...a few of our customers call with great questions, most of which can be answered here. If you have any suggestions on this FAQ, please email us at support@sudanhosting.com and we'll get 'movin!

General Questions

Q.) This didn't help, and I need support NOW! What do I do?
A.) Easy! Call us at 623-561-1239 anytime. You can also email us @ support@sudanhosting.com

Q.) Can I have a domain of .cc, .tv, .uk, ...etc?
A.) Sure can! All you need is an email box from that country and you're permitted to have whichever you like, assuming it isn't taken.

Q.) Do you have a news server?
A.) No we do not. News servers are most often provided by local ISPs, and can only be accessed by customers of that ISP.

Q.) What is the difference between 'page accesses' and 'total hits'?
A.) Page accesses are hits on the whole entire page (ie the index.html). Total hits refer to any files found on your domain site which can be viewed or executed by the world (i.e. .txt, .gif, .pl, etc.).

Q.) How do I transfer files to the web server?
A.) Included in instructions when you signed up are links to ftp programs. You should grab one, use ftp.yourdomain.com, logging in with the username and password we gave you at setup. From there, just send them up!

Q.) What is FTP?
FTP is File Transfer Protocol, an internet protocol used to transfer materials over the Internet. It is very fast, very efficient, and very reliable.
Q.) What does "Unlimited FTP Site Updates" mean?
This means that you have access to your site via FTP over the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can "upload" files to your site - in other words, transfer files from your computer to the Super.Nu webserver on the Internet - and you can also "download" files from your site - in other words, transfer files from your site on the Super.Nu webserver, to your computer.
Q.)   What is the first step in setting up a website?
The first step is to gain FTP access to your site, and upload the initial file to the proper directory. This initial file is generally named index.html, and it is the web page that will be returned when you call up www.yourdomain.com
Q.) How do I gain FTP access to my site?
First, get the best FTP program on the Internet, which in our humble opinion is CuteFTP. You can download it at: http://www.cuteftp.com/
After it's installed, run the program (double click on the yellow icon), and then click Add Folder - this is where you will store your FTP site info. Then click Add Site. In the panel that comes up, enter a name - call it anything you want - ftp.yourdomain.com. Then in Host Address, put: ftp.yourdomain.com. (Obviously if the extension is NOT .com - if it's .nu or .edu or whatever, you would use the appropriate extension) In User ID, put your User ID - this is usually the same as the domain name - and then in Password, carefully type your password - I say carefully because it will be masked, so you won't be able to read it - this password is CASE SENSITIVE!
Now click OK in the lower left of the panel, and you will see your domainname in the right hand panel - highlight it and click Connect - lower right part of panel. If all goes well, the program will establish an FTP connection with your site and take you to the htdocs/userid directory. This is the right place to put your index.html file.
Q.) How do I "upload" and "download" files using CuteFTP?
CuteFTP is VERY easy to use, and has a very intuitive, easy to use interface. The lower left panel is YOUR COMPUTER - the lower right panel is THE REMOTE SITE - in this instance, your Super.Nu ftp site. Everything is drop and drag - to upload, drag the appropriate file from the left panel to the right panel. To download a file on the remote server, simply reverse the process - drag the file on the remote server - lower right hand panel - over to the lower left panel. Easy!
Q.)   Where do I put the index.html file?
When CuteFTP opens the site ftp.yourdomain.com, it initally goes to the correct directory - usr/www/htdocs/userid This is the place to put index.html/ Make sure you do NOT put the file into one of the folders you see there - put it UNDER those folders. Also put all your pictures and other files for you site in this same directory.
Q.)   What does "updating the site" mean?
Basically what a webmaster does is download files from a website, operate on them and/or change them with an HTML editor such as Arachnophilia, and the upload the changed file back to the site.
Q.) What is HTML, and what is an HTML editor?
HTML is HyperText Markup Language - it is essentially a kind of typesetting language, and is used to create images on the web. Our recommended editor - for creating and manipulating these images - is Arachnophilia. It is freeware and can be downloaded at: www.arachnoid.com Read the Help file, practice a while, and you'll pick it up in no time.
Q.) How do I set up email accounts with my domain?
One account is automatically set up when the domain is set up - yourdomain@yourdomain.com However, you are entitled to additional POP3 email boxes free of charge.

Q.) Why don't .shtml/.shtm work with my server side includes?
A.) Although ssi is free with every account, we must enable those extensions for you if you want them.

Q.) When will my domain be active?
A.) Even though InterNIC updates regularly, it takes time for your domain information to

Q.) Whom should I contact in regards to InterNIC billing?
A.) You should head over to their site.

Q.) Do you provide NT servers, or Active Server Pages?
A.) No. Windows NT is such a slow and unstable operating system we refuse to run it as a web server.

Q. What are DNS records?
A. DNS records are what tell other computers on the internet where your site is. Every domain name on the internet (eg sudaneseonline.com, cnn.com, bbc.co.uk etc) has at least two DNS records. Our DNS records are
217.11.129.83 and
217.11.129.11
These DNS records are essential to your site functioning, as they tell other computers which IP address, or remote computer your site resides on. For example, if you were to look at www.SUDANHOSTING.com your web browser would communicate as follows:
Hi, I want to look at SUDANHOSTING.com. What are the DNS servers?
They are ns1.jupiterdns.net and ns2.jupiterdns.net
Hi ns1.jupiterdns.net, I'm looking for www.SUDANHOSTING.com. Where is it?
It's at 216.127.76.138
Thanks! Hi 216.127.76.138, can I see the SUDANHOSTING.com site please?

