For static content the GUI itself generates preview pages. It lets the Content Manager compute the pages and then delivers them directly, not by means of an additional web server. Dynamic content, on the other hand, can only be generated by means of the appropriate applications for a webserver. The GUI places pages with dynamic content into the file system. Then it sends a request to the preview server that generates the content. The content types to be handled by the webserver, their location in the file system, and the request URL are defined in the system configuration (see gui).
The preview server needs to be accessible only from the GUI because the GUI functions as a proxy for dynamic content. However, if security requirements are low, you can use the same webserver for previewing dynamic content and for the live server. In both cases the webserver needs to be configured correspondingly, i. e., for example, a location must be defined that points to the directory which has been set in the Content Manager.
In the following sections it is explained how to proceed for generating typical kinds of dynamic content. If required, these types can be combined. However, it might be necessary to use several server components.
Please note that 3rd party software (i.e. the user account under which it is running) must be given read access to the CMS files and directories concerned.