This topic describes installing a Web server plug-in that WebSphere
Application Server provides to communicate with a particular brand of Web
server. This topic describes installing the Web server and its Web server
plug-in for WebSphere Application Server on a distributed machine and using
the application server on the host z/OS system.
About this task
Suppose that you create a new profile using the z/OS customization
dialog. Also suppose that you want to use a Web server on a distributed platform.
You must install the Web server on the distributed platform and also install
the plug-in for the Web server on the distributed platform. You must configure
the application server on the z/OS system to let it know which Web server
to use.
In a remote installation, the Plug-ins installation wizard on
the distributed machine cannot create the Web server definition in the application
server configuration on the z/OS system. In such a case, the Plug-ins installation
wizard creates a script on the Web server machine that you must copy to the
application server on the z/OS system. Run the script on the z/OS system to
create the Web server configuration definition within the application server
configuration.
The Plug-ins installer program creates the configuration
script on the distributed platform when the installer program installs the
plug-in. You must FTP the configuration script in binary form to the z/OS
system that is running WebSphere Application Server for z/OS. Run the script
from the app_server_root/bin directory
on the z/OS system to configure the application server to use the Web server.
The
script configures the default application server profile on the z/OS system
to use the Web server on the distributed platform. A one-to-one relationship
exists between the Web server and the application server. This topology is
considered to be a remote installation because the Web server and the application
server are on separate systems.
If you are planning to add the application
server node into a deployment manager cell but have not done so yet, start
the deployment manager and federate the node before installing the plug-in.
You cannot add an application server with a Web server definition into the
deployment manager cell.
Perform the following procedure to install
the plug-in and configure both the Web server and the application server.
- Install the IBM HTTP Server or another supported Web server on
the distributed system.
Refer to the product documentation for
your Web server for more information.
- Launch the Plug-ins installation wizard from the appropriate Edge
CD on the distributed machine that has the installed Web server.
Change
directories to the plugin directory on the Edge disc.
Issue the install command to launch the Plug-ins installation
wizard.
The Edge discs are included in the WebSphere Application Server
for z/OS product package. You can also use the WebSphere Application Server
product disc from a
- Read the license agreement and accept the agreement it if you agree
to its terms, then click Next.
- If the distributed system does not pass the prerequisites check,
stop the installation, correct any problems, and restart the installation.
If the system passes the prerequisites check, click Next.
Look for the appropriate log file for information about missing prerequisites:
- If you stop the installation, see the temporaryPluginInstallLog.txt file
in the temporary directory of the user who installed the plug-ins. For example,
the /tmp/temporaryPluginInstallLog.txt file might exist
if the root user installed the plug-ins on a Linux system.
- If you continue the installation in spite of warnings about missing prerequisites,
see the plugins_root/logs/install/log.txt file
after the installation is complete.
- Select the type of Web server that you are configuring and click Next.
The Plug-ins installation wizard panel prompts you to identify the Web
servers to configure. Actually you can select only one Web server
each time you run the Plug-ins installation wizard.
Stop any Web server
while you are configuring it. A step later in the procedure directs you to
start the Web server as you begin the snoop servlet test.
If you select
the Web server identification option labeled None,
the Web server installs the binary plug-ins but does not configure the Web
server. A known problem in the wizard panel causes the English word None to
appear in translated versions of the wizard. However, the selectable option
is functional in every locale in spite of the missing translation.
- Select Web server machine (remote) and click Next.
- Accept the default location for the installation root directory
for the plug-ins. Click Next.
You can
type another new directory or click Browse to select
an empty directory. The fully qualified path identifies the plug-ins
installation root directory.
A possibility exists that the Web
server might run on a platform that WebSphere Application Server does not
support.
- Click Browse to select the configuration
file for your Web server. Verify that the Web server port is correct. Then
click Next when you are finished.
Select
the file and not just the directory of the file. Some Web servers have two
configuration files and require you to browse for each file.
