LIS 390W1A - Lab 8: HTTP Get

HTTP Get

  1. Open a terminal window

  2. Type
    telnet www.uiuc.edu 80
  3. Type
    GET / HTTP/1.0
    and hit the enter key twice
  4. Describe what was output (you might consider copying it into a text file)
  5. What is the HTTP header? What is the body?
  6. In the header, what information did the server send back?
  7. Try connecting
    % telnet www3.isrl.uiuc.edu 80
    or
    % telnet www.microsoft.com 80
    and executing the same command
  8. Are there any differences in the headers returned? If so, what?
  9. Now try the same thing, except using SSL:
    % openssl s_client -connect www-s.uiuc.edu:443
    		
    Notice the SSL session information, including the server certificate.
  10. Now type:
    GET / HTTP/1.0
    		
  11. What does the header look like now? How is it different from the HTTP header? How is it the same? What does this lead you to believe about how HTTP differs from HTTPS?
  12. Download and install the Live HTTP Headers extension for Firefox.
  13. Close and restart Firefox.
  14. Open the Live HTTP Headers Extensions (Tools > Live HTTP Headers)
  15. Go to a web page - say http://www.uiuc.edu
  16. Copy the Live HTTP Headers output into a text file
  17. Mark each HTTP REQUEST and each HTTP RESPONSE in the output
  18. Why are there more REQUESTS than when we used telnet?
  19. In each REQUEST, indicate what is being requested
  20. Were any files not found? If so, which ones?

Submission

To submit this assignment, write up your answers in valid XHTML with the appropriate headers and footer information, upload it to the GSLIS I: Drive, and send me a URL (again, feel free to use the generic HTML page and its accompanying stylesheet as a template). Be sure to upload the text files you create of the HTTP headers and provide a link to them from your lab writeup.

Grading Criteria

Out of 25 points total.

  • Answering each question: 2 points each (22 points total)
  • Valid HTML with appropriate validation links: 3 points