This topic describes installing a Web server plug-in that WebSphere
Application Server provides to communicate with a particular brand of Web
server. This procedure describes installing the Web server and its Web server
plug-in for WebSphere Application Server and the application server on the
same machine.
Before you begin
When multiple profiles exist, you can either let the plug-ins
installer configure the default profile, or you can select the profile that
the plug-ins installer configures. See Plug-ins configuration for
a description of the flow of logic that determines how the installer selects
the profile to configure.
When multiple profiles exist,
the plug-ins installer configures only the default profile. You need the configureweb_server_name script
to configure a non-default profile. See Plug-ins configuration for a description of the flow of logic that determines
how the installer selects the profile to configure.
If
the WebSphere Application Server product family supports a particular brand
of Web server, such as IBM HTTP Server or Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS), then your WebSphere Application Server product provides a binary plug-in
for the Web server that you must install.
If the WebSphere
Application Server product family does not provide a binary plug-in for a
particular brand of Web server, then the Web server is not supported. The
purpose of the binary plug-in is to provide the communication protocol between
the Web server and the application server.
Suppose that
you create a new profile. Suppose also that you want to use a Web server.
You must install a new Web server for the new profile and use the Plug-ins
installation wizard to install the binary plug-in module and to configure
both the Web server and the application server.
If the
Web server is not already installed, you can still install the plug-ins for
future use. If the WebSphere Application Server product is not installed,
you can still install the plug-ins. However, it is recommended that you install
the Web server and the WebSphere Application Server product before installing
the plug-ins for the supported Web server.
This procedure configures
the application server profile that is the default profile on the machine.
A one-to-one relationship exists between a Web server and the application
server.
However,
a stand-alone application server profile and a managed profile can each have
multiple Web servers defined, each in a separate Web server definition.
This topic describes how to create the following
topology:
The
set of steps leading up to the next diagram show how to configure a stand-alone
application server. The set of steps after the next diagram show how to configure
an application server that is federated into a deployment manager cell.
- Log on to the operating system.
![[Windows]](../../windows.gif)
When installing on a Windows system, a Windows
service is automatically created to autostart the application server if your
installer user account has the following advanced user rights:
- Act as part of the operating system
- Log on as a service
For example, on some Windows systems, click
Administrative
Tools > Local Security Policy > User Rights Assignments to set
the advanced options. See your Windows documentation for more information.
If you plan to run the application server as a Windows
service, do not install from a user ID that contains spaces. A user ID with
spaces cannot be validated. Such a user ID is not allowed to continue the
installation. To work around this problem, install with a user ID that does
not contain spaces.
- Install WebSphere Application Server Network
Deployment on the machine.
See Installing the product and additional software.
See Task overview: installing.
- Install the IBM HTTP Server or another supported Web server on
the machine.
See Installing IBM HTTP Server or refer to the product documentation for your Web server
for more information.
- Launch the Plug-ins installation wizard on the machine.
Select the Plug-ins installation wizard from the launchpad or change
directories to the plugin directory on the product disc
or in the downloaded installation image and issue the install command.
- Stop the stand-alone application server before installing
the Web server plug-ins. For example, assuming that the profile
name is default, use one of the following commands.
/usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/default/
bin/stopServer.sh server1
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/
profiles/default/bin/stopServer.sh server1
C: Program Files\ IBM\WebSphere\ AppServer\profiles\ default\bin\stopServer.sh
server1
/usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/default/bin/stopServer
server1
- Clear the check box for the roadmap or select the check
box to view the roadmap, then click Next.
If
you are unsure of which installation scenario to follow, display the roadmap
instead. Print and keep the roadmap as a handy overview of the installation
steps.
Press Ctrl-P to print the
roadmap if the Web browser navigation controls and the menu bar are not present
on the browser window that displays the Plug-ins roadmap. Press Ctrl-W to
close the browser window if the navigation controls and the menu bar do not
display. Or close the browser window with the window control in the title
bar.
