Using external web servers with IBM App Connect Enterprise

IBM® App Connect Enterprise is frequently a component in integration patterns that include external web servers and other HTTP solutions.

The following diagram shows a web server topology that uses a web server plug-in that is generated in WebSphere® Application Server to handle HTTP and HTTPS connections with an application server. The web clients use HTTPS to communicate with the web server, and the WebSphere Application Server plug-in forwards traffic over HTTP to one of two application servers. This topology provides simplified administration: the clients connect to a single endpoint, and all client security is handled in a single place. The plug-in can be used to handle load-balancing and failover between the two application servers.

WebSphere Application Server plug-in with application servers
You can configure a WebSphere Application Server plug-in so that it can be used, without any loss of function, with IBM App Connect Enterprise in the place of the application server. You can then take advantage of the load-balancing and failover capabilities of the plug-in to:
  • Support many HTTP sessions.
  • Enable access to the integration node from multiple IP addresses and ports.
  • Simplify the administration of your topology.

In the following diagram, IBM App Connect Enterprise takes the place of the application servers. HTTP traffic is handled by integration node listeners on both systems.

WebSphere Application Server plug-in with IBM App Connect Enterprise

The WebSphere Application Server plug-in can be used in the preceding cases, and in more complex scenarios, to:

  • Implement load-balancing.
  • Implement clustering for failover.
  • Expose application server and web server services and files through a single front end.
  • Manage security for all URLs in a single place and in a consistent manner.
  • Set up a network dispatcher to multiple web service endpoints
You can use IBM App Connect Enterprise to achieve this type of configuration. Depending on your existing topology, generate the most appropriate type of configuration data:
  • If your existing topology incorporates WebSphere Application Server, or otherwise uses IBM HTTP Server, then before you can use IBM App Connect Enterprise to achieve this type of configuration, you must generate a configuration file that can be read by a WebSphere Application Server web server plug-in.
  • If your existing topology does not contain WebSphere Application Server, but uses an Apache web server, other than IBM HTTP Server, then before you can use IBM App Connect Enterprise to achieve this type of configuration, you must generate a configuration file that can be merged into your Apache mod_proxy configuration.
  • Unfortunately due to the rearchitecture of the IBM Integration API in IBM App Connect Enterprise, the methods which IBM Integration Bus 10.0 previously provided to assist with the generation of these files (https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/integration-bus/10.0?topic=uewsib-generating-http-server-configuration-by-using-integration-api) are no longer available in either IBM App Connect Enterprise 11.0 or IBM App Connect Enterprise 12.0.