Web Hosting Services for Student Organisations 
 

This document deals specifically with certain issues regarding the creation and maintenance of websites of student organisations hosted within NTU. The reader is also advised to read the General Guide for All Users.

 

Web Accounts General

Connection to Web Folder

Space Quota on Web Folder

Technicals on Web Page Creation and Publication

   

Web Accounts General

CITS offers student organisations:
  • A FREE website storage space of 500MB per student club upon application by the student club. Additional space may be granted free of charge as well in blocks of 100MB upon approval by CITS after reviewing the current space usage. However each club is only entitled to ONE web storage space.
  • The server allows server-side scripting, ASP, PHP, MySQL and Access database access. At the moment it does not support Frontpage Extensions, nor FTP services, but we are looking into expanding the options available.
Role-based Email Accounts
In conjuction with the free webspace, student clubs may also apply for role-based email accounts for their clubs. Email accounts are available in blocks of 20 accounts at $13.65/block/year.
 
Ad-hoc role-based accounts for short projects are included in this 20-accounts block allotment. Those needing more than the first block of 20 accounts will need to pay for another block of 20 accounts. Each account has a default quota of 25MB. Additional space may be granted free of charge upon approval by CITS after reviewing the current space usage.
 
The format for the email account usernames and display names will be as such:
 
Display name:  ClubName-Role
Email address:  ClubName-Role@ntu.edu.sg
 
 
Webmaster Account
To access the website, we need each club let us know who will be site's webmaster. Access will be granted to either
1) the personal network account of the student-in-charge, OR
2) ClubName-Webmaster, one of the 20 email-cum-network accounts which the club has purchased, if the club has bought the package of 20 email accounts for $13.65/year.
 
Only one webmaster will be allowed per club if access is granted to the personal network account. On the other hand, clubs may write in to Webadmin@ntu.edu.sg to request for different role-based accounts to be granted separately to their sub-folders. Approval will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
 
Note that each folder will be granted to one account only due to accountability reasons.

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The webspace is FREE. But the role-based email accounts cost $13.65 per block of 20 accounts per year. Additional blocks of 20 accounts can be purchased at the same rate.

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No. Purchase is entirely optional. However, we do need to tie the website access to one webmaster. So your club would need to let us have your webmaster's personal NTU network account. You may change webmasters over time but you need to keep us updated on the change. [You may contact our Helpdesk on this.] Unlike the case if you have used a role-based account like ClubName-Webmaster (only if your club has purchased the email accounts) which you can change hands without our intervention.

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For:
Default URL:

File Mapping:

All clubs except NTUSU
(Effective immediately)
http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/<clubname>
Any club wishing to use this web-hosting package must follow this convention, unless they have their own server.
 \\webx\<clubname>
All Hall websites
 		 http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/<HallX> \\webx\<hallx>
NTU Students' Union (NTUSU) http://su.ntu.edu.sg
also accessible via http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/ntusu		 \\webx\ntusu
With server-side scripting sites (previous) http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/<clubname> \\webx\<clubname>
Non-scripting sites
(Previous)
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/studorgn/<clubname>
 \\web\studorgn\<clubname>
Non-scripting sites for halls
(Previous)		 http://www.ntu.edu.sg/studorgn/<hallx> OR
http://hallx.ntu.edu.sg/		 \\web\student\<hallx>

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Previously only halls may have a URL like http://hallX.ntu.edu.sg/ upon request (where <hallX> is the name of the hall). This was only for those whose site reside in file://web/studorgn. However when the site is migrated to WebX, the new URL will be http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/hallX.
 
For student organisations, generally we do not allow special domain names as too many of such references slows down the server. If you want to have the site hosted by us for special major events, please check with us first before registering a domain name or publishing it in any form before the domain name is approved. You may send requests to Webadmin@ntu.edu.sg

 
Applications must come from the club presidents, and these applications will be sent to SAO first for verification of authenticity. As long as SAO approves of the application, CITS will process the website and/or email accounts applications.
 
Currently the list of SAO approves clubs are listed on the SAO website at http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/SAO/Activities/List+of+Student+Organizations/
 
NIE clubs are currently not on the lists. But NIE students are free to join NTU clubs and may hold offices within these NTU clubs.

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Just apply online from
StudentLink -> IT Services -> Student Club Website and Email Accounts Application
 
 
The club president will be the only one who can apply for the club accounts. SAO will verify his/her presidency, and once verified, CITS will proceed to either renew the account and change webmasters or create the new accounts if it is a new club.

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Sure. Just contact our Helpdesk. We will create another folder for you on WEBX and give you some time to migrate your site from the old location to the new. There is no extra charge for this. Your current club network-cum-email account remains as before. You will continue to use the same account to access your new folder on WEBX. The new procedure of tying the webmaster to either the personal account or one of the purchased email accounts will only take effect after your current contract expires. In other words, the 20 role-based email accounts will only come into play for new or renewed club accounts in AY2005-06.

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Connection to Web Folder

    1. Get to a Windows 98 and above PC that is connected to NTUNET (campus-wide network).
    2. Logon to your the STUDENT domain with your Club's Network username and password.

Then follow any one of these methods:

Method 1: Via mapped networked drive in Windows Explorer

  1. Click on "Start", "Programs", "Windows Explorer".
  2. Click on the "Tools" on the menu bar and select "Map Network Drive?".
  3. At the "Drive" field, select "I:" (or any other available drive)
  4. Type \\web\<sharename> as the "Path".

    Note: Replace the <sharename> with your club's account name. This name is the name of the account given to you when you apply for the account.

