Add Value to your Intranet

Intranets

have become an integral part of every networked organization. An intranet

provides vital information to all employees through a Web browser at the

click of a button. Anyone with a Web server and browsers can have a basic

intranet up and running. However, having this alone is not sufficient today.

Providing browser-based information can only go so far. What you need is a

method of increasing interaction between your employees while sharing

information. There are two functions that can be added to your intranet for

doing this–chat and newsgroups.

Here are the essential tools

to add these functions to your intranet.

Chat servers

Chat is one

of the most popular pastimes on the Net, so much so that it can reduce

employee work efficiency within your organization. However, if used

properly, it can actually prove to be an asset. You can set up a chat

facility on your company’s intranet and give restricted access to users.

This way, you can have moderated access and keep an eye on what’s being

discussed. The information can be stored in log files for access later.

HyperChat

This is a

client/server based chat utility. You can set up the server and the client

on Win 9x or NT. It’s available on this month’s CD in the \cdrom\servers

directory. This is a ZIP file–hyperch.zip–containing both the client and

server components. Both can be up and running within minutes. Here, we’ll

take a look at how to configure the client and server utilities separately.

The server

To install

this, you need a machine with a static IP address. There’s only one

executable file that you need to run, and the server console pops up. After

this, it automatically creates two DAT files for functioning.

Once you start the chat

server, it’s ready for action without any extra configuration. Users can

connect to it and enter the public chat channel, which is open to all.

The configuration screen lets

you define the port number to which the clients can connect. It’s 6667 by

default. You can also enter a welcome message for new users. You can also

define the colors for various types of messages. For example, warnings or

errors could appear in red, system messages in green, and the regular ones

in white. You can also password protect the chat server. It minimizes and

stays in the system tray. Every time you try to open it, you’ll be

prompted to enter a password.

If you don’t want everybody

logging in, you can define specific users with passwords who’ll be allowed

in.

You aren’t restricted to

logging into a single channel. You can create multiple channels with

password protection for each. Unfortunately, the passwords appear in plain

text on the chat server. It’s therefore better to do this when nobody’s

around.

The chat server has some

pretty nifty security features. You can for example, get the IP address of a

particular user. After that, you can grant or deny access to that user. It’s

pretty handy if you find unwanted elements creating trouble in your chat

channels.

You can also block any

abusive language that users might engage in while chatting. The ones

mentioned here are of course rather mild, and are intended to convey the

message. If a user sends a message with any of these words, it doesn’t

appear on the other clients. On the server, this is indicated in red.

The client

If you’re

connecting for the first time, the client prompts you to create a connection

profile. You can create and add this profile, which gets saved in a separate

file that can always be recalled later. However, you must know the IP

address and port number of the chat server. If the chat server has already

created a profile for you, then you need to enter the password defined in

it. By default, a user enters the public channel.

The client has many advanced

options. After you’ve logged in, you can access the various channels

(provided you have access). You can, for example, view the profiles of all

the users logged in, provided they’ve entered the information.

You can enter into a private

chat with any of the users that login. This conversation will then not be

visible to anyone but the concerned parties.

You can also have some fun

while you’re chatting. You can virtually slap or kick any user in the chat

channel, and it appears in the chat window.

The client has many advanced

tools, using which you can search for a particular user in a chat channel. A

"Send file" option is also there, but it’s not fully developed

in the current version. You can, however, send a mail using the client. You

must specify an SMTP mail server that’ll be used for sending it.

Chatting Pino style

Pino is

another freeware client/server based chat utility that can be up and running

within minutes. Both the client and server can be set up on either Win 9x or

NT 4.

What you get after running

the Pino server is a small blank window. You have to first do all your

configuration and then run the chat service on it.

After running Pino, go to the

server menu and choose Options. Here, you have to configure three

parameters. First is the general tab where you have to define your chat

rooms, deny lists, etc. You can also allow only registered users to login to

the chat server from here.

The second tab is where you

create users, who’ll be able to access your chat server.

The third tab lets you set

messages for various actions that take place on a chat server.

Unfortunately, there was no documentation available with Pino, so we couldn’t

make this one work properly.

Once all the options have

been configured, the Pino server can be run. After that, the Pino clients

can start logging into it. When you run the client, you have to specify the

IP address of your chat server. After that, you can specify your nickname if

you’ve already registered, or re-register.

Once you’ve logged in, you

can see the users logged in different chat rooms. You can send personal

messages to them, or talk in public, etc.

Newsgroups à la DNews

This is a

versatile program to add newsgroups to your intranet. The program needs Win

NT 4 for installation. You must also have an SMTP server running on your

network. The server is very easy to install. In fact, we were able to post

messages to the newsgroups we created within five minutes.

The first installation screen

for DNews could give you a scare as it talks about formatting your hard

drive. However, it’s only a suggestion. Press "Continue" and the

installation wizard moves on.

If you want to have your own

personal newsgroups running within your organization, you can configure

DNews for that. You can also make it pull news from select newsgroups and

allow clients on your network to access them. This way, clients won’t have

to directly hunt for newsgroups from the Net, thus saving a lot of

bandwidth.

The entire installation

process for DNews is wizard-driven. You just have to answer questions about

your network setup, and you’re ready to go. So, you have to specify your

SMTP server, the type of newsgroups to allow access, and e-mail address of

the administrator to whom all DNews reports will be sent. You also have to

specify the subnet, which will be able to access your newsgroup server.

The newsgroup administration

interface is a small window from where you can do all your configuration. In

fact, DNews can even be uninstalled from this interface. You can go to the

Groups menu and choose "Create newsgroups". You can also set up

moderated groups. Once this is done, your basic newsgroup setup is ready for

action. Now, you just have to open a newsgroup client like Outlook Express

and start subscribing.

Now your clients are ready to

subscribe to newsgroups that you just created. Open a newsreader client like

Outlook Express and set up a newsgroup account.

Creating newsgroup accounts

is a simple, wizard-driven process where you have to specify your name,

e-mail ID, IP address of your newsgroup server, etc.

You’ll see all the

newsgroups created with DNews here. To subscribe, double-click on them.

That’s it. You can now

start posting messages to your newsgroup and all those who’ve subscribed

will be able to see your messages.

DNews is a very powerful

newsgroup server. It has a lot of configuration options. You can create

newsgroups for different projects running within your organization, and

allow access to respective team members.

All your messages get

categorized based on message subjects. So, you can initiate a discussion

with a particular subject. All those wanting to reply, can post their views

by typing the same message subject. The help file with DNews is excellent,

and contains detailed information on everything about the program.

Sougata Das and Anil Chopra