Installing a distributed platform Web server plug-in

Why and when to perform this task

Web server plug-ins for distributed platform Web servers are no longer shipped with the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS product. Use the installation CD for WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment V5 for distributed platforms to install these Web server plug-ins.

Note: If you do not have a copy of Version 5 of the WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment for distributed platforms product, you must request a not-for-resale copy from IBM.

Once you have the application server, the Web server and the plug-in properly configured, requests can be routed from a browser, through that Web server and plug-in, to one of the application server J2EE server instances defined in the ServerGroup element in the plugin-cfg.xml file. New requests are sent to randomly selected server instances, but once a session is established, requests will get routed back to the correct HTTP or HTTPS internal transport the J2EE server Web container assigned to the original request.

WebSphere plug-ins for Web servers, in addition to regular plug-in functions, enable you to use private headers as a mechanism for forwarding proxy information from these plug-ins to the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS Web container. This information is not otherwise included with the HTTP and HTTPS requests.

Steps for this task

  1. Make sure a supported distributed platform Web server is installed on your workstation. If you need to install a Web server, follow the instructions provided with that Web server.

    Note: If you have WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment V5 or later for distributed platforms installed on your workstation, you can use the IBM HTTP Server that is provided with that product, and the Web server plug-in that is appropriate for that Web server.

  2. Install the appropriate Web server plug-in.
    Using the installation CD for WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment V5 for distributed platforms, select to perform a custom installation, and then under "Web Server Plugins" select the appropriate Web server plug-in for your system.
  3. Re-configure the Web server.

    Once the plug-in files are installed on the Web server, update the Web server configuration file on the workstation with the location of the plug-in and plug-in configuration file. For Windows systems, also add user_install_part to the PATH statement.

    Specific instructions for configuring plug-ins within a Web server configuration file are contained in the documentation for each Web server.

  4. Go to the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS administrative console and make sure the virtual host contains an alias for the port number used by the Web server. Specify this same port on a <Virtual Hostname> element in the plug-in plugin-cfg.xml file.
  5. Configure the plug-in.
    Use either use the Update Web Server Plug-in Configuration page in the administrative console, or issue the GenPluginCfg.sh script to create your plugin-cfg.xml file.

    Both methods will create the plug-in configuration file, plugin-cfg.xml, in EBCDIC format, which is the proper format for execution in a z/OS environment.

    To use the Update Web Server Plug-in Configuration page in the administrative console:

    1. Go to the Update Web Server Plug-in page. Click Environment > Update Web Server Plugin in the console navigation tree.
    2. Click OK.
    3. You might need to stop the application server and then start the application server again to enable the Web server to locate the plugin-cfg.xml file.
  6. If you intend to use a supported Web server plug-in, use the administration console to set the TrustedProxy custom property for the transport to true. This setting enables the application server to use the private headers that the Web server plug-in adds to requests.

    You can set the TrustedProxy property to true from either the Web container Custom Properties page or the HTTP Transport Custom Properties page. If you set it on the Web container Custom Properties page, all transports will support private headers.

    Note: If you try to use private headers without adding the TrustedProxy property, they will be ignored. If the private headers are ignored, the application server might not locate the requested application.

    After you add this setting, the HTTP or HTTPS internal transport trusts all private headers it receives. Therefore, you must ensure that all paths to the HTTP or HTTPS transport are trusted.

  7. If you want to use Secure-socket layer (SSL) with this configuration, install the appropriate GSKIT installation image file on your workstation using the native install process for that platform.

Results

The configuration is complete. To activate the configuration, stop and restart both the WebSphere Application Server for z/OS and the Web server that is running on your workstation.

Related concepts
Private headers
Related tasks
Modifying the default Web container configuration
Configuring virtual hosts
Installing a Global Security Kit for a Web server plug-in
Manually editing the plug-in configuration
Configuring Web server plug-ins
Related reference
HTTP transport custom properties
Supported distributed platform Web server plug-in configurations



Searchable topic ID:   trun_plugin_non390
Last updated: Jun 21, 2007 9:56:50 PM CDT    WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, Version 5.0.2
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wasinfo/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.websphere.zseries.doc/info/zseries/ae/trun_plugin_non390.html

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