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Spencer Smith
Microcomputer Support Specialist
spencera@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Network filesharing has become very important on campus. Collaboration, backup, and delivery are often arranged through the network to speed processing and productivity. But transferring files from a Macintosh system to a PC running Windows, and vice versa, can be confusing and complex.
Enter WebDAV, an extension of the HTTP protocol created to facilitate just this sort of network collaboration. WebDAV stands (loosely) for "Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning." DAV is an IETF Proposed Standard (RFC2518), open source, and available for development. The original specification was created to allow web developers to easily collaborate on websites and network-based content, but over time, WebDAV specification has been extended to include file locking, versioning control, and other more exotic functions.
People often use floppy disks to transfer files, but when the floppy disk fails (read "when it fails," not "if"), the files are gone, never to return. An easy, reliable and secure method of storing and accessing files from the UO network has become increasingly necessary. Could WebDAV be the solution? It already qualifies as being "easy and reliable," and it promises better security in the future. If and when the security and access issues of WebDAV are addressed, a campuswide implementation could be possible.
As it stands now, however, the current lack of real security features makes widespread deployment and use a problem. Because there is no straightforward way to use the standard Unix password authentication, security is enforced using standard .htaccess files and passwords, dramatically increasing the maintenance of a WebDAV service. Files that are created by the WebDAV server are given insecure permissions as well, making access and modification a problem.
Until these security flaws are addressed and rectified, a WebDAV access to your UO computing account will unfortunately not be possible. However, you may want to try WebDAV using your off-campus commercial account, if you have one. (Note that Apple Computer's .Mac service is DAV enabled.)
Access to WebDAV resources is built into many modern operating systems and web browsers. To access a WebDAV resource through Internet Explorer 5.x, you need to open the File menu, select the "Open" item, and in the resulting dialog box check the box that says "Open as Web folder" (see Figure 1 below).
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| Fig. 1: Accessing WebDAV via Explorer 5.x. This example
shows how to access public domain software on the Public server using WebDAV
and IE. After accessing "Open" from the File menu, just type http://public.uoregon.edu/software
in the dialog box to open the public domain software menu.
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For example, you can access the software on the Public fileserver from this dialog using the address http://public.uoregon.edu/software/
The WebDAV folder opens in IE as if it were another web page, but you can drag and drop files and folders to the WebDAV folder as though it were any other mounted directory:
Mac OS X has similar technology built directly into the operating system. From the Finder, select the "Go" menu, then the "Connect to Server" item. In the resulting dialog, enter the server address http://ccpd.uoregon.edu/ The CC Public Domain software directory will mount on the desktop, just like any other network share.
Aside from IE 5.x and Mac OS X, there are several other commercial products that offer WebDAV access. Microsoft Word and Excel can open and save documents from a DAV-enabled server. Macromedia's Dreamweaver has WebDAV support for managing websites, and Adobe GoLive and other tools are also DAV-enabled. For more information on WebDAV and related technologies, see http://www.webdav.org/