The following
list shows configuration files for supported Web servers:
- Apache HTTP Server
- apache_root/config/httpd.conf
- Domino Web Server
- names.nsf and Notes.jar
The
wizard prompts for the notes.jar file. The actual name
is Notes.jar.
The Plug-ins installation
wizard verifies that the files exist but the wizard does not validate either
file.
- IBM HTTP Server
- IHS_root/conf/httpd.conf
- Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
- The Plug-ins installation wizard can determine the correct files to edit.
- Sun ONE Web Server 6.0 or Sun Java System Web Server, Version 6.1
- obj.conf and magnus.conf
The wizard displays a naming panel for the nickname
of the Web server definition.
- Specify a nickname for the Web server. Click Next when
you are finished.
The wizard uses the value to name configuration
folders in the plug-ins installation root directory. The wizard also uses
the name in the configuration script for the application server to name the
Web server definition.
If the application server profile already has
a Web server definition, delete the Web server definition before continuing.
You
can delete a Web server definition using the administrative console of the
deployment manager. If you have a standalone application server, you must
delete the Web server definition using the following commands:
$AdminTask deleteServer { -serverName webserver1 -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminTask removeUnmanagedNode { -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminConfig save
- Accept the default location for the plugin-cfg.xml file
that the wizard creates on the Web server machine, then click Next.
You can type a change to the value or click Browse to
select a file in another location. If you do not accept the default location,
the plugin-cfg.xml file must exist.
- Identify the host name or IP address of the WebSphere Application
Server for z/OS system, then click Next.
The
WebSphere Application Server for z/OS system has the application server that
the Web server is being configured to support.
- Examine the summary panel. Click Next when
you are finished.
The panel notifies you that you have manual
steps to perform to complete the installation and configuration. The type
of Web server, the nickname of the Web server, and the location of the plugin-cfg.xml file
display on the panel.
The Plug-ins installation wizard creates the configureweb_server_name.sh script
in the plugins_root/bin/ directory
on Machine B.
If you installed a Web server on a Windows system, the
script is in the plugins_root/bin/crossPlatformScripts directory.
The Plug-ins installation wizard also creates the plugin-cfg.xml file
in the plugins_root/config/web_server_name directory.
The Web server reads the plugin-cfg.xml file to determine
the applications that the application server on the z/OS system can serve
to the Web server on the distributed system. Whenever the configuration changes,
the application server regenerates the file. When regeneration occurs, FTP
the actual plugin-cfg.xml file from the application server
on the z/OS system to the Web server machine.
- Click Next on the pre-installation summary
panel to begin the installation or click Back to change
any characteristics of the installation.
The panel specifies
the plug-ins installation root directory, the Web server plug-ins feature,
and the disk size of the code that installs when you click Next.
- After the wizard installs the code and creates the uninstaller
program, examine the post-installation summary panel. Click Next when
you are finished. The Plug-ins installation roadmap displays. The roadmap
describes the installation from a distributed platform perspective.
The Plug-ins installation wizard installs the binary plug-in module.
On a Linux system, for example, the installation creates the plugins_root directory.
The plugins_root/config/web_server_name directory
contains the plugin-cfg.xml file.
The wizard displays
the name and location of the configuration script and the plugin-cfg.xml file.
The wizard also displays the type of Web server that is configured and the
nickname of the Web server.
If a problem occurs and the installation
is unsuccessful, examine the logs in the plugins_root/logs directory.
Correct any problems and reinstall.
- Close the road map and click Finish to exit
the wizard.
Log files from the installation are in the plugins_root/logs/install directory.
- FTP the configureweb_server_name.sh script
from the distributed machine to the app_server_root/bin directory
on the z/OS system.
For example, on a Linux system with an IBM
HTTP Server named webserver1 in the default location, FTP plugins_root/bin/configurewebserver1.sh from the distributed machine to the app_server_root/bin directory
on Machine A.
If the distributed platform is a Windows system, copy
the script from the crossPlatformScripts directory. For
example: plugins_root /bin/crossPlatformScripts/configureWeb_server_name.bat
- Start the application server on the z/OS system.
