This topic describes installing a Web server plug-in that WebSphere
Application Server provides to communicate with a particular brand of Web
server. This procedure describes installing multiple Web servers and their
Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server on one machine and on
multiple application servers on another machine.
Before you begin
When multiple profiles exist,
the plug-ins installer configures only the default profile. See Plug-ins configuration
for a description of the flow of logic that determines
how the installer selects the profile to configure.
If
the WebSphere Application Server product family supports a particular brand
of Web server, such as IBM HTTP Server or Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS), then your WebSphere Application Server product provides a binary plug-in
for the Web server that you must install.
If the WebSphere
Application Server product family does not provide a binary plug-in for a
particular brand of Web server, then the Web server is not supported. The
purpose of the binary plug-in is to provide the communication protocol between
the Web server and the application server.
Suppose that
you create a new profile. Suppose also that you want to use a Web server.
You must install a new Web server for the new profile and use the Plug-ins
installation wizard to install the binary plug-in module and to configure
both the Web server and the application server.
If the
Web server is not already installed, you can still install the plug-ins for
future use. If the WebSphere Application Server product is not installed,
you can still install the plug-ins. However, it is recommended that you install
the Web server and the WebSphere Application Server product before installing
the plug-ins for the supported Web server.
About this task
The Plug-ins
installation wizard installs the plug-in module, configures the Web server
for communicating with the application server, and creates a Web server configuration
definition in the application server, if possible.
This topic describes how to create the following
topology:
Perform the following procedure to install the plug-ins and
configure both Web servers and both application servers.
This topology
lets each profile have unique applications, configuration settings, data,
and log files, while sharing the same set of system files. Creating multiple
profiles creates multiple application server environments that you can then
dedicate to different purposes.
For example, each application server
on a Web site can serve a different application. In another example, each
application server can be a separate test environment that you assign to a
programmer or a development team.
Attention: If
you are planning to add the application server node into a deployment manager
cell but have not done so yet, start the deployment manager and federate the
node before installing the plug-in. You cannot add an application server with
a Web server definition into the deployment manager cell.
The
following topology is considered a remote topology because the Web server
is on a separate machine. The diagram shows a typical remote topology for
a distributed environment:
A deployment manager by itself is also considered
a remote scenario if the deployment manager has no managed nodes. Although
multiple application servers are not shown in the preceding diagram, Machine
B could have more than one application server profile.
- Log on to the operating system.
Log
on as root on an operating system such as AIX or Linux, or as a member of
the administrator group on a Windows system.
![[Windows]](../../windows.gif)
When installing on a Windows system, a Windows
service is automatically created to autostart the application server if your
installer user account has the following advanced user rights:
- Act as part of the operating system
- Log on as a service
For example, on some Windows systems, click
Administrative
Tools > Local Security Policy > User Rights Assignments to set
the advanced options. See your Windows documentation for more information.
The installation wizard
grants your Windows user ID the advanced user rights, if the user ID belongs
to the administrator group. The silent installation does not grant these rights.
If you create a new user ID on a Windows platform to perform a silent installation,
you must restart the system to activate the proper authorizations for the
user ID before you can perform a successful silent installation.
If you plan to run the application server as a Windows
service, do not install from a user ID that contains spaces. A user ID with
spaces cannot be validated. Such a user ID is not allowed to continue the
installation. To work around this problem, install with a user ID that does
not contain spaces.
- Install WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment on Machine A.
See Installing the product and additional software
.
- Create the first
application server profile using the Profile Creation wizard on
Machine A.
- Install the IBM HTTP Server or another supported Web
server on Machine B.
See Installing IBM HTTP Server
or refer to the product documentation for your Web server
for more information.
- Launch the Plug-ins installation wizard on the machine
with the Web server.
Select the Plug-ins installation wizard
from the launchpad or change directories to the plugin directory
on the product disc or in the downloaded installation image and issue the install command.
- Clear the check box for the roadmap or select the check
box to view the roadmap, then click Next.
If
you are unsure of which installation scenario to follow, display the roadmap
instead. Print and keep the roadmap as a handy overview of the installation
steps.
Press Ctrl-P to print the
roadmap if the Web browser navigation controls and the menu bar are not present
on the browser window that displays the Plug-ins roadmap. Press Ctrl-W to
close the browser window if the navigation controls and the menu bar do not
display. Or close the browser window with the window control in the title
bar.
- Read the license agreement and accept the agreement it
if you agree to its terms. Click Next when you are
finished.
- If your system does not pass the prerequisites check,
stop the installation, correct any problems, and restart the installation.
If your system passes the prerequisites check, click Next.