The 216.127.76.138 is an IP address which uniquely identifies each computer on the internet, whether they be a casual net surfer (like many of your visitors) or a server (like our computers, that store your web site.)

CGI/Email

Q.) How do I check my email?
A.) SMTP server should be set to yourdomain.com, where yourdomain.com is your domain hosted with SUDANHOSTING. POP3 username is the username you added in the Point & Click menu.

Q.) What CGI scripts can't I run?
A.) There are no restrictions on CGI scripts as long as they do not affect the performance of the system to the point at which others will notice. To this date, we've never had a problem with any scripts.

Q.) Where do I put my CGI scripts?
A.) Place them in the cgi-bin directory, not /htdocs/cgi-bin. They must end in .cgi to work, and be 'chmod 755' to run properly.

Q.) Where is the perl binary?
A.) /usr/local/bin/perl

Real Audio

Q.) How do I put up Real Audio streams on my webpage?
A.) If you already have your RealAudio / RealMedia (.ra / .rm) files ready to go then move to the next step. If not you need to download RealPublisher to convert your current files (.wav, etc.) to the RealAudio (.ra / .rm). You may place your (.ra / .rm) files in any directory on your website you like. To call the RealAudio file you need to use a "meta" file which ends in ".ram". It is hyperlinked from your page just like a normal document link. For example: <A HREF="demo.ram">Click here for music!</A>. Now you just need to create the meta file. It is simply a text file calling the RealAudio files in a particular manner. To play the RealAudio file demo1.ra you would have a demo.ram (continuing that example) file that looks like this: pnm://yourname.com/directory/demo1.ra -- The pnm protocol is what starts the RealAudio streaming. To play multiple files, just add them line by line in the .ram file.

Q.) How many Real Audio clips can I put online?
A.) You can use as much disk space as you pay for.

33. I don't want to learn HTML or design a web site - can you design it for me?
Yes! We offer highly competitive design services through a network of talented professionals. Email us at super@super.nu for more details.
[-Back To The Top-]

I can't get my CGI script to work. HELP!!
Here are some tips on CGI:

*Scripts must be made executable with chmod 755 filename

*Any script must end in .cgi to ensure execution.

*Scripts that dont respond with Content Type tag as firsLIne, must be named nph-Scriptname.cgi . The nph- stands for non-parsed-headers.

*Perl 5 is located at /usr/bin/perl perl 4 is at /usr/bin/perl4.036 , make sure the first line has this right.

*Perl scripts will REFUSE to run if uploaded in binary from a non-unix computer. Make sure you upload scripts in ascii mode only!!!

Perl 4 scripts usually will need to have any @ or $ escaped with \ character to be perl 5 compatible. ie print "webmaster\@yourdomain.com"

The directory cgi-bin is reserved for our shared cgi directory. Your cgi(s) are called from your cgi-bin with an alias. This is the only way the server can distinguish between the main cgi-bin and the cgi-bin in your /www/htdocs directory.

Example Alias

Let's say your domain is joe.com.

Use FTP to go to: ftp.joe.com

You'll find a folder there in your main directory called cgi-bin

That is the cgi-bin for joe.com

Now let's say you upload a script to that cgi-bin, called script.cgi

The ALIAS address of that script is now: http://www.joe.com/cgi-joe/script.cgi

NOTE WELL: The address is NOT: http://www.joe.com/cgi-bin/script.cgi

In setting up your script, you will need the PATH - the path of the above example is: /www/htdocs/joe/cgi-bin

Yes this is confusing but you must get it right for the script to work!

index.cgi is valid, as a directories home page for a cgi script. Like wise you could replace index.htm with index.shtml to use PARSE(Server Side includes).

Server Side Includes only work in files with .shtml extension. The execute bit and read public bits must be on to use .shtml.

.shtml files need to have their permission changed to 755 -- chmod 755 filename.cgi

Cool server variables

If you can't figure out why it doesn't work , run it from the command LIne, or rename it to nph-Scriptname. You'll see more error messages.

CGI is programming, don't be mistaken into thinking it is as easy as HTML. It isn't. We have a list of consultants well versed in CGI and would be glad to work for you on a consulting basis.

If you are going to use perl, buy a Perl book. If you can't figure it out, ask us and we will help you by email on a time permits basis.

There are many documented examples in /www/htdocs/cgi-scripts

If You Are Unable to do your own cgi scripting and setup You can try

CGIMALL http://cgimall.com This is a great place to shop for free scripts that they will install for you very reasonably.

Other Sources For Learning Cgi Are:

http://www.visca.com/clueless/

http://ednet.gsfc.nasa.gov/Mathews/cgi/start.html

http://members.aol.com/LiVeShOtNj/graphics/cgihelp.htm

The Web Developers Library

Access To:

mSQL
ImageMap
CGIWrap
PHP2

More Sources Of Information & Script Archives

CGI Library

CGI Tutor

The CGI Collection

CGI Applications

Selena Sol's Public Domain CGI Script Archive and Resource Library

The Perl Language Home Page

Dale Bewley's Perl Scripts and Links

Index of Perl/HTML archives

http://www.metronet.com/1h/perlinfo/other-archives

news:comp.lang.perl.misc

news:comp.lang.perl.announce

Introduction to Perl

Kira's CGI Cookbook

http://www.metronet.com/perlinfo/scripts

http://www.metronet.com/perlinfo/other-archives.html

Can you help me with my HTML, webpage, CGI programming, etc?
Time permitting we give advice via email on these issues but remember, we are providers of webspace and can help you with 'content' only as time permits.