- Read the license agreement and accept the agreement it
if you agree to its terms. Click Next when you are
finished.
- If your system does not pass the prerequisites check,
stop the installation, correct any problems, and restart the installation.
If your 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 an operating system such as AIX
or Linux.
If you stop the installation, see the log file in the
/tmp/InstallShield/niflogs directory of the user who installed the plug-ins.
- 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.
See Troubleshooting installation for more
information about log files.
- 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.
- Select Application Server machine (local) 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.
The default location is shown in Directory conventions.
A possibility exists
that the Web server might run on a platform that WebSphere Application Server
does not support.
- Click Browse on the Application
Server Installation Location panel to browse for the location of the application
server profile if necessary. Click Next when the installation
root directory is correct.
The fully qualified path identifies
the installation root directory for the WebSphere Application Server product,
which is referred to as the app_server_root throughout
the information center.
- Enter an administrative user ID and password if
administrative security is enabled on the application server. If
more than one profile is created under the defined Application Server installation,
a panel is displayed that you can use to select a profile to configure. The
selected profile becomes the default profile. If only one profile exists,
the default profile is automatically selected and this panel does not appear.
- Click Browse to select the configuration
file for your Web server, verify that the Web server port is correct, and
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
IHS_profile_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. Use the following commands to delete the Web server definition:
$AdminTask deleteServer { -serverName webserver1 -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminTask removeUnmanagedNode { -nodeName webserver1_node }
$AdminConfig save
In these commands,
webserver1 is the Web server
name.
- Specify the location for the plugin-cfg.xml file
and click Next.
This is a critical selection.
See
Plug-ins configuration for a description
of the logic that determines what path is configured by default. The following
possibilities exist for the default location of the plug-in configuration
file. The wizard determines the characteristics of the application server
to determine the best path for the file:
You can accept the default value if the application server does
not have a Web server definition.
Using an existing Web server definition
If
the application server has a Web server definition, the wizard cannot create
a new Web server definition within the application server configuration. However,
the wizard can reconfigure the Web server. Click Browse and
select the existing plugin-cfg.xml file in the application
server configuration.
To find the plug-in configuration file in a stand-alone
application server, follow this file path:
profile_root
/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/
web_server_name_node/servers/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
If
the existing web_server_name is different than the nickname
that you gave the Web server in the wizard, click Back to
return to the naming panel for the Web server and change the name to match
the existing Web server definition name.
If you cannot find an existing
plugin-cfg.xml file
after all, you must install the temporary
plugin-cfg.xml file.
In such a case, type the path to the plug-ins installation root directory
so that the wizard can install the temporary plug-in configuration file:
plugins_root/config/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
- Click Next after verifying the characteristics
of the plug-ins installation or click Back to make
changes.
Once created, a Web server definition on a stand-alone
application server node cannot be removed except through scripting. (See Uninstalling the Web server plug-ins for WebSphere Application Server for
the procedure.)
You can, however, reuse the same definition for a different
type of Web server. Run the Plug-ins installation wizard to configure a new
Web server in that situation. The Plug-ins installation wizard configures
the new Web server to use the existing plugin-cfg.xml file.
- Click Next on the pre-installation summary
panel to begin the installation or click Back to change
any characteristics of the installation. The wizard begins installing
the plug-ins and configuring the Web server and the application server.
The
wizard shows an installation status panel as it installs the plug-ins.
The
wizard displays the Installation summary panel at the completion of the installation.
- Verify the success of the installation on the Installation summary
panel and click Finish to exit the wizard.
If
a problem occurs and the installation is unsuccessful, examine the logs in
the plugins_root/logs directory.
Correct any problems and reinstall.
Domino Web
server only: 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:
. plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh (Notice
the space between the period and the installation root directory.)
source plugins_root/bin/setupPluginCfg.sh
The script is also in the lotus_root/notesdata directory
on operating 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.
- Start the IBM HTTP Server or the Web server that you are using.
Use either the 2001 page or use the STRTCPSVR
SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(instance_name ) command to start the
IBM HTTP Server.