Look for the appropriate log file for information about missing prerequisites:
- If you stop the installation, see the temporaryPluginInstallLog.txt file
in the temporary directory of the user who installed the plug-ins. For example,
the /tmp/temporaryPluginInstallLog.txt file might exist
if the root user installed the plug-ins on an operating system such as AIX
or Linux.
- If you continue the installation in spite of warnings about missing prerequisites,
see the plugins_root/logs/install/log.txt file
after the installation is complete.
See Troubleshooting installation
for more
information about log files.
- Select the type of Web server that you are configuring
and click Next.
The Plug-ins
installation wizard panel prompts you to identify the Web servers to
configure. Actually you can select only one Web server each time you run the
Plug-ins installation wizard.
Stop any Web server while you are configuring
it. A step later in the procedure directs you to start the Web server as you
begin the snoop servlet test.
If you select the Web server
identification option labeled None, the Web server
installs the binary plug-ins but does not configure the Web server.
- Select Web server machine (remote) and
click Next.
- Accept the default location for the installation root
directory for the plug-ins. Click Next.
You
can type another new directory or click Browse to select
an empty directory. The fully qualified path identifies the plug-ins installation
root directory.
The default location is shown in Directory conventions
.
A possibility exists that the Web server
might run on a platform that WebSphere Application Server does not support.
- Click Browse to select the configuration
file for your Web server, verify that the Web server port is correct, and
then click Next when you are finished.
Select
the file and not just the directory of the file. Some Web servers have two
configuration files and require you to browse for each file.
The following
list shows configuration files for supported Web servers:
- Apache HTTP Server
- apache_root/config/httpd.conf
- Domino Web Server
- names.nsf and Notes.jar
The
wizard prompts for the notes.jar file. The actual name
is Notes.jar.
The Plug-ins installation
wizard verifies that the files exist but the wizard does not validate either
file.
- IBM HTTP Server
- IHS_root/conf/httpd.conf
- Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
- The Plug-ins installation wizard can determine the correct files to edit.
- Sun ONE Web Server 6.0 or Sun Java System Web Server, Version 6.1
- obj.conf and magnus.conf
The wizard displays a naming panel for the nickname
of the Web server definition.
- Specify a nickname for the Web server. Click Next when
you are finished.
The wizard uses the value to
name configuration folders in the plug-ins installation root directory. The
wizard also uses the name in the configuration script for the application
server to name the Web server definition.
If the application server
profile already has a Web server definition, delete the Web server definition
before continuing. Use the following commands to delete the Web server definition:
$AdminTask deleteServer { -serverName webserver1 -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminTask removeUnmanagedNode { -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminConfig save
In these commands,
webserver1 is the Web server
name.
- Accept the default location for the plugin-cfg.xml file
that the wizard creates on the Web server machine, then click Next.
You can type a change to the value or click Browse to
select a file in another location. If you do not accept the default location,
the plugin-cfg.xml file must exist.
- Identify the host name or IP address of Machine A, which
is the application server machine, then click Next.
- Examine the summary panel. Click Next when
you are finished.
The panel notifies you that you have manual
steps to perform to complete the installation and configuration. The type
of Web server, the nickname of the Web server, and the location of the plugin-cfg.xml file
displays on the panel.
The Plug-ins installation wizard creates the configureWeb_server_name script
in the plugins_root/bin/ directory
on Machine B.
The Plug-ins installation wizard also creates the plugin-cfg.xml file
in the plugins_root/config/Web_server_name directory.
The Web server reads the plugin-cfg.xml file to determine
the applications that the application server on Machine A can serve to the
Web server on Machine B. Whenever the configuration changes, the application
server regenerates the file. When regeneration occurs, propagate, or copy
the actual plugin-cfg.xml file from the application server
machine to the Web server machine. You can automatically propagate the file
to the IBM HTTP Server product.
- Click Next on the pre-installation
summary panel to begin the installation or click Back to
change any characteristics of the installation.
The panel specifies
the plug-ins installation root directory, the Web server plug-ins feature,
and the disc size of the code that installs when you click Next.
- After the wizard installs the code and creates the uninstaller
program, examine the post-installation summary panel. Click Next when
you are finished to display the Plug-ins installation roadmap.
The
Plug-ins installation wizard installs the binary plug-in module. On a Linux
system, for example, the installation creates the plugins_root directory.
The plugins_root/config/Web_server_name directory
contains the plugin-cfg.xml file.
The wizard displays
the name and location of the configuration script and the plugin-cfg.xml file.
The wizard also displays the type of Web server that is configured and the
nickname of the Web server.
If a problem occurs and the installation
is unsuccessful, examine the logs in the plugins_root/logs directory.
Correct any problems and reinstall.
- Close the road map and click Finish to
exit the wizard.
Log files from the installation are in the plugins_root/logs/install directory.
- Copy the configureWeb_server_name script
from Machine B to the app_server_root /bin directory
on Machine A.
