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 C:\Program Files\IBM\edge\cachingproxy\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.