For configuration purposes, a virtual host enables WebSphere Application
Server to treat multiple host machines or port numbers as a single logical
host (virtual host). You can combine multiple host machines into a single
virtual host or assign host machines to different virtual hosts, to separate
and control which WebSphere Application Server resources are available for
client requests.
Before you begin
If your external HTTP server configuration uses the default port (9080),
you do not have to perform these steps.
Why and when to perform this task
You must update the HTTP port numbers associated with the default
virtual host. or define a new virtual host and associate it with the ports
your HTTP server configuration uses if:
- Your external HTTP server configuration uses a port other than the default
port of 9080, you must define the port that you are using.
- You are using the default port 9080, but the port is no longer defined.
You must define port 9080.
- You have created multiple Application Servers (either stand-alone servers
or cluster members) that use the same virtual host. Because each server must
be listening on a different HTTP transport port, you must define a virtual
host alias for the transport port of each server.
If you define new virtual host aliases, identify the port values that
the aliases use on the HTTP transport collection page.
To
create a new virtual host or change the configuration of an existing virtual
host:
Steps for this task
- In the administrative console, click Environment > Virtual Hosts.
- Optional: Create a new virtual host. If
you create a new virtual host, a default set of 90 MIME entries are automatically
created for that virtual host.
- In the administrative console, click New.
- Enter the name of the new virtual host and click OK.
The new virtual host appears in the list of virtual hosts you can configure.
- Select the virtual host whose configuration you want to change.
- Under Additional Properties, click Host Aliases.
- Create new host aliases or update existing host aliases to associate
each of your HTTP port numbers with this virtual host.
There
must be a virtual host alias corresponding to each port your HTTP server configuration
uses. There is one HTTP port associated with each Web container, and it is
usually assigned to the virtual host named default_host. You can
change the default assignment to any valid virtual host.
The host aliases
associated with the default_host virtual host are set to * when you
install WebSphere Application Server. The * (an asterisk) indicates that the
alias name does not have to be specified or that any name can be specified.
When
the URL for the application is entered into a Web browser, the port number
is included. For example, if 9082 is the port number, the specified URL might
look like the following:
http://localhost:9082/wlm/SimpleServlet
To
create a new host alias:
- Click New.
- Specify a host alias name in the Host Name field and one of
your HTTP ports in the Port field.
You can specify * (an asterisk)
for the alias name if you do not want to require the specification of the
alias name or if you want to allow any name to be specified.
- Click OK and Save to save your configuration change.
To update an existing host alias:
- Select an existing host alias name.
- Change the value specified in the Port field to one of your
HTTP ports.
- Click OK and Save to save your configuration change.
- Optional: Define a MIME object type and its file name
extension if you require a MIME type other than the pre-defined types.
- For each needed MIME entry on the MIME type collection page, click New.
- On the MIME type settings page,
specify a MIME type and extension.
- Click OK and Save to save your configuration change.
- Regenerate the Web server plug-in configuration.
- Click Servers > Web servers, then select the appropriate
Web server.
- Click Generate Plug-in, then click Propagate
Plug-in.
- Restart the application server.