1. I have free webspace on my providers server, can i install Antville there?
2. Can I use free webspace at my providers server to publish my weblog?
3. Which Java version do i need to run Antville/AntClick?
4. How do I install AntClick on my win32 machine?
5. I have downloaded and installed AntClick, but i can't get it to run.
6. I cannot upload images, all I get is a long cryptic error message and a timeout. What's wrong?
7. I want to upload big files, but I keep getting "Size of uploaded File too big". How can I change that?
8. I want to switch my AntClick installation from the internal database to an external one (MySQL, Oracle). How can i do this?
9. Is there a script/tool for transferring data from the internal AntClick database to an external one?
10. How can i transfer my AntClick installation to another server?
11. I plan to setup up a big hosting system based on Antville. Where are the limits? Which hardware should i choose?

I have free webspace on my providers server, can i install Antville there?

Unfortunately there are just few providers that offer hosting of Java based applications. Helma needs one Java Virtual Machine and a Java Servlet Environment, and most of it's documentation assumes that you have full control over the server. However if you have a provider interested in Antville hosting point them to Helma for more information about system requirements and the like.

Can I use free webspace at my providers server to publish my weblog?

No, currently Antville doesn't support rendering static HTML pages and ftp'ing them to a different server.

Which Java version do i need to run Antville/AntClick?

Helma Object Publisher (the application server Antville is running on top) requires Java 1.3 (also known as Java 2 platform version 1.3) or later.

How do I install AntClick on my win32 machine?

We have a How To that tells you exactly what to do.

I have downloaded and installed AntClick, but i can't get it to run.

Please check if you did everything right according to the installation instructions. Most installation errors occur because Java isn't correctly installed on your machine. If you have a firewall running on your machine make sure it's configured correctly. Check if there are any port conflicts (AntClick uses port 8080 by default for http access).

I cannot upload images, all I get is a long cryptic error message and a timeout. What's wrong?

Obviously you are running Antville/AntClick on a Linux machine without X Windows installed. For ways to enable image upload on those machines please refere to the Helma FAQ.

I want to upload big files, but I keep getting "Size of uploaded File too big". How can I change that?

Helma has a default limit for uploading files of 1024kB. To increase this open the file apps.properties in your AntClick/Helma installation directory and scroll down to the line that enables Antville, which should look something like this (example taken from AntClick distribution):

# mount antville as root application
antville
antville.mountpoint = /

Add the following line beneath:

antville.uploadLimit = 5000

or any other value (in kB) as the new upload limit. Then restart Antville to enable the new limit.

I want to switch my AntClick installation from the internal database to an external one (MySQL, Oracle). How can i do this?

Please have a look at the How To.

Is there a script/tool for transferring data from the internal AntClick database to an external one?

That's a bit tricky, but Hannes provided a simple Antville DB export script that makes this alot easier.

How can i move my AntClick installation to another server?

All you have to do is stop AntClick, copy the whole installation directory to the new server and start it up again. Depending on your setup you have to modify the AntClick preferences, eg. the system url.

I plan to setup up a big hosting system based on Antville. Where are the limits? Which hardware should i choose?

Antville/Helma itself doesn't have any limits, so the maximum number of weblogs that can be hosted on one single server depends on the hardware, operating system, average and peak traffic and if the database is located on the same server or an extra one. Just to give you an example: the first server that ran antville.org was a Compaq 1850R with 2 Pentium III processors and 512mB of RAM. With this fairly slow server we were able to host more than 4000 weblogs and serve far more than 150.000 page requests per day before we had to upgrade. The current server is much faster and deals absolutely fine with the growing number of requests and users.
Regarding the hardware to choose: sorry, we can't recommend any special type of server, there's too much different hardware available. However, depending on the size of the hosting service you plan, consider using a separate server for the database and (for really big installations) eventually a third one for static contents (images/files).

Switching AntClick from using the internal database to an external one (either MySQL or Oracle) is fairly easy if you do not have to transport data from the internal database to the external one (if you do it will be a more complex thing). Antville was tested with both MySQL and Oracle and comes with the necessary scripts to create the database in each of the two. If you plan to use a different one you will have to modify these on your own. This HowTo uses MySQL as example, however the procedure is always the same (just make sure that you use the right sql script).

