To administer or manage a web server using the administrative
console, you must create a web server definition or object in the WebSphere® Application Server repository.
The creation of this object is exclusive of the actual installation
of a web server. The web server object in the WebSphere Application Server repository represents
the web server for administering and managing the web server from
the administrative console.
The web server object contains the following web server properties:
- installation root
- port
- configuration file paths
- log file paths
In addition to web server properties, the web server contains
a plug-in object. The plug-in object contains properties that define
the
plugin-cfg.xml file.
The definitions of the web server object are made using the wsadmin command
or the administrative console. You can also define a web server object
in the WebSphere Application Server repository
using the profile create script during installation, a .jacl script,
and by using the administrative console wizard.
There are three types of
WebSphere Application Server nodes upon which
you can create a web server. The type depends on the version of
WebSphere Application Server, as follows:
- Managed node. A node that contains a node agent.
This node can exist only in a deployment manager environment. The
importance of defining a web server on a managed node is that the
administration and configuration of the web server is handled through
the node agent from the administrative console. Support for administration
and configuration through the administrative console is limited to IBM® HTTP
Server only. Non-IBM HTTP Server web servers must be on a managed
node to handle plug-in administrative functions and the generation
and propagation of the plugin-cfg.xml file.
- Stand-alone node. A node that does not contain a
node agent. This node usually exists in WebSphere Application Server (base) or WebSphere Application Server, Express environment.
A stand-alone node can become a managed node in a deployment manager
environment after the node is federated . A stand-alone node does
not contain a node agent, so to administer and manage IBM HTTP
Server, there must be an IBM HTTP Server administration server
installed and running on the stand-alone machine that the node represents.
IBM HTTP
Server ships with the IBM HTTP Server administration server
and is installed by default. Support for administration and configuration
through the administrative console is limited to IBM HTTP
Server only.
- Unmanaged node. A node that is not associated with
a WebSphere Application Server node agent.
This node cannot be federated. Typically, the unmanaged node represents
a remote machine that does not have WebSphere Application Server installed. However,
you can define an unmanaged node on a machine where WebSphere Application Server is installed.
This node can exist in aWebSphere Application Server (base), WebSphere Application Server, Express, or deployment
manager environment. An unmanaged node does not contain a node agent,
so to administer and manage IBM HTTP Server, an IBM HTTP
Server administration server must be installed and running on the
stand-alone machine that the node represents. Support for administration
and configuration through the administrative console is limited to IBM HTTP
Server only.
Web servers, which are not IBM HTTP Servers for
WebSphere Application Server, are not fully
administered from the
WebSphere Application Server administrative
console. The administration functions for Web servers, which are not IBM HTTP
Servers for
WebSphere Application Server,
are:
- On managed nodes:
- Web server status in the web server collection panel or serverStatus.sh
- Generation of the plugin-cfg.xml
- Propagation of the plugin-cfg.xml
- On unmanaged nodes:
- Web server status in the web server collection panel or serverStatus.sh
- Generation of the plugin-cfg.xml