Web_server_name is the nickname
of the Web server that you specified in step 12. Web_server_name is
not a vendor name, such as IIS or Apache.
On an operating
system such as AIX or Linux, the file is configureWeb_server_name.sh.
On a Windows system, the file is configureWeb_server_name.bat.
For example, on a Linux system with an IBM HTTP Server named web_server_1
in the default location, copy plugins_root/bin/configureweb_server_1.sh from Machine B to the app_server_root/bin directory
on Machine A.
If one platform is a system such as AIX
or Linux and the other is a Windows platform, copy the script from the
crossPlatformScripts directory.
For example:
- Compensate for file encoding differences to prevent
script failure.
The content of the configureWeb_server_name.bat script
or the configureWeb_server_name.sh script
can be corrupt if the default file encoding of the two machines differs. This
scenario is possible when one machine is set up for a double-byte character
set (DBCS) locale and the other machine is not.
Determine the file encoding
and use one of the following procedures to circumvent the failure. To determine
the default file encoding, run the appropriate command.
Procedures for compensating for
encoding differences
Suppose that the Web server is running on a
Linux machine and Network Deployment is running on a Windows machine.
Web
server running on a system such as AIX or Linux
Run the following
command on the system to encode the script file that configures the Web server
definition, before you FTP the file to the Windows machine in binary mode:
iconv -f web_server_machine_encoding \
-t application_server_machine_encoding \
configureWeb_server_name.bat
Omit the continuation
characters (\) if you enter the command on one line.
Important: The
name of the Web server (nick name) is used in the name of the script file.
The name cannot contain characters from a double-byte character set (DBCS)
if you intend to set up IBM HTTP Server for automatic propagation.
Suppose
that the Web server is running on a Windows machine and Network Deployment
is running on a machine with a system such as AIX or Linux.
Web
server running on a Windows machine
Run the following command on
the machine with a system such as AIX or Linux to encode the script file that
configures the Web server definition, after you FTP the file in binary mode:
iconv -f web_server_machine_encoding \
-t application_server_machine_encoding \
configureWeb_server_name.sh
Omit the continuation
characters (\) if you enter the command on one line.
If the conversion
mapping is not supported by the iconv command on your system,
copy the contents of the Web server configuration script to a clip board and
paste it onto the machine where the application server is running.
- Start the application server on Machine A.
Use
the
startServer command, for example:
- Open a command window and change to the profile directory
where the Web server should be assigned. Run the script that you copied to
Machine A. You will need the following parameters:
Profile Name
(Optional) Admin user ID
(Optional) Admin user password
For example: configurewebserver1.sh
Dmgr01 myUserID myPassword
The webserver will be configured via
wsadmin.
- From the administrative console
of the deployment manager, click System administration > Save Changes
to Master Repository > Synchronize changes with Nodes > Save.
- Domino Web
server only: Set the WAS_PLUGIN_CONFIG_FILE environment variable.
On platforms such as AIX or Linux, sourcing a script
to the parent shell allows child processes to inherit the exported variables.
On Windows systems, run the script as you would run any other command. Sourcing
is automatic on Windows systems.
- Open a command window.
- Change directories to the plug-ins installation root directory.
- Issue the appropriate command for the plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh script:
. plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh (Notice
the space between the period and the installation root directory.)
source plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh
The script is also in the lotus_root/notesdata directory
on operating systems such as AIX or Linux.
Issue the appropriate command
for the script before starting the Domino Web Server.
- Regenerate the plugin-cfg.xml file
on Machine A using the administrative console. Click Servers >
Web server. Select the Web server, then click Generate
Plug-in.
During the installation of the plug-ins,
the default plugin-cfg.xml file is installed on Machine
B in the plugins_root/config/Web_server_name directory.
The Web server plug-in configuration service regenerates the plugin-cfg.xml file
automatically. To use the current plugin-cfg.xml file
from the application server, propagate the plugin-cfg.xml
file as described in the next step.
This step shows you how to regenerate
the plugin-cfg.xml file. WebSphere Application Server
products are configured to automatically regenerate the file each time a significant
event occurs. Such events include installing applications on the application
server and the Web server, for example. Creating a new virtual host is another
such event.
- Propagate the plugin-cfg.xml file
from the application server to the Web server using the administrative console.
Click Servers > Web server. Select the Web server,
then click Propagate Plug-in. Web servers other than
IBM HTTP Server require manual propagation.
The Web server plug-in
configuration service propagates the plugin-cfg.xml file
automatically for IBM HTTP Server 6.0 only. For all other Web servers, propagate
the plug-in configuration file by manually copying the plugin-cfg.xml file
from the profile_root/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/node_name/servers/Web_server_name directory
on Machine A to the plugins_root/config/Web_server_name directory on Machine B.
