPI, or upcoming Java Servlet interface, provides the ability to run D³ applications from the Internet.

FlashCONNECT consists of two components, the Web server component and the D³ component. This discussion focuses on the Web server component. While both components can reside on the same physical system, generally, for security reasons the Web server and the D³ component are usually physically different systems.

FlashCONNECT components can be mixed and matched across Web server and D³ platforms. One or more Web servers running the FlashCONNECT Web component can work one or more D³ database servers. Each server can be running on a different hardware or O/S platform. List of supported platforms.

What is installed?

This is an overview of what is installed onto the Web server during the installation process and the files created while FlashCONNECT is running. Installation instructions are found in the appropriate version of the FlashCONNECT Installation, Administration, and Programming Guide.

Programs:

fccgi.exe/fcisapi.dll

Run by the httpd server, fccgi.exe or fcisapi.dll pass to the D³ database server the request to the FCService process, then any reponse from the D³ server is passed back to the httpd server.

Regardless of the number of D³ database servers being supported, only one copy of fccgi.exe/fcispai.dll is needed on a Web server. fccgi.exe can be renamed (for example to fc.cgi) as needed to work with a Web server.

FCService.exe

Must be started before the first connection can be established and is generally done in a system startup script. It acts as a queuing and switching agent between the Web client requests and the D³ servers.

On FlashCONNECT 1.x releases, the FCService program was named w3Agent.

FCdebug/FCdebug.exe

A diagnostic program which provides detailed information about the state of FlashCONNECT and the state of each connection.

Files:

On FlashCONNECT version 1.x, many of the above files were named w3Agent.* rather than flashconnect.*.

What are the Security Issues?

All of the FlashCONNECT components are designed with security in mind, and with the expectation that they will be run on a third-party system, and be attacked by hackers. As such, they do not execute any user specified strings, the C++ "system" function is not used and care was taken to prevent buffer overflow errors.

FCService listens on an administrator specified TCP/IP port (usually 1505 or 505) for requests from the D³ servers. Access to this port should be limited to D³ servers only.

Is there a FlashCONNECT customer support discussion forum?

Join the FlashCONNECT discussion group. Please see our forum Website to subscribe.

What ongoing administation is
    needed for the Web server component?

Unix systems

1. Messages are written to the flashconnect.log file (usually found in /var/log). As with any log file, the file must be archived and cleared on an occassional basis. The directory in which the log file resides is administrator specified.
2. If debugging is enabled on the Web server component, the log file /tmp/FCdebug.out is created and needs to be deleted as appropriate.
3. Optionally, the named pipes can be deleted when FCService is not running.

Windows NT systems

1. Messages are written to the event log.

What resources does the FlashCONNECT
    Web server component consume?

Unix systems

• A shared memory segment (0xfc000000): The size depends upon the number of connections configured. It should not often exceed 1 MB.
• Named pipes, one per connection to D^3.
• 5 typical or standard processes, plus one if the heartbeat is used, and one per connection to D³.
• 1 semaphore per connection to D³.
• 1 TCP/IP port, plus one TCP/IP port per connection to D³.

Windows NT systems

• 5 typical or standard threads, plus one if the heartbeat is used, and one per connection to D³.
• 1 semaphore per connection to D³.
• 1 TCP/IP port, plus one TCP/IP port per connection to D³.

What are the configuration options?

Both Unix and Windows NT Web servers

• The maximum number of concurrent connections supported.
• The names of environment variables passed to the D³ servers.
• The amount of memory used to store the environment variables passed to the D³ server.
• The TCP/IP port FCServer uses to communicate with the D³ servers.
• The directory where the flashconnect.log file is placed.
• The heartbeat period.

Unix Web servers only

• The directory where the named pipes will be kept.
• The directory and name of the FlashCONNECT configuration file.

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