Installation and Configuration Supplement

Considerations for Using a Web Server

You can decide whether to set up a centralized web server for the DB2 documentation, install the documentation on each machine, or use a combination of both:

Advantages of a Web Server

• Any installation and customization of HTML files need only be done once.
• You can use the search facility of the web server, and can create search indices for specific sets of documents that your users need.
• Less storage is required overall. With files stored centrally, client machines only require a web browser.
• Information can be viewed from any kind of client machine that supports a web browser.
• You can supply links to items of key interest to your users, and links to local information such as coding guidelines and operations manuals.
• It is easier to direct people to specific URLs to find the information they need.
• You can collect books for multiple different products, not just those installed locally.

Disadvantages of a Web Server

• It is not easy to use the Information Center from a remote machine to access files on the web server.
• You cannot search the pre-defined DB2 indices from remote clients. You can only search these indices on the machine on which they physically reside..
• An administrator might need to manage network load on the web server.