Using the Configuration and Administration forms
Caching Proxy comes with HTML forms that can be served to requesting clients and
used to configure the proxy server. These forms run CGI programs that edit the
local proxy server configuration file, ibmproxy.conf. To use these forms, the proxy server must
be running and must be configured to pass the forms from the local directory
where they reside.
By default, Caching Proxy is installed with Pass directives included in the ibmproxy.conf file
that enable access to the Configuration and Administration forms. When a client requests the default
home page from this proxy server, Frntpage.html is served. This page contains a
hypertext link to the Configuration and Administration forms start page, wte.html.
The Configuration and Administration forms are protected and require client authentication before
they are served. For instructions on setting the administrator's ID and password,
refer to Setting the administrator password.
Browser requirements
A Web browser used to access the Configuration and Administration forms must support the following:
- HTML 4.0: All forms are written to the HTML
4.0 specification. Your Web browser must support HTML 4.0 and framesets.
- Java 1.1 and JavaScript: Applets are written
to the Java 1.1 specification. Your Web browser must support a Java Virtual
Machine that is Java 1.1 compliant. The applets are incompatible with Java
Virtual Machines compliant with the Java 2.0 specification. Both JavaScript
and Java must be enabled.
- 256 colors: The workstation on which the
Web browser runs must support at least 256 colors.
Recommended browsers are Mozilla and Firefox
(for Linux, UNIX, and Windows systems) and Internet Explorer (for Windows
systems). For specific versions of Mozilla, Firefox, and Internet Explorer
browsers, refer to the following Web site and follow the links to the supported
software Web page: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27006921.
Notes:
- On 64-bit PowerPC Linux systems, it will not be possible to access the Configuration and Administration forms
with the Mozilla browser since there is no SDK available for this architecture.
Alternatively, you can access the Configuration and Administration forms from a different machine with
a supported Web browser.
- If you are prompted twice to login when starting the Administrative console,
your Java setting in Internet Explorer may not be set correctly. To correct
this in Internet Explorer, select Tools>Internet Options>Advanced and deselect the Use Java 2 v1.4.X checkbox.
Accessing the Configuration and Administration forms
To access the Configuration and Administration forms:
- Ensure that the proxy server is running. For instructions on starting the proxy server,
refer to Starting and stopping Caching Proxy.
- Direct an HTTP browser to request your proxy server's home page (Frntpage.html)
or the Configuration and Administration start page (wte.html).
Note:
This page depends on your proxy server's
actual mapping rules and can vary from the default pages shown in parentheses.
http://your.server.name[:port][/directory][/page.html]
where
- your.server.name is the full path name of your host
(for example, http://www.ibm.com/).
- [:port] If your proxy server listens for administrative
requests on a port other than 80, include the port number after the server
name: http://your.server.name:port
- [/directory] The addition of a directory
within the URL depends on the mapping rules.
- [/page.html] The HTML page needs to
be specified only if it is not listed as a welcome page. For information on
welcome pages, refer to Define default welcome pages.
- Click Configuration and Administration forms to get to the server
configuration forms. You are prompted for the administrator user name and
password. Type an authorized user name and password. The Caching Proxy configuration
client window opens.
Notes:
- The contents of the navigation frame on the left can take several seconds
to load after the main page is displayed.
- On Windows 2003 systems, connections that request administration
forms (CGI scripts) might receive a reset before the connection is complete.
As a result, browsers might report no data received or display page not available
messages. To avoid this problem, increase MaxActiveThreads to a value greater
than 200, or increase ConnThreads to a value greater than 50 to resolve the
reset connections. See MaxActiveThreads -- Specify the maximum number of active
threads and ConnThreads -- Specify the number of connection threads
to be used for connection management for
more information on these directives.
- The navigation frame on the left shows the five major categories of configuration
forms:
- Proxy Configuration
- Cache Configuration
- Server Configuration
- Server Activity Monitor
- Plug-in Configuration
Click the triangular pointer at the left of a heading to expand the list
of configuration forms in that category. Click a form to open it. The form
shows the current configuration values (if any) in the input fields; if you
have not changed the configuration since installation, these are default values.
- On any form, enter configuration information for that particular function.
Each form provides instructions to assist you in deciding what changes to
make. For further information, click the help icon, the question mark (?) at the top of each form. It provides the following
links:
- Field help--Descriptions of the fields
in each screen panel
- How do I...--Detailed steps in using
the form to do specific tasks
- Index--An index of the help information
- After filling in a form, click Submit to
update the server configuration with the changes you made. The Submit button is located below the input fields on each form. If you
do not want to make the changes you indicated on the form, click Reset, and the fields on the form return to their original values.
- If you click Submit and your input is accepted,
the following message is displayed in the upper frame:
The requested configuration changes have been completed successfully
If the input is not accepted, an error message is displayed in the upper
frame, indicating which settings are not acceptable.
- To restart the proxy server, click the server restart icon (|) in the upper frame. When the proxy server receives the restart command,
it stops accepting requests from clients but completes any requests that are
already in process. After reloading the changed configuration file, the proxy
starts accepting client requests again.
Note:
Changing certain
directives either by using the Configuration and Administration forms or by editing the ibmproxy.conf
file requires that instead of a restart, you stop the server completely and
then start it again before the changes can take effect. Those directives are
listed in
Table 6.
Setting the administrator password
After installing the Caching Proxy packages, you must create an administrator identification
and password for accessing the Configuration and Administration forms. The default proxy server configuration
authenticates users that request the Configuration and Administration forms by using the webadmin.passwd
passwords file in either the /opt/ibm/edge/cp/server_root/protect/ directory on Linux and
UNIX systems or the \Program Files\IBM\edge\cp\etc\ directory on Windows systems. Package
installation does not overwrite an existing webadmin.passwd file.
Use the following commands to add an administrator entry to the webadmin.passwd
file:
Note:
The administrator user name and password are
case-sensitive even if the operating system is not case-sensitive. Be sure
to input the exact user name and password entered using the htadm command
when accessing the Configuration and Administration forms.
For a detailed description of the htadm command,
refer to htadm command.