- Start the Snoop servlet to verify the ability of the
Web server to retrieve an application from the Application Server.
Test
your environment by starting your Application Server, your Web server, and
using the snoop servlet with an IP address.
- Start the Application Server. In
a Network Deployment environment, the Snoop servlet is available in the cell
only if you included the DefaultApplication when adding the Application Server
to the cell. The -includeapps option for the addNode command
migrates the DefaultApplication to the cell. If the application is not present,
skip this step.
- Start the IBM HTTP Server or the Web server that you are using.
Use a command window to change the
directory to the IBM HTTP Server installed image, or to the installed image
of your Web server. Issue the appropriate command to start the Web server,
such as these commands for IBM HTTP Server:
To start
the IBM HTTP Server from the command line:
Access
the
apache and
apachectl commands in
the
IBMHttpServer/bin directory.
- Point your browser to http://localhost:9080/snoop to
test the internal HTTP transport provided by the Application Server. Point
your browser to http://Host_name_of_Web_server_machine/snoop to
test the Web server plug-in.
The HTTP Transport port is 9080
by default and must be unique for every profile. The port is associated with
a virtual host named default_host, which is configured to host the installed
DefaultApplication and any installed Samples. The snoop servlet is part of
the DefaultApplication. Change the port to match your actual HTTP Transport
port.
- Verify that snoop is running.
Either Web address
should display the Snoop Servlet - Request/Client Information page.
- Remote IBM HTTP Server only:
Verify
that the automatic propagation function can work on a remote IBM HTTP Server
by using the following steps. This procedure is not necessary for local Web
servers.
- Create a user=adminUser, password=adminPassword in the IHS_root /conf/admin.passwd file.
For example: c:\ws\ihs60\bin\htpasswd -cb c:\ws\ihs60\conf\admin.passwd
adminUser adminPassword
- Use the administrative console of the deployment
manager or the Application Server to enter the User ID and password information
that you created for the administrative user of IBM HTTP Server. Go to Servers
> Web server > Web_server_definition > Remote Web server
administration. Set the following values: admin Port=8008, User
Id=adminUser, Password=adminPassword.
- Set the correct read/write permissions for the httpd.conf file
and the plugin-cfg.xml file. See the IHS_root /logs/admin_error.log file
for more information.
Automatic propagation of the plug-in configuration file requires the
IBM HTTP administrative server to be up and running. If you are managing an
IBM HTTP Server using the WebSphere Application Server administrative console,
the following error might display:
"Could not connect to IHS Administration server error"
Perform
the following procedure to correct the error:
- Verify that the IBM HTTP Server administration server is running.
- Verify that the Web server host name and the port that is defined in the
WebSphere Application Server administrative console matches the IBM HTTP Server
administration host name and port.
- Verify that the fire wall is not preventing you from accessing the IBM
HTTP Server administration server from the WebSphere Application Server administrative
console.
- Verify that the user ID and password that is specified in the WebSphere
Application Server administrative console under remote managed, is created
in the admin.passwd file, using the htpasswd command.
- If you are trying to connect securely, verify that you export the IBM
HTTP Server administration server keydb personal certificate into the WebSphere
Application Server key database as a signer certificate. This key database
is specified by the com.ibm.ssl.trustStore directive in the sas.client.props file
in the profile where your administrative console is running. This consideration
is primarily for self-signed certificates.
- If you still have problems, check the IBM HTTP Server admin_error.log
file and the WebSphere Application Server logs (trace.log file)
to determine the cause of the problem.
- Create the second application server profile
using the Profile creation wizard on Machine A. Make the profile the default
profile during the profile creation by selecting the check box on the appropriate
panel.
The script that the Plug-ins installation wizard creates
works on the default profile only. So, this script can create only a Web server
definition on the profile that is the default profile at the time that the
script runs.
- Install a second IBM HTTP Server or another supported Web server
on Machine B.
- On Machine B, install the Web server plug-ins to configure the
second Web server using the Plug-ins installation wizard. Both Web servers
share a single installation of the plug-in binaries but must be configured
individually.
- The Plug-ins installation wizard creates a script named configureweb_server_name for
the second Web server. The script is in the plugins_root/bin directory
on Machine B. Copy the script to the app_server_root/bin directory
on Machine A.
- Start the second application server.
- Run the configureweb_server_name script
to create a Web server definition in the administrative console. You can then
use the administrative console to manage the Web server.
- Propagate the plugin-cfg.xml file from the
second application server to the Web server using the administrative console.
Click Servers > Web server > Propagate Plug-in.
Web servers other than IBM HTTP Server require manual propagation.
- Run the snoop servlet on the second Web server to verify that it
is operational.