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:
![[AIX HP-UX Linux Solaris Windows]](../../dist.gif)
Access the
apache and
apachectl commands
in the
IBMHttpServer/bin directory.
- Point your browser to http://localhost: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.
- Remote IBM HTTP Server only:
![[AIX HP-UX Linux Solaris Windows]](../../dist.gif)
Verify that the automatic propagation
function can work on a remote IBM HTTP Server by using the following steps.
This procedure is not necessary for local Web servers.
- Create a user=adminUser, password=adminPassword in the IHS_root /conf/admin.passwd file.
For example: c:\ws\ihs60\bin\htpasswd -cb c:\ws\ihs60\conf\admin.passwd
adminUser adminPassword
- Use the administrative console of the deployment
manager or the Application Server to enter the User ID and password information
that you created for the administrative user of IBM HTTP Server. Go to Servers
> Web server > Web_server_definition > Remote Web server
administration. Set the following values: admin Port=8008, User
Id=adminUser, Password=adminPassword.
- Set the correct read/write permissions for the httpd.conf file
and the plugin-cfg.xml file. See the IHS_root /logs/admin_error.log file
for more information.
Automatic propagation of the plug-in configuration file requires
the IBM HTTP administrative server to be up and running. If you are managing
an IBM HTTP Server using the WebSphere Application Server administrative console,
the following error might display:
"Could not connect to IHS Administration server error"
Perform
the following procedure to correct the error:
- Verify that the IBM HTTP Server administration server is running.
- Verify that the Web server host name and the port that is defined in the
WebSphere Application Server administrative console matches the IBM HTTP Server
administration host name and port.
- Verify that the fire wall is not preventing you from accessing the IBM
HTTP Server administration server from the WebSphere Application Server administrative
console.
- Verify that the user ID and password that is specified in the WebSphere
Application Server administrative console under remote managed, is created
in the admin.passwd file, using the htpasswd command.
- If you are trying to connect securely, verify that you export the IBM
HTTP Server administration server keydb personal certificate into the WebSphere
Application Server key database as a signer certificate. This key database
is specified by the com.ibm.ssl.trustStore directive in the sas.client.props file
in the profile where your administrative console is running. This consideration
is primarily for self-signed certificates.
- If you still have problems, check the IBM HTTP Server admin_error.log
file and the WebSphere Application Server logs (trace.log file)
to determine the cause of the problem.
- Configure
a Web server and a distributed application server profile on the same machine.
The rest of these steps describe how to configure an application
server that is federated into a deployment manager cell.
The
following topology is considered a local distributed topology because it involves
a cell:

This part of the procedure assumes
that you have already installed the Network Deployment product on both machines.
Also assumed is that you have already configured a deployment manager profile
on Machine A and an application server profile on Machine B.
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.
A Web server
definition on a federated application server is installed on the same managed
node as the application server. There is one node, but with two server processes,
the application server and the Web server definition.
If you are installing
the plug-ins for use with a federated application server, start the deployment
manager. Verify that the node agent process on the managed node is also running.
Both the deployment manager and the node agent must be running to successfully
configure a managed node.
- Install IBM HTTP Server
or another supported Web server on Machine B.
See Installing IBM HTTP Server or
refer to the product documentation for your Web server for more information.
- Launch the Plug-ins installation
wizard on the machine with the Web server.
- Clear the check box for
the roadmap or select the check box to view the roadmap, then click Next.
- Read the license agreement
and accept the agreement it if you agree to its terms, then click Next.
- If your system does not
pass the prerequisites check, stop the installation, correct any problems,
and restart the installation. If your system passes the prerequisites check,
click Next.
- Select the type of Web
server that you are configuring, then click Next.
- Select Application
Server machine (local) and click Next.
- Accept the default location
for the installation root directory for the plug-ins, then click Next.
- Click Browse on
the Application Server installation location panel to browse for the location
of the Application Server profile, if necessary. Click Next when
the installation root directory is correct.