Two remarks at the beginning: first we expect you to have a fairly good knowledge about the database you plan to switch to (this document won't tell you how to set up an external database or how to import data into it), and second: backup the whole AntClick directory.

1. Have a working installation of MySQL
2. Make sure you have the MySQL JDBC driver installed. You can download the latest version from the MySQL web site. Place the driver .jar file into the lib/ext folder of your AntClick installation.
3. Create the database for Antville by importing the script antville_mysql.sql. The script is contained in the archive db_support.zip which itself is located in the directory apps/antville of your AntClick installation. Extract the files antville_mysql.sql and db.properties.mysql from the archive and place them somewhere on your harddisk. Open the sql script in your favorite text editor and scroll down to the line that starts with GRANT .... This line ends with IDENTIFIED by 'antville'. Replace the default password 'antville' with a more secure one. Save the script and open a command shell. Then run the script by typing

   mysql -u root -p < /path/to/antville_mysql.sql

   in the shell (you'll be prompted for the root's password). Alternatively you can log in to your MySQL database (as 'root') and type in the following:

   @source <path to the script>antville_mysql.sql

4. Make sure that AntClick is stopped.
5. Make sure you have an up-to-date Backup of the whole AntClick directory.
6. Go to the subdirectory apps/antville of your AntClick installation. Rename the file db.properties to db.properties.mckoi and move the file db.properties.mysql that you extracted from the archive before into this directory. Rename db.properties.mysql to db.properties. Open this file in a text editor and adapt it to your setup (most likely you will only have to change the password, but this depends on how you set up your MySQL database).
7. That should be it. Start AntClick up again and see if everything worked fine, you should have a clean installation now without any contents in it. If you receive any errors please check the steps above again (make sure you didn't forget to place the latest stable JDBC driver in lib/ext). If Antville is complaining about Is there a MySQL server running on this machine or similar check that the database user of Antville actually has the right to access the database.

Transferring data from McKoi to MySQL is a bit trickier, however Hannes provided a simple Antville DB export script that should do the trick.

The list below is obsolete. A newly compiled list is available at the new development site.

• This site is itself built on Antville, using the folders CVS branch to support deep site structure.
• antville.org, the original Antville hosting site, now closed for new weblogs
• you can use Antville at bubbles.de
• brandnews is a free service for all, as long as you keep in tune with the netiquette guidelines
• asconet is a private project based which garanties for nothing, but if that works for you, you are welcome
• topfen.net says, they are most likely very happy to host your blog
• Fachhochschule Berlin uses Antville for collaboration
• students at the tech university in Vienna are blogging Antville based
• students from FH Brandenburg, Fachbereich Informatik und Medien are using Antville
• The media departement of the University of Weimar in Germany is using its own Antville server
• German Macintosh news magazin macnews.de provides sites based on Antville for their subscribers at blogs.macbay.de.
• subnet, platform for media art and experimental technologies
• blutmeer.log invites you to "feel free to stick around"
• blogs.23.nu does it too
• There is also wugga, "free online communities for blogs, galleries and dating"
• For CHF 50,- per year you can use Antville at escapenet
• Spinnix is a Berlin-based open platform for young people, their parents and those who take care about them.
• twoday.net, a commercial weblog hosting service run by knallgrau:new media solutions
• blogger.de uses Antville.
• EuroScience.Net uses Antville for their publication and discussion
• alphazoo, a site we don't know really, but they are using Antville
• igual-ment-diferents a bit part of Antville at the barcelonese invention "Forum 2004"
• Aromat, an imbiss special liqueur boutique located in Vienna, runs a website based on Antville
• Radio X is experimenting with it
• Piefke 3000 is blogging via Antville since end of 2001.
• Certainly, the home of Helma Object Publisher helma.org is maintained with Antville.
• Plastikmädchen is an Antville based site that proves that Antville is not limited to weblogs.

If you're using Antville or are missing a site in this list, please contact us.