- Run the script on the z/OS system to create the Web server definition
in the configuration for the application server.
Open a command
shell to run the script that you FTPed to the z/OS system.
As soon as
the Web server definition is created, the application server creates a plugin-cfg.xml file
for the Web server. For example, the file might have this file path: profile_root/config/cells
/cellname/nodes/webserver1_node /servers/webserver1/plugin-cfg.xml.
- If the node is federated into a cell, use the administrative console
of the deployment manager to click System administration > Save
Changes to Master Repository > Synchronize changes with Nodes > Save.
- Domino Web Server only: Set the WAS_PLUGIN_CONFIG_FILE environment
variable.
To configure Domino, you must set the WAS_PLUGIN_CONFIG_FILE
environment variable. On platforms such as AIX or Linux, sourcing a script
to the parent shell allows child processes to inherit the exported variables.
On Windows systems, run the script as you would run any other command. Sourcing
is automatic on Windows systems.
- Open a command window.
- Change directories to the plug-ins installation root directory.
- Issue the appropriate command for the plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh script:
The script is also in the lotus_root/notesdata directory
on systems such as AIX or Linux.
Issue the appropriate command for the
script before starting the Domino Web Server.
- Start the Snoop servlet to verify the ability of the Web server
to retrieve an application from the Application Server.
Test
your environment by starting your Application Server, your Web server, and
using the snoop servlet with an IP address.
- Start the Application Server. In
a Network Deployment environment, the Snoop servlet is available in the cell
only if you included the DefaultApplication when adding the Application Server
to the cell. The -includeapps option for the addNode command
migrates the DefaultApplication to the cell. If the application is not present,
skip this step.
Change directories to the
profile_root/bin directory
and run the
startServer command:
- AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris operating systems:
./startServer.sh server1
- Windows operating systems:
startServer server1
- Start the IBM HTTP Server or the Web server that you are using.
Use a command window to change the directory to the IBM HTTP Server
installed image, or to the installed image of your Web server. Issue the appropriate
command to start the Web server, such as these commands for IBM HTTP Server:
To
start the IBM HTTP Server from the command line:
Access the
apache and
apachectl commands
in the
IBMHttpServer/bin directory.
- AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris operating systems:
./apachectl start
- Windows operating systems:
apache
- Point your browser to http://Host_name_of_WAS_machine:9080/snoop to
test the internal HTTP transport provided by the Application Server. Point
your browser to http://Host_name_of_Web_server_machine/snoop to
test the Web server plug-in.
The HTTP Transport port is 9080
by default and must be unique for every profile. The port is associated with
a virtual host named default_host, which is configured to host the installed
DefaultApplication and any installed Samples. The snoop servlet is part of
the DefaultApplication. Change the port to match your actual HTTP Transport
port.
- Verify that snoop is running.
Either Web address
should display the Snoop Servlet - Request/Client Information page. If the
Web address cannot display the Snoop Servlet, see Troubleshooting IBM HTTP Server.
- Regenerate the plugin-cfg.xml file
on the z/OS system using the administrative console. Click Servers >
Web server. Select the Web server, then click Generate
Plug-in.
During the installation of the plug-ins,
the temporary plugin-cfg.xml file is installed on the
distributed machine in the plugins_root/config/web_server_name directory. The Web server plug-in configuration service regenerates
the plugin-cfg.xml file automatically. To use the real plugin-cfg.xml
file from the application server, propagate the plugin-cfg.xml
file as described in the next step.
This step shows you how to regenerate
the plugin-cfg.xml file. WebSphere Application Server
products are configured to automatically regenerate the file each time a significant
event occurs. Such events include installing applications on the application
server and the Web server, for example. Creating a new virtual host is another
such event.
- Propagate the plugin-cfg.xml configuration
file by FTPing the plugin-cfg.xml file from the profile_root /config/cells/cell_name/nodes/node_name/servers/ web_server_name directory
on the z/OS system to the plugins_root/config/web_server_name directory on the distributed machine.