This topic provides information to create and configure a proxy
server.
About this task
The proxy server routes requests to application server nodes. The
proxy server can dynamically route requests to all on-demand configuration
(ODC) enabled application servers without additional configuration.
ODC
is supported only with WebSphere Application Server V6.0.2 and later, and
application servers that can coexist with the WebSphere Application Server
V6.0.2 and later deployment manager.
Before creating
a proxy server, run
the augmentProxyServer command. Follow the steps to configure
the proxy server to route requests to WebSphere Application Server nodes.
As a best practice, it is not advisable to add the proxy server to a node
group.
Procedure
- Create a proxy server in the administrative console by clicking Servers
> Proxy Servers. If the proxy servers
entry does not display, verify that you are using WebSphere Application Server
V6.0.2 and that the augmentProxyServer command is
launched.
- Click New.
- Select the node on which you want the proxy server to reside.
Only Network Deployment nodes display in the selection list. A proxy
server can reside only in a Network Deployment node. Enter a name for the
new proxy server and click Next.
Determine whether or not to generate unique
HTTP ports by selecting or clearing Generate unique HTTP ports. Click Next. Note: If
you create multiple proxy servers on the same node for vertical scaling, then
you might select the option to generate unique ports to avoid port conflicts.
Certain advanced scenarios pertain to port mapping that might require unique
ports. For example, a load balancer can load balance requests to the proxy
servers within the same node, assuming that each proxy server is listening
on a unique HTTP port. For the proxy server to accept requests for a specific
virtual host, it is necessary to add the unique HTTP ports that are generated
to the host alias of the virtual host. It might also be necessary to modify
the port values that the wizard generates, if these ports conflict with other
local servers on the same node.
- Select a proxy server template on which to base your proxy server.
Click Next. You can select a default template, or you can
choose to map to an existing proxy server.
Tip:
Mapping
to a pre-existing proxy server is a time-saving technique. You can build one
proxy server and apply all of the specific configurations your environment
needs, and then use that proxy server as a template.
- Review the summary panel and click Finish.
Results
You
now have a functional proxy server that automatically routes HTTP requests
to WebSphere Application Server cells that the proxy server belongs to. To
enable routing to another WebSphere Application Server cell, configure your
cell to communicate with other WebSphere Application Server cells.
Tip: If the proxy server fails to start when attempting to start it
as a non-privileged user on UNIX systems, change the ports of the PROXY_HTTP_ADDRESS
and PROXY_HTTPS_ADDRESS transport chains to values greater than 1024.