  5. After that double click on "My Computer"
  6. Double click on the icon labelled <myclub> on 'web' (I:) for your club's web folder (where <myclub> refers to the name of your club's account)
  7. You can manage your files from there, including the sub-directory below it. (E.g. you are free to edit files, create files/directories, delete files/directories, etc.)

    E.g. If you are using a text editor for web page creation, to create the index file from Notepad, simply save the contents of your first HTML file as index.htm

     

    Method 2: Via command line in Run... dialog box

    Type \\web\<sharename> at the Run... dialog box under the Windows START menu.
    (Note: Replace the <sharename> with your club's name. This name is the name of the account given to you when you apply for the account.

 

Method 3: Via shortcut on desktop

Create a shortcut to the personal web folder. You only have to do this ONCE. This only works if the PC is your own. Doing this on a shared PC in campus will not work as your profile could be wiped off later.

  1. Right click on any empty area on the desktop.
  2. Select New -> Shortcut
  3. Type in the path to your web folder. E.g. Type \\web\<sharename>. (See above steps to see what you should substitute the field for <sharename>). Then click Next.
  4. Give a name to the shortcut you have just created. You can name it anything you want.
  5. Click Finish.

A new shortcut icon folder will be created on your desktop. Subsequently to edit files on the web folder, you simply double click on it to open your personal web folder on the Web server. You can edit the files there as per normal. You can also drag and drop files to this folder just as you would for any other folder that resides on your own PC. You can even personalise the look further by changing the icon for this shortcut folder!

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Space Quota on Web Folder

Yes. The default is 50 MB for those sites with no scripting previously on WEB server (those with file mapping \\web\studorgn\myclub), and 500MB for those sites hosted on WebX server (those with file mapping \\webx\myclub), . For those sites on WebX, additional blocks of 100MB may be granted upon approval by CITS after reviewing the existing space usage for the site.

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When the quota is exceeded, you will not be able to modify or add in new files until you delete some of the unwanted files. You will get an error message like "There is not enough free disk space" when your quota is exceeded.

 
Yes, but this is subjected to approval. Please fill up the online form in StudentLink. StudentLink -> IT Services -> Application for Additional Quota.
 
Note: For all applications for quota increase, CITS reserves the right to ensure that the current space is well utilised before any increase is granted. Please do not store large backups or Exchange personal folders, and other personal files on the website of your club. Such files should be stored elsewhere e.g. your personal PC or other backup media. The Web server space is not be used as a storage dump.

 
   
 
Technicals on Web Page Creation
 

You may apply for a club's role-based account to be granted the right to post your club events onto the NTU website directly via the eNewsReader system. Note that each club can have only one account granted for posting purpose due to accountability reasons. Just apply online from
StudentLink -> IT Services -> Computer Account Application for Student Club. You may publish events in the various sections like Campus Events, Conferences / Seminars, etc. as well as Event Calendar. Events published in the Event Calendar with students as the target audience will be automatically published in the weekly e-newsletter Campus Buzz. More details are available in the "Publishing Events" section. Check with sao-fa@ntu.edu.sg on training for your designated club member who will be doing the postings.

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Yes, all student clubs sites are listed in the A-Z Website Directory. At the NTU homepage (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/), click on A-Z Website Directory from the top drop-down menu in Quick Links. Then click on Clubs/Halls JCRC/Societies link in the top green area of the page.

To add your club's site, under the Clubs / Halls JCRC / Societies websites heading there is a link in the next line: [If you want to add/remove a link to this website directory, please click here] Click on that link to fill in a form to put your club's site online.

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As in the steps above, click on the word "here" link given in the web page listed above.

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No, videos are strongly discouraged. The Web server is not designed to serve out video streams. It cannot take the load of numerous concurrent accesses of large video clips. If you must put up some videos, make sure that it they are small, and will hardly be accessed. Please also do not use the Web server to house a large collection of video clips either. CITS will not grant disk space for such usage as the Web server is not meant to be a video depository.

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No, we do not support FrontPage Extensions as it does not work well for our environment. However, we have other scripts that you can use like Counter, Guestbook, Submission Forms (Formmail and Surveymail). See our Web Publishing section in the Getting Help page from the CITS website.

Even though we do not have FrontPage Extensions, you can still use FrontPage as an authoring tool, and still be able to use the software's Publish feature. Just map the destination to the server. [Note: you must be on the Intranet for this to work.]
E.g. the destination is \\webx\myclub
where myclub is your club's web folder

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Yes you can. To set the upload path, just map the destination to the server.
 
[Note: you must be on the Intranet for this to work.]
E.g. the destination is \\webx\myclub
if myclub is your club's web folder

 
ASP and PHP scripts can be executed from websites on hosted on WebX (with address like clubs.ntu.edu.sg/..) but not for those hosted on the traditional web server (with address like www.ntu.edu.sg/..) Javascripts, Java applets, Flash animations are fine on both servers. However, we do not support PERL scripts, etc. on our servers currently. CITS will also not install special programs on the web servers for your site as this can compromise the security and/or stability of our servers.

 
Yes there are. Check out TeamSites in the myNTU portal. Login to the portal with your club's account and look under myWorkRoom. Each club is given 100MB of space for their TeamSites. This space is given over and above your club's allocated web site space. TeamSites offers templates for creating message boards, photo galleries, surveys, meeting records, etc. Check the FAQ section (under myNTU's Help section) for details.

 
Refer to this ASP site (http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/ntudemo/index.asp) for a demo on how to set up a simple site that accesses data from MS Access. Sample codes are also available for download. All databases are to be placed in a sub-directory called "_db"

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