In order for PageGate to collect data from web pages, the webgate.exe CGI program's data files must be directly accessible by PageGate's GetWeb module. In most cases, this means that the web server must be running on the same LAN (local area network) as PageGate. Also, for availability reasons, the web server needs to have a dedicated (see 'Solution3' below for an option that can use a dialup connection) connection to the internet. This does not mean, however, that all your organization's web pages must reside on this local web server. Here are some examples:
Although your location has a dedicated internet connection, it is not fast enough to host your organization's web pages (your connection may be a dedicated dialup connection or something else less than a T1). Because of this, your webpages are stored on a remote web hosting company's server (often a virtual or co-located host) which has multiple high-speed internet connections.
Problem: PageGate's CGI program can't be put on the remotely hosted web server because its data files are not directly accessible by PageGate.
Solution1: Run an additional web server in-house that hosts only the web pages used by PageGate and PageGate's CGI (webgate.exe). The web pages on the remotely hosted website could easily link to the locally hosted web pages when necessary. This way the CGI's data files will be on the local server and accessible by PageGate. There would be minimal bandwidth needed for this configuration.
Solution2: Don't setup PageGate to automatically create web pages for you. Create your own web pages for sending messages, and keep the pages on the remotely hosted web server. Put the PageGate CGI on an in-house web server. In the web pages that reside on the remotely hosted web server, point the CGI to execute from the in-house web server (the path in the 'Form Action' line of the webpage). This way, the CGI's data files will be on the local server and accessible by PageGate. There would be very little bandwidth used for this configuration.
Solution3: Although this solution is not supported by NotePage, Inc., several customers have made this work. Put PageGate's CGI program (webgate.exe) up on the remotely hosted web server. Do not set PageGate to automatically generate web pages. Create your own web pages for sending messages and put them up on the remotely hosted web server too. The webgate CGI program will create its data files up on the remotely hosted web server (this can only work if the remote web server is Windows based). Next setup an FTP program at the local site to periodically log onto the remotely hosted website and download the CGI's data files (several shareware applications are available with this capability). Setup the PageGate GetWeb module's 'CGI Data Path' to the location where the CGI data files are downloaded to by the FTP program. This configuration can be used with a dialup internet connection if a dedicated connection is not available.