- Click Browse to
select the configuration file for your Web server, verify that the Web server
port is correct, and then click Next.
- Specify a nickname for
the Web server, then click Next.
- Specify the location for
the plugin-cfg.xml file and click Next.
This is a critical selection. A federated application server that
does not have a Web server definition has the following path:
profile_root
/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/
node_name_of_AppServer/servers/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
An
application server that has an existing Web server definition has the following
path:
plugins_root/config/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
See Plug-ins configuration for a description
of the logic that determines what path is configured by default.
- Click Next after
verifying the characteristics of the plug-ins installation or click Back to
make changes.
You can use the administrative console of the
deployment manger to delete an existing Web server or to create new ones.
Federated nodes can have more than one Web server definition.
- Click Next on
the pre-installation summary panel to begin the installation or click Back to
change any characteristics of the installation.
The wizard begins
installing the plug-ins and configuring the Web server and the application
server.
The wizard shows an installation status panel as it installs
the plug-ins.
The wizard displays the Installation summary panel at
the completion of the installation.
- Verify the success of
the installation on the Installation summary panel and click Finish to
exit the wizard.
- Complete the installation
by creating the Web server definition.
You can use the administrative
console of the deployment manager to create the Web server definition on a
federated node. Or, you can run the configuration script that the Plug-ins
installation wizard created.
The script already contains all of the
information that you must gather when using the administrative console option.
Select
one of the following options:
- Using the administrative console
Click Servers >
Web servers > New and use the Create new Web server entry wizard
to create the Web server definition.
- Running the configuration script
Issue the appropriate command
from a command window:
If you have enabled security or changed the default JMX connector
type, edit the script and include the appropriate parameters on the wsadmin command.
- From the administrative
console of the deployment manager, click System administration
> Save Changes to Master Repository > Synchronize changes with Nodes > Save.
- Source the Domino Web
server script if necessary.
- Start the
snoop servlet.
See the
snoop procedure for the stand-alone application server for the full
procedure.
Results
The installation of the binary plug-in modules
results in the creation of the
Plugins directory and
several subdirectories. The following directories are among those created
on a Linux system, for example:
- plugins_root/uninstall contains
the uninstaller program
- plugins_root/bin contains
the binary plug-ins for all supported Web servers
- plugins_root/logs contains
log files
- plugins_root/properties contains
version information
- plugins_root/roadmap contains
the roadmap for the Plug-ins installation wizard
The Plug-ins
installation wizard creates a Web server definition within the application
server profile unless one already exists.
The Plug-ins installation
wizard configures the Web server to use the profile_root/plugin-cfg.xml file.
The application server regenerates the Web server plug-in configuration
file,
plugin-cfg.xml whenever an event occurs that affects
the file. Such events include the addition or removal of an application, server,
or virtual host. The stand-alone application server regenerates the file in
the following location:
profile_root
/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/
web_server_name_node/servers/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
On
a federated node, the creation or removal of clusters and cluster members
also causes file regeneration. The deployment manager regenerates the file
for a federated application server in the following location:
profile_root
/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/
node_name_of_AppServer/servers/
web_server_name/plugin-cfg.xml
What to do next
You can start a stand-alone application server and the Web server
immediately after installing of the binary plug-in for the local Web server.
Open the administrative console of the application server after you start
the server and save the changed configuration.
After
installing the binary plug-in for the local Web server, you can start a federated
application server and the Web server after running the configuration script
that completes the installation. Open the administrative console of the deployment
manager. Wait for node synchronization to occur. Save the changed configuration
that includes the new Web server definition.
See Selecting a Web server topology diagram and roadmap for an overview of the installation
procedure.
See Plug-ins configuration for information about the location of the plug-in configuration
file.
See Web server configuration for
information about the files involved in configuring a Web server.
See Editing Web server configuration files for
information about how the Plug-ins installation wizard configures supported
Web servers.
See Installing Web server plug-ins for information about other installation scenarios for
installing Web server plug-ins.